Detour

Detour (1945)

Runtime: 68 minutes

Directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer

Starring: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Edmund MacDonald

From: Producers Releasing Corporation

Here's another film noir from me, and this one is a rather famous example. I figured it made sense to early on in this journey check out what has been said is a or even the quintessential movie in the genre. Also, it happens to be in the public domain so it's incredibly easy to find and watch online. Onto the Letterboxd review:

I figured that if I should continue the journey of watching film noir I should check out one of the most famous ones, a B movie classic of old that was done with a low budget but is an example of how a small amount of funds doesn't mean that you can not produce a film still beloved nearly 70 years later, especially if done by a director who has big studio talent but preferred the “Poverty Row” scene as it would allow him to do what he wanted.

This tale told in flashback shows why Al Roberts (Tom Neal) is in a foul bitter mood in the opening dialogue scene. You see that he plays piano in a New York City club and his girlfriend (Claudia Drake) sings there. Suddenly she gets the idea to go to Hollywood to make it big. Well, it turns out like you'd expect. Al hitch-hikes to Los Angeles to be with his girl but he first runs into a guy named Haskell (Edmund MacDonald) then a fellow hitch-hiker named Vera (Ann Savage, which is actually an appropriate surname for the character she played), and things go wrong. I wouldn't dare spoil any of the twists and turns in the plot.

If you wanted to you could nitpick various things on a technical level. I won't, as besides knowing how this wasn't a big-budget affair, the tale is so engrossing and interesting, even if you do notice you won't care. The film is lean and mean at 68 minutes and the film only has a few characters and most of the focus is only on two characters at a time, that being Al and someone else. Aside from flubs it is filmed quite well, with smart dialogue and such things I stereotypically expect from noirs such as nice usage of light & shadow and foggy streets at night only being illuminated by some lampposts.

The few characters you get to see are all fascinating but I have to give special credit to both Tom Neal and Ann Savage. Neal (who at times looked like a young Kurt Russell, to echo the comments in another review) has to be on the screen the entire time and he does a swell job as a man who falls in deeper with complications in the simple quest to see his girlfriend. Savage, what a performance playing a tough and vicious lady, someone who has had experience beyond her years. The movie's rather bleak and downbeat but I was OK with that as I was always entertained.

This film with frequent narration is said to be a great example of film noir, the quintessence of what it's all about & from what I understand I would have to agree. Watching it before checking out the other gems in the genre does seem to be a good idea for me and may be for others who wish to do the same thing.

I'll return Friday night.