Detour

This was excellent. One of my very favourite film noirs--and at a fraction of the budget. It made me instantly want to see ALL of Ulmer's films--as well as a lot more of Ann Savage. A priceless find for the adventurous cinephile.

Sleazy Nightmare!

Playing out as some kind of fate accompanied nightmare, Detour demands repeat viewings since the running time is so short it leaves you hankering for more come the end. We follow the protagonist Al Roberts on the road, and watch (with accompanied narration) a sequence of events that see him in the middle of nowhere at a diner fearing for his future.

Devilishly dark in tone, the film relies on a fine underplayed performance from Tom Neal as Roberts, and a gloriously annoying harpy femme fatale turn from Ann Savage as Vera. The film was made for next to nothing in only one week, and the whole film screams out as a low budget movie shot with a sleazy tint and less than stellar tech credits. Yet money can't buy this type...

I think that in order to get anything from this film noir, you have to accept from the outset that the acting is pretty poor. An implausibly weak Tom Neal, a downright irritating Ann Savage & an especially wooden Claudia Drake make this something you might win a perseverance award for, for sticking with. Tom Neal is driving across the USA when he makes a decision he soon regrets - picking up a rude, gobby woman (Ann Savage) on the highway who proceeds to rob, bully & blackmail him. Accidentally, she comes a cropper and (aside from a general feeling of thank the Lord from the audience) his relief is palpable. The route to his predicament is relayed via his somewhat pathetic retrospective narrative and her relentless onslaughts and they both ...

While great fun, Detour feels lacklustre. The final act seems hastily cobbled together, as if the writers need more ideas, leaving the plot and the characters underdeveloped. Yet, its delightful; I guess atmosphere wins over plot sometimes.