Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Edgar G. Ulmer's "Poverty Row" B-Movie Classic Film Noir, 23 Nov 2002
By A Customer
"Detour" was the first classic B-movies from "Poverty Row" to be selected for the U.S. National Film Registry in 1992. Director Edgar G. Ulmer had no money and made up for the film's economic shortcomings with some rather impressive innovative visual techniques. The story is of Al Roberts (Tom Neal), a young piantist who is hitchhiking across the country and becomes involved in two murders he did not commit because he is, well, pretty stupid. However, Al just thinks that he is unlucky, saying at one point: "That's life. Whichever way you turn, Fate sticks out a foot to trip you." Yeah, right. Ann Savage steals the film as Vera, the femme fatale who hops a ride with Al and turns out to be one of the most unpleasant creatures even see in a film. "Detour" combines a lurid plotline and visual creativity to create a unqiue film noir classic. If you enjoy the genre and have not yet stumbled across this one, then you should make an effort to track it down.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A low-budget film noir classic, 10 Sep 2003
1945's Detour is not only one of your truly vintage film noir classics of all-time, it is also ranked by many among the best low-budget films ever made, largely due to the memorable performances of Tom Neal and Ann Savage. The directorial slant which frames the story is dead on, and one has to think that a larger budget would probably have done more harm than good to this gritty, realistic, film noir tour de force. Tom Neal plays Al Roberts, one of those unfortunate men who was born both stupid and incredibly unlucky. Shortly after his girl Sue up and goes to California looking for stardom, Roberts decides to go west and join her, hitchhiking his way across the country. This one fellow picks him up in Arizona and says he will take him all the way to L.A.; then the guy has the audacity to keel over dead. Afraid he will be accused of murdering the guy, Roberts decides to hide the body, take the guy's money, and assume his identity until such time as he can ditch the car in a big city. Then he himself picks up a hitchhiker, a woman who ends up being the last person on earth he would ever have wanted to encounter. Vera (Savage) know that Roberts is not the man he claims to be, and Roberts quickly finds himself quite at the mercy of this shrew of a woman. Her greed knows no bounds, and Roberts' life becomes more and more complicated and unhappy by the hour. Ann Savage's character Vera is perhaps the most blunt, cold, evil, wholly unlikable woman I have ever heard tell of. It is quite easy to see why the man we meet in the opening scene is as hateful and short-tempered as he is. As we flash back to the whole story of Roberts' hard times, accompanied by plenty of voiceover narration, one cannot help but feel sorry for the guy. His initial decision to cover up the death of the guy who picked him up is a bad, undeniably stupid, mistake, but he certainly does not deserve the level of vitriol and pure evil that afflicts him in the form of Vera. The ending is a tiny bit flat, but the story itself is fascinating and the performances of Neal and Savage are not to be missed. Detour is vintage film noir and should not be missed by any and all fans of the genre.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't believe a word Al (Tom Neal) tells you., 20 Sep 2001
By A Customer
DETOUR, released in 1945, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and starring Tom Neal and the fabulously named Ann Savage has to be viewed with care. Tom Neal (Al) is in love with a cabaret singer and she, according to Al, is in love with him. The romance between Al and Sue, though talked about, is never seen. There feelings and plans are interpreted by the Neal character. But why does what he tells us have yo be the truth. On a first viewing the film appears to be about a man trapped by circumstance and bad timing. Or is it. Al, narrating in the first person, proceeds from one calamity to another. He is broke, hitches a ride, witnesses a man falling out of a car. He decides (rationally or not) to hide the body, take on the character of the dead man and carry on to California. On the road he meets another hitchhiker Vera (Ann Savage) who just happens to be the dead mans 'friend'! Throughout the films short length Al goes from one disaster to another culminating in the 'accidental' strangulation of Vera. So far so good. On one level the film can be viewed as a straightforward everyman going from coincidence to coincidence but, to this reviewer, the words 'unreliable narrative' spring to mind. I give this film 5 stars for one reason...Ulmer has taken a poverty row project and turned it around. Nothing that Al says is to be believed. His description of the deaths of Vera and Haskell are highly suspect. Why do we have to believe him? Under the guise of bog standard thriller Ulmer has devised a multi-layered, intellectual experience. At the films end, Al relaates his story to the police. But does he? Which parts of this film are true or just lies to make the 'hero' look good. Ulmer has created a world of light and shade and created a film that is almost impossible not to look at as well as a connundrum that does not end with the final credits. Viewed today the film appears old and tired but turn your mind around and don't believe a word Al says. He can't be trusted. Open your mind to the lies. DETOUR.
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