Ulmer's threadbare bondage-noir masterpiece
Detour (1945)
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Reviews Counted:17
Fresh:17
Rotten:0
Average Rating:8.2/10
Runtime: 69 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: Low budget director Edgar G. Ulmer cemented his reputation with this downbeat film noir masterpiece. It has since inspired countless filmmakers. The use of minimal sets and rear-screen projection... Low budget director Edgar G. Ulmer cemented his reputation with this downbeat film noir masterpiece. It has since inspired countless filmmakers. The use of minimal sets and rear-screen projection gives a feeling of a claustrophobic nightmare as Al (Tom Neal) a down-and-out piano player, hitchhikes from New York to Los Angeles in order to be with his singer girlfriend (Claudia Drake). Fate has other plans for Al when he steps into the car of a character named Haskel (Edmund MacDonald), who promptly dies in his sleep one night while Al is driving. Afraid the cops will never believe the truth, Al takes Haskell's money, car, and identity, and tries to make it to Los Angeles, only to have fate intervene again when he picks up a mean-spirited female hitchhiker (Ann Savage). This film is short, cramped and breathtaking, with no pause in its relentless rhythm of despair. Tom Neal's performance as the man snared in a web of fate is raw and real. Ann Savage is fierce. Ulmer's direction is hallucinatory and amazing. From a script by mystery writer Martin Goldsmith, this film demands repeat viewing by any serious student of cinema, or lover of movies. [More]
Starring: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Tim Ryan
Starring: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Tim Ryan, Edmund MacDonald, Esther Howard, Pat Gleason
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
Producer: Leon Fromkess
Composer: Leo Erdody
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Release:
Sep 26, 2000
Reviews for Detour
You can't take your eyes off the screen, and with the devilish Savage up there you wouldn't dare to.
Uniformly good performances and some equally good direction and dialog keep the meller moving.
One of the most daring and thoroughly perverse works of art ever to come out of Hollywood.
an effective emotional rollercoaster that explores the dark side of human nature, and its concise, pessimistic view of the American Dream is still admired today.
Like great garage rock, however, Ulmer's landmark film ultimately derives its raw, jittery vitality from its very crudeness.
Reveals the masochistic strain in film noir characters, who fume bitterly about their bad luck without ever taking responsibility for their actions.
For some, being outside the system is as natural as walking in the fog.
Detour, for those who have not seen it, may be the greatest achievement in B-movie making in history.
It lives on, haunting and creepy, an embodiment of the guilty soul of film noir. No one who has seen it has easily forgotten it.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
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| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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