DETOUR (1946)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Crime / Drama

Director: Edgar G. Ulmer

Cast: Tom Neal / Ann Savage / Claudia Drake

Plot

A down-and-out hitchhiker recounts how he went from a New York nightclub pianist to a wanted fugitive.

What I Liked

There are the high quality, impeccable noir films like “Double Indemnity” and “The Killers.”  These are the films that made the film noir era so influential and interesting.  However, most noir was cheap exploitation, containing all the grit but none of the art.  “Detour,” from this perspective, is the quintessential film noir.  A low-budget B-movie thrown together in six days, the movie has since become a cult classic for its stripped-down simplicity and cynical view of fate.  “Detour” is enjoyable as a crime drama in that it serves up all the hallmarks of the genre in a preposterously over-the-top heap: the endlessly cynical amateur philosophy, the bitchy femme fatale, the low-life con artists, and definitely the tragically bad luck.  It may not be groundbreaking or brilliant, but it is certainly as definitive as it is ludicrous.

What I Disliked

The hero of this story is Al Roberts, an unlikable protagonist if there ever was one.  From start to finish, Roberts does nothing but bemoan his status.  Even before a couple of horrible coincidences and his own stupidity destroy his life, he spends his time bitching and whining.  It is true that most of the noirs, high class and low class, had heels for heroes, but Palmer is without a positive quality.  It’s almost a pleasure to watch his life turn to shit.

As with most low-budget films, the weaknesses here are mostly technical.  Unconvincing backdrops to the driving sequences, inconsistent audio quality, and other flaws are easy to spot.  But it still has a enjoyably exaggerated misery to it that can’t help but be dementedly charming.

Most Memorable Scene

The wonderfully absurd climatic death at the end is, well, wonderfully absurd.  It’s the perfect conclusion to all of the tragedy and ugliness that pervade the film as a whole.

My Rating: 3 out of 5