Thu 3 Dec 2009
A Movie Review by Mike Dennis: DETOUR (1945).
Posted by Steve under Crime Films , Reviews[11] Comments
HEY, MISTER. GIVE A GIRL A LIFT?
DETOUR. PRC, 1945. Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Edmund MacDonald, Tim Ryan. Story & screenplay: Martin Goldsmith. Director: Edgar G. Ulmer.
I hadn’t seen the movie Detour for quite some time, so I pulled it out the other night and gave it a look. And I’m glad I did. It’s even better than I remembered it.
For those who are unfamiliar with this 1945 classic film noir (and I hope there aren’t too many), it’s all told in flashback by an unshaven, despondent Tom Neal, who laments everything that has happened to him in recent weeks.
All he wanted was to hitchhike from New York to Los Angeles to be with his cutesy-poo girlfriend who was trying to “make it in pictures,” but wound up slinging hash instead. That’s all he wanted.
But what he got was Ann Savage. I’ll just leave it at that.
Detour was directed by Edgar G Ulmer, and was made at PRC (Producers Releasing Corporation) Studio, the last stop on poverty row in 1940s Hollywood. Filmed in six days on a budget of $30,000, and using the cheapest sets and production values imaginable, Ulmer crafted a haunting tale of people at the bottom of society’s pyramid. To put this budget into perspective, Avatar, the new James Cameron bloatbuster, cost 10,000 times as much.
Drowning in desperation, the characters try to hold on to what they have, and never seem to have enough.
When these people are confronted with extraordinary circumstances and emotions, they, like all of us, will alter their mode of behavior. Some will even cross the line, the line that separates legal from criminal, moral from immoral, good from evil, Tom Neal from Ann Savage.
Film noir is generally associated with sinister characters moving through shadowy lighting. Much of Detour takes place under bright light: sunny rides in an open convertible, a well-lit apartment, and so on, but Ulmer’s direction and the interplay between the two leads give the film a very claustrophobic feel, like it was shot in a phone booth. The relentlessly grim story line follows Neal’s character as his life spirals ever downward to the unusual finale.
While Detour might be considered classic crime fiction, it’s important to note that no crime was ever committed during the movie.
There’s a scene where Neal takes money and clothes from a dead man, but you know that if he didn’t take the dough, the cops would when they found him. I don’t put that in the crime category.
This is definitely a movie that’s worth another look, noir fans. A great story, with both Neal and Savage delivering unforgettable performances in what has to be the finest hour for each of them.
And if you haven’t seen it, by all means buy it. You can get it online for six or seven dollars. You won’t be sorry.
And you�ll never pick up another hitchhiker again.
December 3rd, 2009 at 5:48 pm
As you say, this was a great film noir.
I knew Tom Neal to speak to when I was around eleven: I was living then in Palm Springs CA. He was the “landscape specialist” (read: gardener) at my parents’ houses (they’d build on spec and sell ’em) among others on his route. He still had a kind of seedy charisma.
Mom and Dad would talk about how Neal had fallen on hard times, and in spite of it all — and his hard drinking with his wife on his own time — that he was still a hell of a nice guy.
Probably not when he was drinking. A few years later he was convicted of killing his next wife…
A sad Hollywood story.
More details about Tom Neal:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neal
December 3rd, 2009 at 5:51 pm
I happened to watch the terrific documentary EDGAR G. ULMER: THE MAN OFFSCREEN last night. Very stylish, done in a fashion that Ulmer himself might appreciate. It sheds some light on the making of DETOUR — giving the lie to its “six day wonder” reputation, for starters — and includes a 2004 interview with DETOUR star Ann Savage.
December 3rd, 2009 at 6:04 pm
December 15 will see McFarland publish a biography of Ann Savage, titled SAVAGE DETOURS.
I’ve always been interested in the Tom Neal story. Here was an actor who starred in some films, true low budget but still the star, and he managed to hook up with another sad story, Barbara Payton, who really did star in some high budget films. Both came to a sorry end.
December 3rd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
The fascinating thing about Detour is that in many ways it has no real story and to be brutally honest neither of its leads can act, and yet it retains a brutal power that better directors and actors have never achieved on film. It is a perfect noir film, about nothing but the grim progression of fate and the destruction of an individual who is more sinned against than sinning.
Ann Savage’s tawdry charms and Tom Neal’s weary resignation add up to an atmosphere of noirish doom that is unequaled by any other film.
December 4th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Rick–
So you knew Tom Neal when you were a boy? I knew he’d drifted out of movies, but I didn’t know how far. Keep those memories close.
Vince–
According to the Ulmer documentary, how long did the movie take to shoot?
Walker–
Barbara Payton was a movie all by herself. A train wreck of a life that went from big-budget films to prostitution and early death.
David–
I would disagree that neither of the leads could act, but when you say that the atmosphere of noirish doom has no equal in films, you’re absolutely right. From the opening scene, you just know that Tom Neal is screwed, and there’s only one way he can go from there: downhill.
December 4th, 2009 at 12:51 am
Mike
I may have been a bit hard saying neither Neal nor Savage could act, but that said neither was likely to walk away with any acting awards either. Neal was personable enough, but there was no real charisma there. He had a slight screen presence that Ulmer makes the most of.
Still, he deserved better. One of those lives that seemed to reflect the kind of films he made. Check him out in The Hat Box Mystery where he plays a private eye for a cleaner cut version.
Ulmer, like his stars, is one of those directors who himself seems as lost and flawed as his films. I guess the remarkable thing is the flashes of genius that escape despite his poverty row career.
Noir fans and fans of German expressionism, silents, horror, and movies in general should check out Theodore Rozack’s Flickers, about a film lover and critic who finds himself uncovering a mystery hidden in films dating back the the Cathar’s.
December 4th, 2009 at 2:46 am
PRC documents show that the movie had a luxurious 14 day shooting schedule. But those records are notoriously unreliable, so the answer is almost certainly something in between.
That scene goes to the heart of the Ulmer documentary. He had a talent for making something out of very little, which he would then claim he made out of nothing. The movie presents it in such a way that you end up admiring him more. At least I did. It’s on DVD and well worth seeking out, as it includes an entire Ulmer film (1943’s ISLE OF FORGOTTEN SINS) as a bonus.
December 4th, 2009 at 6:47 am
Ulmer made what may well be his most successful and biggest film right after Detour, Ruthless (1948), a low budget Citizen Kane with Zachary Scott, Louis Hayward, Sydney Greenstreet, Diana Lynn, Raymond Burr, Lucille Bremer, and Martha Vickers. It’s a noirish take naturally, and features fine performances all around with Scott, Hayward, and Greenstreet all outstanding.
Ironically Ulmer did another little noir film in 1955, Murder is My Beat, with Barbara Payton, who has figured so much in this conversation. The film starred Paul Langton and Robert Shayne, and while no Detour, does feature one stunning sequence in a snowstorm.
I suppose it should be no surprise actors like Neal and Payton both worked with Ulmer, but it does add a bit of irony to everything.
Isle of Forgotten Sins is mostly of interest for seeing John Carradine as a good guy and Sidney Toler out of his Charlie Chan makeup. Veteran heavy Rick Vallin gets to play one of the heroes too. Not much here, but for free you can’t beat it. Veda Ann Borg and Gale Sondergard round out the cast. It’s also known as Monsoon, though the storm in the film is actually a typhoon. Ulmer’s direction at times almost overcomes the material — but not quite. Pretty heavy going South Seas and jungle fare.
December 4th, 2009 at 7:13 am
What impressed me about the film was the way Ulmer took the bad script and sub-par acting and turned it into poetry. Rather than have Neal try to act depressed, he simply had him sit expressionless at a piano while the music poured out his loneliness. And he made the characters sound like the kind of seedy pulp-readers who have become used to speaking in cliches. Ulmer made more dogs than his fans will admit, but this is one of his greats.
December 4th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
David–
Regarding Tom Neal’s acting chops, I’ll have to admit he was no Laurence Olivier. And after reading your second comment, I was driven to recall his laughable performance in “First Yank Into Tokyo”, in which he played an American operating in Tokyo, made up to “appear” Japanese!
I’m also going to check out “Ruthless” and “Murder Is My Beat”. I’ve long heard of these films, but have never seen them.
Vince–
I’m definitely going to look for the Ulmer documentary on DVD. Thanks for calling my attention to it.
December 4th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Almost managed to forget First Yank in Tokyo. Mercifully …
Mike
Murder is My Beat is minor, but has its moments, and Ruthless is actually damn good. I think you’ll be surprised how slick it is compared to most of Ulmer’s other films and how much he does with a bit better budget and cast than he usually had to work with.