‘Detour‘ (1945) is a very special and unusual film in the cinematic landscape of the ’40s. Although it was made in Hollywood, it is not a production of the major studios. The way it was made is closer to what we today call independent cinema and ‘low cost’ production. The budget was so low that one of the two cars that appear in this film (and plays an important role in the story) was actually director Edgar G. Ulmer‘s car. A legend circulates (based on an interview given by the director decades later) that the filming took six days. In reality, it took several weeks, which is still quite an achievement. ‘Detour‘ is a combination of a road movie and a film noir and contains reference elements for both genres. It was selected in many rankings of the best films and included in the American National Film Registry. Fully deserved recognitions.
What is it about? Al Roberts used to be a pianist in a bar in New York. When his girlfriend leaves to try her luck as an actress in Hollywood, the man cannot resist the breakup and goes after her. Since he has no money, the only alternative is to undertake the journey by hitchhiking. On the way he meets a rich and unfortunate man and then a beautiful but dangerous woman. His path, as well as his destiny, will take a fateful detour.
‘Detour‘ is less than 70 minutes long. The plot (actually an adaptation of a novel by Martin Goldsmith who is also credited with the screenplay) is filled with coincidences and melodrama. How then can the film’s success be explained, both at its time and in posterity? First of all, it has an air of authenticity. Although it is obviously made in studios and with inexpensive cinematographic means, we feel the scorching air of the desert, we are soaked by the torrential rain of an eventful night, we grope through the fog of Manhattan on another night or we are blinded by the California sun. Acting also contributes, those in small roles in the first place – a waitress at a restaurant, customers at the bars at the roadside rest stops, a policeman on the motorway – all seem extracted from reality and brought to the screen. Tom Neal plays the lead role – a little theatrically for modern tastes, perhaps -, but with an intensity that crosses the screen. He and Ann Savage in the role of the fatal hitchhiker Vera make up one of the first couple of accomplices in crime and travelers on the roads of America in the history of cinema. A special couple, because the two hate each other and the connection between them has nothing romantic, on the contrary. The ending was altered to satisfy the censorship of the Code, but it so happened that the alteration also resulted in an unusual tone for finals of films of the time. The film is in the public domain and I recommend watching it.