Detour (1945)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Edgar G. Ulmer

Writers:

Martin Goldsmith (screenplay)
Martin Goldsmith (original story)
(more)

Release Date:

30 November 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

He went searching for love... but Fate forced a DETOUR to Revelry... Violence... Mystery!

Plot:

Chance events trap hitch-hiker Al Roberts in a tightening net of film noir trouble.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Pianist | Hitchhiking | Murder | Pick Up

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Tom Neal	...	Al Roberts
Ann Savage	...	Vera
Claudia Drake	...	Sue Harvey
Edmund MacDonald	...	Charles Haskell Jr
Tim Ryan	...	Nevada Diner Proprietor
Esther Howard	...	Holly, Diner Waitress
Pat Gleason	...	Joe, Trucker at Diner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Don Brodie	...	Used Car Salesman (uncredited)
Roger Clark	...	Cop (uncredited)
Eddie Hall	...	Tony, Used-Car Lot mechanic inspecting Car (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	California Border Patrolman (uncredited)

Directed by
Edgar G. Ulmer

Writing credits
Martin Goldsmith		(screenplay)
Martin Goldsmith		(original story)
Martin Mooney		uncredited

Produced by
Leon Fromkess	....	producer
Martin Mooney	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Leo Erdody		(as Erdody)

Cinematography by
Benjamin H. Kline		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
George McGuire

Art Direction by
Edward C. Jewell

Set Decoration by
Glenn P. Thompson

Costume Design by
Mona Barry

Makeup Department
Bud Westmore	....	director of makeup

Production Management
Raoul Pagel	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William A. Calihan Jr.	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Max M. Hutchinson	....	sound engineer (as Max Hutchinson)

Music Department
Joseph McCarthy	....	composer: song "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" (uncredited)

Other crew
Ben Coleman	....	dialogue director
Eddie Hall	....	stand-in: Tom Neal (uncredited)
Shirley Ulmer	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Producers Releasing Corporation (as PRC Pictures, Inc.)

Distributors

• Producers Releasing Corporation (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• Madison Pictures (1950) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Timeless Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Questar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• St. Clair Vision (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Passport International Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• St. Clair Entertainment Group (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Admit One Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Critics' Choice Video (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Englewood Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Manta Film Distribution and Video Production (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Payless Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• RBC Entertainment (????) (Australia) (DVD)
• Scorched Earth Productions (????) (USA) (VHS)
• St. Clair Entertainment Group (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Dimensions (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Western Electric  sound system

Runtime:

67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:M (DVD rating) | UK:A (1946) | UK:U (1992) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #11048) | Australia:G

Company:

Producers Releasing Corporation

Trivia:

Shot in six days in mostly two locations: the hotel room and the car in front of a rear projection screen.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When Al is asked by Joe, the truck driver, in the Reno diner about his plans, Al says he is headed east. Joe tells him is driving north to Salt Lake City. Salt Lake is east of Reno.

Quotes:

Charles Haskell Jr.: I was tussling with the most dangerous animal in the world, a woman.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Soundtrack:

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH ME

The hitchhiker

It's a tribute to Edgar Ulmer that "Detour", made for about thirty thousand dollars, still keeps an interest with new fans who discover it. According to some comments, "Detour" has not been seen in this country in quite a while, but we recall the first time we saw it when it was presented at New York's Film Forum as part of a Film Noir festival in the late eighties. The copy shown recently on TCM has a poor quality, while the print we saw at Film Forum was in better condition.

What makes "Detour" a must see, is the clever way its narrative unfolds on the screen. Al and Sue are seen first in the small bistro he plays the piano and she sings, in Manhattan. Sue sings a happy rendition of "I Can't Believe You're in Love with Me", and Al shows he can improvise on a theme by Chopin as he jazzes it up. When Sue decides to pack it and move to L.A., Tom promises he'll follow. The tragic mistake he makes is to intent crossing the country hitchhiking. Even in the forties, it's a miracle he made it alive!

In Arizona Al meets the kind Charles Haskell, who happens to be going all the way to L.A. and offers him a ride. The two men develop an easy friendship until the point when Haskell dies of an apparent heart attack. Al disposes of the body and keeps going, assuming now, Haskell's persona. At the nearest gas station he sees a pretty woman, Vera, who appears is hitchhiking, and offers her a ride. This will prove to be his biggest mistake.

Vera turned out to be Al's worst nightmare. She knows Al is not Haskell since she, herself, knows the man. Al ends up a virtual prisoner hiding in the apartment they have rented in Hollywood. He can't escape. When Vera realizes there's a lot of money to be made by having Al pretend to impersonate the dead Haskell, he refuses. She threatens to call the police and he is left on the other room pulling the telephone cord...

The film works because all the elements are in place in this satisfying 67 minutes work and because of the great performances Mr. Ulmer got out of Tom Neal and Ann Savage. Edmund MacDonald and Claudia Drake played Haskell and Sue.

"Detour" was shot in two sets and it shows. It's a small film that doesn't pretend what it's not, and that's basically why audiences seem to like it as it's discovered.