Product: Detour [VHS] (1945)
Rating: 3.0
No exit for anyone caught in this Detour
Film noir describes Detour well. Everything about this film is dark, from the black and white print shot mostly at night, to the plot, no hope for any of the characters, to the acting, not a smile to be seen among any of the principal actors. Nor is there any reason for smiles in this pessimistic look at the role fate plays in our lives. No exit for anyone caught in this Detour.Why watch? Movie buffs want to know just what can be done on a shoestring budget when you have a story to tell and a competent cast. Tom Neal and Ann Savage are the couple from hell. Savage is as her name suggests and Neal appears to be too stupid to escape from her threat of going to the police to accuse him of a murder he did not commit while hitching a ride to California.The story is told in flashback while Neal sits in a roadside diner contemplating his fate. The cost of filming the diner scenes, and the rest of the movie, for that matter, could not have been cheaper. It is fascinating to see what can be done with no money, but a little imagination and a fairly good script.This film is recommended only for B movie buffs who delight in watching the second half of the bill, when going to the movies meant a feature and filler. Detour is the B side of the show and, as sometimes happens, the throw away is better than the feature.