Detour (1945)

Detour was produced by Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), one of Hollywood's so-called "Poverty Row" studios, on a budget of around $30,000 and shot in under a week, making it one of the most extreme examples of shoestring filmmaking in the classical Hollywood era. Edgar G. Ulmer, a former set designer who had worked under F.W. Murnau in Europe, spent most of his American career marooned at studios like PRC after a personal scandal effectively blacklisted him from the major lots. He developed a reputation for wringing surprisingly accomplished work from almost nothing, and Detour, released in November 1945 just as the returning-veteran anxiety of the post-war period was beginning to colour American popular culture, is generally considered the peak of that achievement.

Detour (1945) is a lean, mean machine of classic film noir, clocking in at just 68 minutes, yet packing more dread, fatalism, and psychological unease than most modern thrillers twice its length. Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer on a shoestring budget, it follows Al Roberts (Tom Neal), a down-on-his-luck pianist hitchhiking across America to reunite with his singer girlfriend, only to find himself ensnared in a chain of increasingly inescapable misfortunes. From the opening voiceover (drenched in weary cynicism) to the shadow-drenched cinematography, Detour embodies the noir spirit: life isn’t fair, chance is cruel, and one bad decision can unravel everything. What’s remarkable is how much tension Ulmer wrings from so little: cramped car interiors, roadside diners, foggy highways, all rendered with stark, expressionistic lighting that turns every frame into a visual metaphor for entrapment. Ann Savage steals the film as Vera, a hitchhiker who’s equal parts victim and predator, delivering one of the most memorably venomous performances in noir history. My only reservation? The ending. Without spoiling anything, it lands with a jarring abruptness that feels less like poetic justice and more like narrative surrender. It doesn’t ruin the film, but it does leave you wanting just a bit more resolution, or at least clarity. A masterclass in minimalist storytelling and existential dread. Not perfect, but undeniably potent. A short, sharp shock of fate, paranoia, and bad luck. Noir doesn’t get much purer (or more punishing) than this.

Rating: ★★★½  | Year: 1945  | Watched: 2026-02-27

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Related on Movies With Macca

More from Edgar G. Ulmer: People on Sunday (1930) · The Black Cat (1934) · Bluebeard (1944)
More from the 1940s: Louisiana Story (1948) · The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) · Men Without Wings (1946) · The Bank Dick (1940)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)
More thriller: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Angst (1983) · The Long Walk (2025) · Punishment Park (1971)