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Detour
Detour
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Detour

Detour

1945
Drama, Crime
1h 6m
Chance events trap hitch-hiker Al Roberts in a tightening net of film noir trouble. (imdb)

Directed by:

Edgar G. Ulmer

Screenwriter:

Martin Goldsmith

Starring:

Ann Savage, Tom Neal, Claudia Drake, Edmund MacDonald, Tim Ryan, Esther Howard

Genres:

Drama, Crime, Mystery

Country:

USA

Language:

English
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Detour

1945
Drama, Crime
1h 6m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 61.69% from 829 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

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paxtonPaxton
Rated 11 Feb 2019
85
83rd
Wrong Place at the Wrong Time: The Movie. Kids these days will never understand the true terror of phone cords. Dial M for Mistake.
Rated 11 Feb 2019
billyshearsBillyShears
Rated 22 Mar 2019
80
77th
I heard slang that I wasn’t even aware was slang. Some of the most glorious overwrought dialogue packed into an hour you will ever have slink into your ears like a rabid fox hungry for a tomata.
Rated 22 Mar 2019
alex_watkinsAlex Watkins
Rated 07 Jan 2009
3
38th
Roger Ebert once called Midnight Cowboy a great movie trapped inside a good one; Detour is a bad movie trapped inside a great one. The shoestring budget ($20,000) manifests itself in most every aspect, and the movie is like one giant noir cliche, with super-arbitrary deaths and the ultimate down-on-his-luck loser. By any conventional standard, Detour is not a good movie, but more than just about anything I've seen, it's greater than the sum of its parts. I saw a bad print - it felt appropriate.
Rated 07 Jan 2009
billkerwinbillkerwin
Rated 25 Jan 2010
86
71st
The cheapest film that will haunt you forever.
Rated 25 Jan 2010
stainStain
Rated 02 Jun 2007
80
68th
The most pure film noir ever made. Cheap, sleazy, dark, and the star was imprisoned for murder in real life to boot
Rated 02 Jun 2007
punqPUNQ
Rated 29 Nov 2019
70
96th
So I've finally come to Edgar G. Ulmer unlikely classic. The film which proved even the cheapest B-pictures could be great if you only had the right artistic eye for it. And Ulmer showed he had that. Snappy moving with the acting and mood in focus. Tom Neal showed his demons, and then Claudia Drake turns-up, and it got as raw as noir gets. I can't help think, if they had the budget for it, that tragedies would come in threes, but as we only got two.... still wonderfully tragic!
Rated 29 Nov 2019
peaceanarchyPeaceAnarchy
Rated 17 Nov 2007
74
40th
A great concept, but the story, and especially the dialogue, often feel forced. It's still fun to watch but it doesn't have the richness of the better noirs. The final minute is also terrible, but I guess we can thank the Hayes Code for that.
Rated 17 Nov 2007
martintellerMartinTeller
Rated 24 Jan 2007
87
89th
Cheap, trashy, and glorious. In a way it's the definitive noir, with the cheery hero being dragged down into the dregs by the fickle finger of fate. Tom Neal isn't really that great as the hero. But good lord, Ann Savage is amazing as one of the most wicked femmes fatale to grace the screen. It's those flashes of vulnerability that really sell it. There are a few really good shots, but on a technical level the film is nothing special. It's the story and the atmosphere that suck you in.
Rated 24 Jan 2007
twincinematwincinema
Rated 27 Nov 2022
90
92nd
You'll watch this and wonder why any film has to be longer than 70 minutes. Oh what's that? This just in -- this film is 69 minutes. And, that is indeed "nice". Ann Savage is so so good.
Rated 27 Nov 2022
quintonjaminQuintonjamin
Rated 27 Aug 2020
70
66th
The voiceover was completely pointless as well as annoying. Other than that, the story of a man put in the most unlucky situations is great. For something this old, it worked surprisingly well for me.
Rated 27 Aug 2020
capodelnullacapodelnulla
Rated 17 Mar 2020
80
81st
basit hikayesi sade bir estetikle gayet çekici hale geliyor. film noir stilini neredeyse kusursuz uygulaması ötesinde kendi-halinde-sıradan-bir-bahtsız karakter üzerinden kurduğu anlatısı merak uyandırıcı olmayı başarıyor. günümüz izleyicisine olay örgüsü açısından beklenmedik bir şey sunmasa da büyülü bir işleyişi var.
Rated 17 Mar 2020
vandelay1Vandelay1
Rated 21 Apr 2019
44
43rd
worth a watch
Rated 21 Apr 2019
mentaculusMentaculus
Rated 08 Apr 2019
89
88th
Everybody talks like they're a pot of black coffee. One that's been sittin' on the burner their whole life, didn't know that the world had left the heat on too long, and turned their insides bitter and hot and ready to scald the first person that comes near ‘em, show them any affection. Thing is, some people ‘come accustomed to that bitter taste. To being burnt, first from the outside and then in.
Rated 08 Apr 2019
cosmicmonkeyCosmicMonkey
Rated 28 Jul 2018
85
86th
Why does this feel like a parody of film noir that was made decades later? Every single stereotype and cliche of film noir is here, with a cringy script and B-rate budget that is apparent everywhere. Yet, it's so deliciously pulpy and stylistic, that's impossible not to love it unironically. It's cult status is well-deserved, and it remains the quintessential example of B-movie noir film.
Rated 28 Jul 2018
jimmy_suedeJimmy Suede
Rated 03 May 2017
60
26th
Gads, that guy had a string of the worst luck ever, culminating with the phone bit, which was so ridiculous that I'll remember it forever. Detour was moody and intense, and pretty impressive for a B-picture. Its ratings are certainly getting a boost by people who wouldn't be putting up with its cheesiness and low quality if it had a decent budget, though. All in all this comes in above average for me.
Rated 03 May 2017
wetwillieswetwillies
Rated 12 Jun 2015
85
59th
It's undoubtedly flawed - shabby, even - but there's such an indelible energy to this film in its exploration of the concept of fate. It's so bizarrely vile, 68 wicked minutes of hardboiled cliches and beautifully cheap filmmaking. It looks like it was made in 6 days, but that's a large part of the film's ramshackle charm.
Rated 12 Jun 2015
nobletNoblet
Rated 05 Nov 2011
76
60th
This sort of feels like a little kid saw a noir film and was trying to describe it to you for an hour. But the atmosphere and sheer despair that engulfs everything makes it a pretty good watch.
Rated 05 Nov 2011
antaresAntares
Rated 16 Aug 2011
81
84th
I've lost count of all the films I've watched in my lifetime, but I can make this assessment without hesitancy...Ann Savage's character Vera, is the most evil bitch I've ever seen in a film. And she's great. I used to think that Out of the Past and Double Indemnity were the truest expression of Film Noir, but Detour has every Noir cliche in spades.
Rated 16 Aug 2011
actionbergActionberg
Rated 27 May 2011
65
38th
This is so pulpy that it feels like a parody. I might be able to swallow lines like "I was tussling with the most dangerous animal in the world: a woman!" if they weren't delivered so flatly. I didn't really notice a lot that would make it stand out amongst a sea of film noir; it told its simple, silly tale with its unlucky loser protagonist and its femme fatale and its plan to make a wad of dough fast, thankfully all in one swift, forgettable hour.
Rated 27 May 2011
tedted
Rated 11 Nov 2009
72
51st
Entertaining movie that holds up quite well. Excellent performance by Ann Savage. It's public domain so you can download it without worry.
Rated 11 Nov 2009
shmendrekShmendrek
Rated 14 Jan 2009
5
96th
This excellent budget noir is one of the more pessimistic films from this period. Al Roberts is an accidental murderer who, in a moment of panic, assumes the identity of his victim. The discrepancy between his personal identity (victim of horrible circumstance) and how others perceive him (murderer and con man) eventually destroys him. Even the final scene (Hayes Code tinkering) is ambiguous. I just assume it took place in Roberts' troubled mind. Fantastic, overlooked film.
Rated 14 Jan 2009
moribunnyMoribunny
Rated 18 Aug 2024
50
38th
An unusual road-trip film noir hybrid. It's extremely implausible and the acting is hammy, but it still manages to be pretty interesting at least until a certain point, and the relatively short running time rescues it at the early stages of its decline.
Rated 18 Aug 2024
hadleyreisHadleyreis
Rated 16 Jan 2024
84
85th
Any film with a jazz classic such as "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me" as the main tune deserves a thumbs up!
Rated 16 Jan 2024
bownBown
Rated 07 Nov 2022
83
67th
The low budget definitely shows, yet the strong script and excellent performance from Savage mean it does end up as a standout noir once it gets going.
Rated 07 Nov 2022
doyler29doyler29
Rated 22 May 2022
80
68th
This super cheap noir made for PRC by the great Edgar G. Ulmer is a master class on making a lot out of virtually nothing. The story is stripped down to its bare essentials. Neal is a doomed sucker who makes nothing but bad decisions and Savage is a feral hellion. Both actors are perfect, hitting the essence of their characters and embodying them with big, broad strokes. Ulmer largely turns his lack of assets into an advantage.
Rated 22 May 2022
aflickeringAFlickering
Rated 01 Oct 2021
5
73rd
"Listen mister, I been around, and I know a wrong guy when I see one. What'd you do, kiss him with a wrench?" no matter how innocuously these deaths may play through the lens of his recounting, the narrator's opening performance tells you all you need to know about the impotent rage surging through his hands. that funereal ditty follows him around because he's the one playing it, and the same goes for ulmer's smog of unreality; the cheap sets are the furniture of a squalid mind.
Rated 01 Oct 2021
jpfergusonJPFerguson
Rated 23 Aug 2020
70
75th
With a run time of only 70 minutes, this film sure packs a punch. It is superbly written and the narration is spot on, which is saying something as the persistent narration that in many ways defines the noir genre (if one can talk of such a genre at all) often grates on the viewer. Both Neal and Savage are very convincing in their paranoia, although Savage does on occasion veer into caricature in her portrayal of Vera.
Rated 23 Aug 2020
psimpsim
Rated 23 Mar 2020
74
43rd
AKA "A series of unfortunate events".
Rated 23 Mar 2020
driscarpindriscarpin
Rated 10 May 2019
87
82nd
O grande clássico que eterniza o ditado "menos é mais" do qual Ulmer foi forçosamente obrigado a adotar quando relegado a filmes B depois de ter bebido expressionismo na mamadeira, mas que de nada diminui o seu saber-fazer. Box Versátil Filme Noir Volume 13
Rated 10 May 2019
icarusIcarus
Rated 07 Apr 2019
70
40th
Strange film--hits all the noir notes, and Ann Savage really steals the show. But couldn't figure out why he picked her up in the first place, given the events of the previous day, which is a big problem, I think. The final sequence also felt tacked on to protect society's moral virtue.
Rated 07 Apr 2019
yiannosYiannos
Rated 31 Mar 2019
58
42nd
Highly overrated but enjoyable no budget noir does a pretty impressive job of making the most of its meagre resources, perhaps a factor leading to its overappraisal. The acting isn't particularly good--Savage's intensity is borderline comical--and the dialogue is frequently overwrought, even unintentionally humourous, but it's rightly praised for its doom laden atmosphere which keeps it watchable despite its inherent clunkiness.
Rated 31 Mar 2019
nathanbatesNathanBates
Rated 24 Mar 2019
80
79th
This is all-that's-good and all-that's-bad about film noir all in the same movie. It's a pretty talky movie setting up the minimal plot. The everyman character is played by a guy with no emotion (countered by the femme fatale who makes up for it). It's incredibly evident that no money was used in the making of the film. And yet, there's that Twilight Zone feeling that, sometimes, luck just isn't on your side. Solidly in the category of "so bad, it's good."
Rated 24 Mar 2019
koruthaioloskoruthaiolos
Rated 23 Mar 2019
72
56th
Mean, mean, mean. How nasty can you be without ever intending it.
Rated 23 Mar 2019
napolenbradynapolenbrady
Rated 14 Mar 2019
87
49th
87.00
Rated 14 Mar 2019
staryarabbistaryarabbi
Rated 27 Feb 2019
70
56th
This film itself is a detour from the clichés and conventions of 40s noir. The beautiful desired woman is probably living a life of fame and luxury at Hollywood, which we never see in the movie, whereas us the mortals wander around, hitchhike as we look for love, money, and something to hold on to. I liked the authenticity of the female protagonist, who was independent, honest, and not shameful for desiring a man. An interesting "detour" from the noirs we are used to.
Rated 27 Feb 2019
astrakhanastrakhan
Rated 20 Mar 2018
79
66th
Has the makings of a classic. I couldn't figure out where the film was headed at first, it spends some time just being a film about a lovestruck guy hitchhiking from A to B. But once we have Neal and Savage arguing in the same car, it's dynamite, a noir masterpiece waiting to explode. Sadly the script somehow wraps everything up in a rushed fashion, barely reaching 70 minutes. This film needs a third act, an extra 20-30 minutes! Impressive for its time, but oh, what could have been...
Rated 20 Mar 2018
ofterdingenOfterdingen
Rated 14 Jul 2017
69
73rd
Fatalistic and fine film noir. Ripe for (another) remake. Keep it cheap.
Rated 14 Jul 2017
timon88Timon88
Rated 22 Aug 2016
77
77th
Obviously low-budget, classic noir with some unexpected pleasures: Claudia Drake, who did her own singing, had a beautiful voice. And the piano music is excellent--great playing, with real old-school style, done by the music director Leo Erdody. The largely-forgotten Tom Neal is quite decent, and had real appeal. But how he could be so pussy-whipped as to not kick that bossy, irritating twat out of the car when she first started to mouth off is something I will never understand.
Rated 22 Aug 2016
thedicemanTheDiceman
Rated 26 Feb 2016
60
62nd
Amusing.
Rated 26 Feb 2016
francogonzoFrancoGonzo
Rated 25 Feb 2016
13
70th
Star Rating: ★★★1/2
Rated 25 Feb 2016
benoliver999benoliver999
Rated 29 Oct 2015
80
75th
Ordinarily this B-movie level noir would be forgotten over time. The success of the film feels almost accidental. However, the unique plot and on-screen talent that surprised audiences in 1945 still works, and makes Detour an unforgettable classic.
Rated 29 Oct 2015
sveneriksvenerik
Rated 30 Jun 2015
50
14th
lisa_iilisa-
Rated 15 Jan 2015
3
30th
one giant noir trope, topped off with the sort of unreliable narrator-protagonist that prattles on about how his "goose was cooked" and that "life's like a ball game". who gives a shit really? the phrase "down-on-his-luck" ought to be banned immediately. ann savage was pretty good i suppose.
Rated 15 Jan 2015
zipsterZipster
Rated 26 Dec 2014
85
68th
A minimally preserved, 68-minute strip of scratched, seamy celluloid, this movie from Hollywood's destitute rank, shot in six days, to the top with technical errors and blundering sequencing, starring a man who can merely show displeasure and a woman who can merely scorn, should've washed from view soon after it was released. And yet it lives on, evocative, sinister, an incarnation of the shamefaced core of film noir.
Rated 26 Dec 2014
syntaxerrorsyntaxerror
Rated 27 Oct 2014
8
38th
zzzzzzzzzzz
Rated 27 Oct 2014
chadisdangerchadisdanger
Rated 08 May 2014
80
62nd
An amateurish but memorable B-noir. It's almost the Platonic ideal of a noir, with the savage dialogue, dangerous females, and theme of the arbitrary yet inescapable nature of fate. Ann Savage is awesome as the vicious femme fatale.
Rated 08 May 2014
3drevelation3dRevelation
Rated 29 Apr 2014
65
33rd
Savage does a good job of playing an insufferable woman, but the rest of this is rather unremarkable. The story kind of failed to engage me, and the film could have probably been executed better.
Rated 29 Apr 2014
ella_mayElla May
Rated 03 Jan 2014
75
69th
This is actually a good movie for what it is.
Rated 03 Jan 2014
amadeusAmadeus
Rated 17 Jun 2013
78
90th
great dark comedy with a series of unfortunate events.
Rated 17 Jun 2013
x_humanx-human
Rated 12 Dec 2012
71
33rd
This is so hard boiled the pot has melted. It's the kinda script Frank Miller would write on a bad day and Ann Savage's Vera is the kinda character Miller could write on a good day. There's some good twists and turns that in hindsight are every cliche in the book but it makes for a fun ride.
Rated 12 Dec 2012
rickickerrickicker
Rated 21 Nov 2012
87
72nd
It's so MEAN!
Rated 21 Nov 2012
gleebgleeb
Rated 04 Jun 2012
69
32nd
If they'd taken a little more time and trouble over this, it could have been great.
Rated 04 Jun 2012
trixrabbiTrixRabbi
Rated 28 May 2012
84
86th
A fantastic little film.
Rated 28 May 2012
roofsrunnerroofs_runner
Rated 17 May 2012
75
46th
Detour is weak and sometimes silly. However for its impossibly low budget, the movie looks very solid.
Rated 17 May 2012
iyisinekiyisinek
Rated 13 May 2012
85
92nd
hollywood, sarkici, piyanist, yolculuk, otostop, kaza, talihsiz adam, kazayla adam öldürmek, bahisci, tesadüf, baskasinin kimligiyle gezmek, haskell, karakterin hikayeyi anlatmasi
Rated 13 May 2012
nathan_sNathan S
Rated 09 Mar 2012
3
45th
A tacky low budget noir, thinly plotted and poorly acted. But there are lyrical touches scattered about that elevate it above being just a cheap thriller.
Rated 09 Mar 2012
metalhorsemetalhorse
Rated 06 Jan 2012
66
28th
Not as good as I was expecting. For me, it lacks that special something that much better noirs such as Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, The Maltese Falcon, and Sunset Blvd. possess. It is quite enjoyable though, and Ann Savage is undoubtedly the highlight of the picture, chewing up the scenery and co-star Tom Neal with brassy gusto.
Rated 06 Jan 2012
myfavchordsmyfavchords
Rated 26 Dec 2011
77
64th
This is another nice little film noir. The main character makes one really big mistake and things then fall apart from there. The only thing that was unnecessary was the last little short scene.
Rated 26 Dec 2011
theyshoot11theyshoot11
Rated 30 Nov 2011
74
48th
#518
Rated 30 Nov 2011
syntheseizurSyntheseizur
Rated 09 Nov 2011
83
75th
There's a great story here that gets clouded by some wonky writing and direction, but it still shines through for the most part. It's a good film, but it could have been a stone-cold classic with a better production.
Rated 09 Nov 2011
madmanMadMan
Rated 07 Nov 2011
91
73rd
The Criterion restoration is fantastic. A clear influence on David Lynch.
Rated 07 Nov 2011
afx237viafx237vi
Rated 12 Oct 2011
85
90th
Dark, grimy, and very cheap, it's noir boiled down until only the basic elements remain; the fatalistic tone, the flashbacks, the internal dialogue, the ineffectual protagonist, plus Ann Savage living up to her surname as a truly vicious femme fatale. Seriously, she's like a pitbull - once she gets her teeth in, poor old sad-sack Tom Neal has no chance. It's all very over the top, and the plot is kind of ridiculous, but it's a lot of fun.
Rated 12 Oct 2011
sellissellis
Rated 16 Sep 2011
39
10th
Borderline unwatchable. Don't care about the budget. Absolutely aggravating performances and storyline.
Rated 16 Sep 2011
sebbysebby
Rated 04 Aug 2011
50
28th
Not particularly engaging. Way too much VO exposition.
Rated 04 Aug 2011
vinegarbobVinegarBob
Rated 03 Jul 2011
75
68th
Anyone who appreciates noir should get a kick out of this. It's a lot of fun.
Rated 03 Jul 2011
moraesfelipemoraesfelipe
Rated 06 Jan 2011
80
85th
One of bitterest of its time, Detour is a low-budget noir that maybe didn't age as haunting as it must have been back in the 40s, but it's still fresh on its powerful and resigned thoughts about guilt. Edgar G. Ulmer's film ends beautifully -- you just can't say it really happened or if it is something that came out of Al Roberts' imagination.
Rated 06 Jan 2011
prowlerprowler
Rated 18 Nov 2010
59
57th
way more fun to watch if you don't buy anything the guy is saying
Rated 18 Nov 2010
joojooJooJoo
Rated 02 May 2010
5
81st
The more I think about it, the more this grows on me.
Rated 02 May 2010
helfen419helfen419
Rated 12 Apr 2010
96
97th
That's the stuff
Rated 12 Apr 2010
theyshoot10theyshoot10
Rated 14 Jan 2010
77
54th
470
Rated 14 Jan 2010
lphovercraftLPhovercraft
Rated 13 Dec 2009
43
30th
It has long been considered one of the best (if not *the* best) low-budget films ever made.
Rated 13 Dec 2009
cinemahellcinema_hell
Rated 19 Aug 2009
75
46th
Howard Hawks goes Ed Wood.
Rated 19 Aug 2009
theyshoot08theyshoot08
Rated 19 Dec 2008
81
62nd
390
Rated 19 Dec 2008
roujinroujin
Rated 23 Sep 2008
40
19th
God, fuck Ann Savage.
Rated 23 Sep 2008
theyshoot07theyshoot07
Rated 01 Mar 2008
79
66th
# 428
Rated 01 Mar 2008
kasperlKasperL
Rated 17 Jan 2008
70
65th
A must-see for anyone into film noir. And a fine example of low-budget filmmaking.
Rated 17 Jan 2008

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