By Forris Day JR
In classic noir style the 1945 film “Detour” chronicles the cross country travels of a down and out nightclub piano player, Al Roberts (Tom Neal), from New York City as he tries to reach his girlfriend in Hollywood California. Roberts has a good life tickling the ivories in a dive bar in NYC with his young lover until she decides to move to Hollywood to make a go at it. He quickly realizes he misses her so he begins his cross country odyssey. With no cash in his pocket he decides to hitch-hike.
Sure he saved lots of dough by hitch-hiking, but one never know who he is going to meet along the way. Roberts gets picked up by a bookie, Charles Haskell, Jr. (Edmund MacDonald) and all is well until Haskell unexpectedly dies on route. Roberts panics as he dumps the body on the side of the road and assumes Haskell’s identity. In a series of bad choices Roberts picks up a young hitchhiker Vera (Ann Savage). Vera seems nice at first but then turns really nasty when she realizes Roberts isn’t who he says he is. She turns to blackmail and Roberts sinks deeper and deeper into trouble.
One of my favorite lines is when a truck driver goes up to the a diner counter and says to the waitress, who is an older woman, “Gorgeous…can I get change for a dime?”. No one asks for change for a dime anymore. It just struck me how much times have changed in the 70 years since this film originally came out.
The film is exciting to watch as Roberts every decision seems to get him into more and more trouble. He is indeed a nice guy, but by the end of the movie he is in so much trouble there seems to be no way out. Can he escape from his troubles or is his life over? Will he ever reach his girlfriend? Will the evil woman Vera ever leave him alone? Find out by watching this classic film noir entitled “Detour”. Any fan of noir crime dramas is sure to enjoy this latest release from Film Chest Media. It is presented in 4X3 aspect ratio as most of Film Chest releases are. I do wish they were wide screen but the film is enjoyable nonetheless.
Rating: 8.5/10 – “One wrong turn can be fatal”
