Despite acknowledging its many flaws, Roger Ebert gave Detour a four-star review, describing it as a movie that wouldn’t receive a “pᴀssing grade in film school.” That’s a very complimentary description, considering that the 1946 film noir was a low-budget, independent project sH๏τ in six days. Detour was anything but a major release, nor did it feature any A-list actors or a well-known director. Yet, critics – including Roger Ebert and Leonard Maltin – have heaped praise on it, with many considering Detour one of the greatest film noir movies of all time.
Directed by Edgar G. Ulmar, Detour starred Tom Neal as Al Roberts, a jobless drifter who makes an innocent mistake that seemingly costs a man his life. The story kicks off with Al hitching a ride with a stranger on his way to California. Over the course of the long drive, Al offers to drive so the stranger can sleep, and tries to wake him later on. Unable to wake him, Al tries opening the car door, which causes the man to fall out of the vehicle and hit his head. Believing he’s unwittingly become a killer, Al has to decide whether he should tell the authorities or go on the run and accept that no one will believe his story – ultimately, he chooses the latter option.
Detour Is An Amazing Film Noir Movie, Despite Its Problems
Detour Accomplished A Lot With Very Little
Not only is Al’s dilemma an unusual premise for a movie, but it’s one that’s instantly relatable and thought-provoking, simply because the stranger’s supposed death occurs as a fluke accident that feels like it could happen in a real-life, everyday situation. The movie asks the viewer to consider what actions they would take if they were put in such a desperate, terrible position. That’s a big part of what makes Al’s next moves so thrilling to watch as he goes on the run and tries to avoid being arrested for murder.
No studio owns the rights to Detour, meaning the film is now in the public domain, and can therefore be easily watched online.
Unfortunately, the execution and the later twists and turns in the story aren’t as great as the underlying concept. As Roger Ebert noted in his review, Detour suffers from a “ham-handed” narrative, which is evident in how things almost comically go from bad to worse for Al, especially at the end of the movie. This only accounts for parts of its problems, though, as Detour’s extremely small budget makes itself apparent throughout the film, with Ebert pointing out its use of stock footage and other technical goofs. But to Ebert, its good qualities clearly outweighed the bad, as Detour earned four stars regardless and a place in his Great Movies collection [via Roger Ebert].
Detour Perfectly Exemplifies What Film Noir Is All About
In addition to the great ideas behind Detour, its enduring reputation – in spite of its issues – can be attributed to its style. Flawed or not, Detour exemplifies what a film noir is supposed to be, with many of its lines and its two lead characters being almost emblematic of the genre. Film noir is characterized by an expression of dark themes and avoidance of Hollywood stereotypes. Film noir takes a bleaker look at life than most movies of its time, and Detour represents this perfectly with this quote from Al: “fate or some mysterious force can put the finger on you or me for no good reason at all.“
That’s how film noir works, as the genre is all about examining the dark realities of humanity and not just aiming for “the Hollywood ending.”
Roger Ebert’s review of Detour acknowledges how well it fits into the genre. It’s true, as Al makes terrible decisions throughout the film, many of which being based on irrational feelings caused by fear. However, these mistakes don’t make Al campy or unsympathetic; rather, they make him feel like a real person, one who chooses wrongly when placed in a bad situation. That’s how film noir works, as the genre is all about examining the dark realities of humanity and not just aiming for “the Hollywood ending.”
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