Detour

“From ‘Poverty Row’ came a film that perhaps, more than any other, embodies the bleak fatalism at the heart of film noir. Whilst hitchhiking from New York to Los Angeles, a night-club pianist plagued by bad luck finds himself with a dead body in the passenger seat and no way of escaping – a nightmare that escalates further when he picks up the most cruel femme fatale in film history: the unforgettable Ann Savage as the hissing, high-energy and incredibly cunning Vera. With unknown actors and a shoestring budget, B-movie director Edgar G. Ulmer transformed meagre production values and a seedy, run-down atmosphere into unforgettable pulp poetry.” (The Criterion Channel)

“Edgar Ulmer’s groundbreaking low-budget crime thriller is one of those American noir films that really caught the attention of the French Nouvelle Vague. A true classic, this film has inspired dozens of filmmakers – including Richard Linklater, who named his production company after it.” (Austin Film Society)