based on a novel by Martin Goldsmith
There is no particular reason why this 1945 B-movie acquired a cult following while scores of superior films were forgotten. An unconvincing story with a few loose ends left untied, perhaps because the film creators ran out of little money they had, it is nevertheless worth watching if only for Ann Savage as Vera.
As I have learned, Vera was placed as a number 6 on Richard Corliss’ list of Top 25 Greatest Movie Villains, one position below Phyllis Dietrichson of Double Indemnity. Why? According to Corliss,
Picked up on a trip out west by a man (Tom Neal) fleeing from a death scene, she instantly and spectacularly gets on his and the audience’s nerves.
Wow. That calls for redefinition of what “villain” is. To me, Vera is a female version of Ostap Bender who, just like the Great Combinator in The Twelve Chairs, effortlessly takes control of a texbook patsy, in this case, Al. If anybody was getting on my nerves, it was this latter, on account of his incurable stupidity and repetitive voice-over narration. Against all odds, I kept hoping that Vera’s machinations would eventually succeed.
Detour was the opening film of the cycle Los márgenes de Hollywood en la postguerra organised by Asociación de Cine Vértigo.
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