Search - Detour on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Not For Children Movie Release: 1946 DVD Release: 09/26/2000 Format: DVD - Black and White Edition: Restored/Remastered,Special Collection SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 8 mins Studio: Image Entertainment Members Wishing: 5 Genres: Crime, Film Noir, Crime Drama See Also: Detour

Edgar G. Ulmer's Detour begins when hitchhiker Al Roberts (Tom Neal) accepts a ride from affable gambler Charles Haskell Jr. (Edmund MacDonald). When Haskell suffers a fatal heart attack, Roberts, afraid that he'll be accused of murder, disposes of the body, takes the man's clothes and wallet, and begins driving the car himself. He picks up beautiful but sullen Vera (Ann Savage), who suddenly breaks the silence by asking, "What did you do with the body?" It turns out that Vera had earlier accepted a ride from Haskell and has immediately spotted Roberts as a ringer. Holding the threat of summoning the police over his head, Vera forces Roberts to continue his pose so that he can collect a legacy from Haskell's millionaire father, who hasn't seen his son in years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tom Neal - Al Roberts
Ann Savage - Vera
Claudia Drake - Sue
Edmund MacDonald - Charles Haskell, Jr.
Tim Ryan - Diner Proprietor

Perhaps the most respected and widely studied (and reviewed) low-budget crime film ever made, Edgar Ulmer's Detour has had an unfortunately mixed history on video. The film's copyright evidently dissolved in the early '70s, and it was released by at least a half-dozen video companies in the early to mid-'80s, none of which did much good to the movie's reputation. The Image DVD, from the library of Wade Williams -- who actually owns the underlying story rights, is the closest to an authorized edition that has ever appeared.
The packaging on this disc promises a "pristine new film-to-video transfer from original source materials," and it isn't a disappointment, despite a number of flaws. There is some serious damage to the source, starting at 45 minutes into the movie and at various points up to the end of the first hour, and there are also frames missing from certain spots elsewhere in the print, and places where the audio is damaged -- most notably the scene where Tom Neal's Al Roberts learns the name of the man who picked him up hitchhiking on the highway. There are plenty of places where the print shows scratches, but this is still the best-looking (and best-sounding) home viewing version of the film that this reviewer has ever seen. In its defense, the focus is generally crisp, and one can make out more details in the background of each shot than on any video version yet seen; it's easier to appreciate the elements that were intended to work, such as the score -- a classically based marvel that makes use of Brahms and Schubert as well as big-band sounds -- and the performances, which are universally fine. Even the night shots, in which Tom Neal is shrouded in darkness, reveal a wealth of detail. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide