Detour (1945)

I'm not an expert on film noir. But I know one thing. Detour, (dir.: E.G. Ulmer), a low-budget movie from the mid-forties, might be the ULTIMATE film noir. It's short. It's fierce. It's bitter. It's about Fate. And it looks goood. And: Detour features one of the toughest (male or female) characters in film history; Ann Savage owns the film / the genre / the universe. Al is ditched by his lady who wants to make it in Hollywood. Bad for him. He hitchhikes along deserted highways in the hope of meeting her in the West. He gets a ride by a certain Mr. Haskell. During the night time, Al drives the car. When he stops the car, it turns out Haskell - is dead. Al buries his body and continues the journey in the dead man's car. He picks up a girl, Vera. The girl happened to know Mr Haskell. Vera knows what she wants, and she won't let Al stand in her way. Detour might not work as a philosophical tract, or anything, but it has a hellish, sharp dialogue and a story-line that is simple but clear-cut. Not only that; traditional gender roles are subversed. Here, we have a case study of power and powerlessness that does not follow the normal route. It's a wonderfully one-dimensional film but the only thing that matters is that it WORKS. No bloody nonsense.