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DETOUR

1945

Edgar G. Ulmer

Detour

SYNOPSIS

Hitchhiking to Hollywood, pianist Al Roberts suffers terrible luck when a driver dies, forcing him to assume the dead man's identity to avoid arrest. He is soon picked up by Vera, a vicious femme fatale who knows his secret and mercilessly blackmails him. Edgar G. Ulmer’s low-budget masterpiece stands as the definitive B-movie noir. It is a bleak, fatalistic nightmare illustrating how easily an innocent life can be destroyed by pure chance.

CRITIQUE

Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour is the definitive example of film noir fatalism. Shot in six days on a microscopic budget, it turns its limitations into a nightmarish aesthetic of fog and shadow. It captures the post-war anxiety that life is governed by cruel, random chance. Al Roberts is the ultimate loser, trapped by circumstances he cannot control. The film is a raw, cynical masterpiece that stripped noir down to its bleakest essentials. It remains the holy grail of B-movies, proving that a compelling vision matters more than money, influencing indie filmmakers forever.

SCREENING AVAILABILITY

  • Theatrical screenings

  • Non-theatrical screenings

  • Festivals and cinematheques

  • Educational screenings

  • Television broadcasting

  • Digital platforms and streaming

  • Promotional and editorial use

  • Licensing of graphic and visual materials

AVAILABLE FORMATS

  • DCP

  • DCP with subtitles

  • Apple ProRes

  • MP4 Screening File

  • MP4 Rehearsal Copy for Musicians (silent films)

  • Blu-ray

  • High-resolution archival masters

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

  • Posters

  • Press stills

  • Promotional assets

  • Screening support materials

AVAILABLE SUBTITLES

  • English

  • Spanish

  • French

  • Portuguese

  • Italian

  • German

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