Detour (1945)

Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 3.0

People with the most general awareness of the term "Film Noir" imagine the detectives and the black and white and the hard boiled dialogue. Of course there's nothing wrong with that, but almost all films noir contain another aspect that can't be said of all romantic comedies or all thrillers--innovation.

Detour isn't a great film noir, but it is necessary for the connoisseur and it has those moments of innovation and experiment. Here it's evident in a shot where Al has to drag Charles through the mud and rain from the roadside to beneath a bush. The closeup on Al, with it's framing and lighting, was practically non-existant in filmmaking at the time.

Unfortunately, the film misses the boat by blowing a handful of opportunites where it could have been both a great picture and great film noir.