Genre: Crime, Film-Noir, Drama, Cult Classic, Suspense, On The Road, Murder, Disturbing, Femme Fatale
Tagline: He went searching for love... but Fate forced a DETOUR to Revelry... Violence... Mystery!
Plot: Low budget director Edgar G. Ulmer cemented his reputation with this downbeat film noir masterpiece. It has since inspired countless filmmakers. The use of minimal sets and rear-screen projection gives a feeling of a claustrophobic nightmare as Al (Tom Neal) a down-and-out piano player, hitchhikes from New York to Los Angeles in order to be with his singer girlfriend (Claudia Drake). Fate has other plans for Al when he steps into the car of a character named Haskel (Edmund MacDonald), who promptly dies in his sleep one night while Al is driving. Afraid the cops will never believe the truth, Al takes Haskell's money, car, and identity, and tries to make it to Los Angeles, only to have fate intervene again when he picks up a mean-spirited female hitchhiker (Ann Savage).This film is short, cramped and breathtaking, with no pause in its relentless rhythm of despair. Tom Neal's performance as the man snared in a web of fate is raw and real. Ann Savage is fierce. Ulmer's direction is hallucinatory and amazing. From a script by mystery writer Martin Goldsmith, this film demands repeat viewing by any serious student of cinema, or lover of movies.
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| Directed by |
Edgar G. Ulmer
The Black Cat, The Man From Planet X, The Amazing Transparent Man |
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| Cast |
Tom Neal
Another Thin Man, Flying Tigers, The Brute Man | Ann Savage
Fire with Fire, Jungle Jim in Pygmy Island | | | Tim Ryan
From Here to Eternity, Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla | Esther Howard
Sullivan's Travels, Murder, My Sweet, Hail the Conquering Hero | Pat Gleason
Abbott and Costello In the Navy, Stand-In, Violent Is the Word for Curly | |
[more] |
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| Music By |
Leo Erdody
Bluebeard, Dead Men Walk, Tomorrow We Live |
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