As Vera in Edward G. Ulmer's 1945 low-budget thriller, "Detour," Ann Savage was not fooling around. She took the notion of femme fatale to the nadir of nastiness. With her hawk-like features, fingernails-on-the-blackboard voice and inTENSE delivery, Vera was not to be trifled with. And ultimately, Tom Neal as down-on-his-luck Al Roberts, deserves every miserable moment he gets after picking up this hitchhiker from Hades. He's on the road to ruin with no one but himself to blame, but of course he blames everyone and everything else anyway, including "fate." The film that put the NOIR in film noir.
Ann Savage's last role was playing Guy Maddin's mother in "My Winnipeg." Do you like weird, personal films that reference the history of filmmaking, past and present? Then get yourself some Guy Maddin films and make a night of it.
Interview with Ann Savage from the documentary, "Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Offscreen," 2004.
1 comment:
Yeah, Vera was a hard-boiled savage girl in DETOUR! One of my faves. Wish i owned the poster.
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