Detour

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). (official distributor synopsis)