Highly regarded film noir from director Edgar G Ulmer, perhaps his best known film, loved by film buffs for a variety of reasons: Ulmer's culti-ness, the fact is was shot in a very short period of time, the lead Tom Neal later went to prison, the atmosphere of doom and fate, Ann Savage's electrifying portrayl as Vera - the scowling, hard voiced femme fetale who is dying of consumption but actually reading the subtext just wants to be hugged.I think it's been over-hyped a little but once Vera comes into the film (around half way though) it really flies. Neal is handsome and gives a good performance - you wonder why he didn't become a bigger star. (Maybe his loser face - so wonderfulyl appropriate here, watch how he gets increasingly pathetic as the film progresses - didn't work in other films). The big where the guy he gives a lift falls and conks his head doesn't look very realistic (I know it's the point, but still...); ditto his decision to pick up Vera as a hitchhiker when he's supposed to be keeping a low profile.
There is still much to admire: the terrific atmosphere, with its roadside diners and cheap motels, the consistently strong acting, Vera's death, the feeling of pessimism and fate.
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