San Francisco Film Society Copresents Detour at Opening Night of Second Annual Noir City Film Festival

The San Francisco Film Society will copresent the screening of DETOUR and a reception honoring Ann Savage at Opening Night of the second annual Noir City Film Festival at the Castro Theatre on Friday, January 16.

“The most vicious femme fatale in the history of American movies,” says film noir author and Noir City programmer Eddie Muller of Ann Savage’s chilling performance in Edgar G. Ulmer’s 1945 cult classic DETOUR. Savage stars with Tom Neal in the tawdry masterpiece often referred to as the ultimate expression of noir fatalism. Shot in six days on a shoestring budget of $25,000 by the Poverty Row studio, PRC Pictures, Ulmer’s film has achieved legendary status as the epitome of bargain basement filmmaking, and Savage has earned international renown for her portrayal of scheming, consumptive Vera.

In making the announcement Roxanne Messina Captor, executive director of the Film Society said, "We’re thrilled to bring Ann Savage to San Francisco to kick off the two-week Noir series. She made an indelible impression with her fearless performance as a hardboiled cynic in a low-budget classic whose reputation continues to grow, and we can’t wait to hear how she did it.”

Savage will be honored at a reception on the mezzanine of the Castro Theatre at 6:30 pm featuring light Asian fusion hors d’oeuvres from LaMooné Restaurant. DETOUR will screen at 8:00 pm, followed by a discussion and Q&A with Eddie Muller and Savage.
Tickets for the reception and DETOUR are $20 general admission, $18 for Film Society members, and are available in advance from www.sffs.org on the Events page. Tickets for DETOUR only will be available at the Castro on January 16 for $8.50. The full schedule for Noir City, January 16-29, is available at www.castrotheatre.com. Film print courtesy of the Cinémathèque Française.