'Detour'

Detour is considered the first ever film noir and "B" movie. It was essentially the first bad movie that was intentionally made bad. Brilliant. It begant decades and decades of crap.

Detour stars Tom Neal as the wayward pianist, who attempts to cross the country to meet up with his main squeeze. He hitchhikes and winds up wrapped up in this insane little ball of fate with blood on his hands and a woman controlling his comings and goings.

Neal was quite the character. He was a former boxer with a big temper.

He apparently was banging Barbara Payton -- a drunk and drug addict who died of liver failure at 40 -- at the same time as a French socialite Franchot Tone. He beat the shit out of Tone.

Several years later, he "accidentally" shot his wife in the back of the head and killed her. He claimed it was an accident. Nevertheless, he was convicted of manslaughter and went to prison to six years.

He got out and became a gardener.