Simply A Masterpiece

A Major Disappointment

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Whether by chance or providential design, Edgar G. Ulmer's definitive rumination on fate - otherwise known as Detour (1945) - has slowly etched itself into the minds of film lovers around the world as one as one of the quintessential b-movie noirs of its day.Bolstered by similar musings and patched together at about the same time, Club Havana (1945) amounts to little more than a trifle. A story is concocted out of nowhere and, once over, dissipates back into nothing. But that's part of its charm. In draining a Grand Hotel (1932)-type scenario of a budget as well as a purpose, the film acquires a strong offhand flavour that legitimises the whole ordeal. Low-budget-friendly aggravations of sadness, solitude and regret hover over the set as individual stories coalesce into an abstract whole. Talking leads into music and back into talking. The top-billed Tom Neal is diluted into the narrative and what little there is of a plot through-line emerges elsewhere - and why not?Ulmer knew how to breathe life into an obviously vacant affair and have a lot of fun in the process. Club Havana may not be Exhibit A (nor B, nor C...) of this refreshing trait, but it's certainly one to consider down the road.

This movie is very hard to find, even if it is an Ulmer's one. Produced by PRC company and starring Tom Neal, we can consider it as a sort of poor man's Grand Hotel, that takes place in Havana, of course. The topic is not very interesting, a mystery mixed with romance and musical. Only the climax is really not bad. But I was very glad that the running time was only 63 minutes. That's not the best Ulmer movie ever. Far from that. But if you are a great PRC films fan, try it anyway. Or for the warm Caribbean nights atmosphere. You can also hear, in this movie, some well known songs.A cheap movie. And a rare one. Nothing more.