Ann Savage, 1921 - 2008.

Veteran actress Ann Savage may have passed away on Christmas Day, but she will forever remain immortal in the hearts of movie buffs for her indelibly acidic portrayal of the ultimate film noir femme fatale: Vera, the hard-bitten hitchhiker who makes a bad situation infinitely worse for a hard-luck loser in Edgar G Ulmer's Detour, arguably the scuzziest great movie ever made. You can hear Savage talking about her role in that classic B-flick here.

Joe Leydon.

See also: AJ Schnack, focusing particularly on Savage's role in Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg, and the Wikipedia entry.

Updated through 12/29.

Updates, 12/29: "Shot in less than a week on a budget of $20,000, [Detour] would develop a reputation as one of the most febrile and unforgettable noirs ever to come out of poverty row," notes Phil Nugent at Screengrab, "and Savage's Vera would take her place in the history of the genre as one of the all-time greatest mistakes ever made by a man on the road, a woman who attaches herself to [Tom] Neal's doomed antihero like a virus. (It was the fourth and final movie that she made with Neal, who in 1965 would be tried for the murder of his wife and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. He died in 1972.)"

"I have to wonder if she realized just what a big mark she left on film," writes Quint, who gathers some online viewing at AICN. "She must have as IMDB has her being saddled with accolades over the past few years, including being named one of the Top 10 all time villains for her femme fatale turn in Detour by Time Magazine."

Dave Kehr recalls several memorable performances in other films.

Chris Garcia pulls out a 2004 interview with Savage he conducted for the Austin American-Statesman.

"Ms Savage made it easy on film historians," writes Scott Marks. "Instead of forcing us to memorize dozens of titles, Ann Savage achieved immortality in one role. And never has a phone cord been put to better use. Hope you finally made it to Miam-uh, Vera!"

Posted by dwhudson at December 28, 2008 3:01 PM