Ann Savage (February 19, 1921 – December 25, 2008) was an American film and television actress. She is best-remembered as the cigarette-puffing femme fatale in the critically acclaimed film noir Detour (1945), and starred in more than twenty B movies between 1943 and 1946.Effectively leaving the film business in the mid-1950s, Savage made occasional appearances on television and worked for industrial and inspirational film producers during the 1950s–1970s. She made a number of live appearances at film festivals, especially for screenings of Detour.In 2007, she was cast by director Guy Maddin as his mother in My Winnipeg, "a part that had been tipped to bring her an Academy Award and which introduced her to a legion of new fans".
[on Tom Neal, her co-star in Detour (1945) and several previous films] He was a troublemaker, the only one I had problems with in all the years I was in movies. He would go out of his way to rub you the wrong way! Otherwise, he could be charming. He was like two different people. He wore lifts, otherwise I'd be taller than he was; and those hairstyles made me seem taller, anyway. I was 5'4¾" tall and Tom was about the same, as was Don 'Red' Barry, for that matter. Tom embarrassed me once. He had some buddies with him. I was standing there as they were lighting me for the next scene. He came into the scene, saying he had something to tell me. I leaned over and he stuck his tongue in my ear. I hit him as hard as I could! I slapped him with my hand open! I was a tough little kid and could take care of myself. I was so angry and humiliated I naturally reacted by hitting him. He staggered back, and I immediately left the set, so I didn't see his reaction, be it anger or whatever. Later, when we worked together, there was no talk at all----just did our scenes together and that was it. We stayed apart and never spoke.
2
[about director William Berke, with whom she made several pictures] [He had] a round face, but wasn't fat--nor was he too thin. A gentle man who spoke quietly. A nice, lovely man who wore glasses--he wasn't tall or short, probably around 5'8" or 5'9". Nicely built and a nice face.
3
No one would wish to be remembered for things like Two-Man Submarine (1944) or Saddles and Sagebrush (1943), which were typical of the kind of pictures I did. The part in Detour (1945) seemed like the opportunity every actress longs for. When I first read the script by Martin Goldsmith, I knew that I was going to be part of something very exciting.
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Fact
1
As of July 2006 she was living in the Hollywood Fairfax district in Los Angeles area and continuing to make public appearances with Detour (1945). In the spring of 2006 played Guy Maddin's mother in My Winnipeg (2007). It was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the top ten films of 2007, singling out her performance.
She died in her sleep at a nursing home in Hollywood (CA) on Christmas Day from complications of a series of strokes. She is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery alongside her third husband, Bert D'Armand.
4
Warner Bros. briefly considered John Garfield to play the lead opposite Ann in Detour (1945). Tom Neal was cast when Poverty Row studio Producers Releasing Corp. (PRC) bought the script by Martin Goldsmith.
In 1992 the Library of Congress named Detour (1945) as the first film noir and "B- movie" inducted into the National Registry of Film.
7
Made three other pictures with her Detour (1945) co-star Tom Neal. They had a rather chilly working relationship. The volatile Neal, who once severely pummeled actor Franchot Tone over the affections of actress Barbara Payton, was later jailed for involuntary manslaughter in the 1960s for shooting his third wife to death in the head. He got six years despite maintaining it was an accident.
8
Her husband, financier Bert D'Armand, died in 1969. Ann returned to Los Angeles, flying planes, working various jobs and making public appearances with her personal print of Detour (1945).
9
Was a speed-rated pilot and at one time flew her own plane, a 250 Comanche, winning several tournament awards.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
My Winnipeg
2007
Documentary
Mother
Saved by the Bell
1991
TV Series
Mrs. Thornhill
Fire with Fire
1986
Sister Harriet
City Detective
1954-1955
TV Series
Natalie / Lisa
The Ford Television Theatre
1955
TV Series
Maggie
Gang Busters
1955
TV Series
Juanita
Death Valley Days
1953
TV Series
Diamond Babe
I'm the Law
1953
TV Series
Millie Evans
Woman They Almost Lynched
1953
Glenda
Mr. & Mrs. North
1953
TV Series
Jani Holloway
Schlitz Playhouse
1952
TV Series
Fireside Theatre
1950-1952
TV Series
Pier 23
1951
Ann Harmon
Front Page Detective
1951
TV Series
Patti Carroll
Pygmy Island
1950
Capt. Ann R. Kingsley
Satan's Cradle
1949
Lil
On the Right Side
1949
Short
Jungle Flight
1947
Laurey Roberts
Renegade Girl
1946
Jean Shelby
Lady Chaser
1946
Inez Marie Polk / Palmer
The Last Crooked Mile
1946
Sheila Kennedy
The Dark Horse
1946
Mary Burton
The Spider
1945
Florence Cain
Detour
1945
Vera
Apology for Murder
1945
Toni Kirkland
Midnight Manhunt
1945
Sue Gallagher
Scared Stiff
1945
Sally Warren
Dancing in Manhattan
1944
Valerie Crawford
The Unwritten Code
1944
Mary Lee Norris
Ever Since Venus
1944
Janet Wilson
The Last Horseman
1944
Judy Ware (uncredited)
Two-Man Submarine
1944
Pat Benson
What a Woman!
1943
Jane Drake
Klondike Kate
1943
Kathleen O'Day
Footlight Glamour
1943
Vicki Wheeler
Dangerous Blondes
1943
Erika McCormick
Passport to Suez
1943
Valerie King
Two Señoritas from Chicago
1943
Maria
The More the Merrier
1943
Miss Dalton (uncredited)
Saddles and Sagebrush
1943
Ann Parker
Murder in Times Square
1943
Miss Ruth (uncredited)
After Midnight with Boston Blackie
1943
Betty Barnaby
One Dangerous Night
1943
Vivian
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Klondike Kate
1943
"All Dressed Up To Go Dreaming"
Two Señoritas from Chicago
1943
performer: "Slender, Tender and Tall", "Moon Dance Chant of the Drums", "Ti-ma-lu", "A Little Bell Rang"
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Männer im Trenchcoat, Frauen im Pelz
2004
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Edgar G. Ulmer - The Man Off-screen
2004
Documentary
Herself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
$800,000
