Dig A Hole: Ann Savage
December 29th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Ann Savage had some thirty features to her credit and after her third appearance (a walk-on in The More The Merrier), there’s not an “A” picture in the bunch. Other than her last poverty row production, Allan Dwan’s The Woman They Almost Lynched, I have seen only one film starring Ann Savage. Why even bother covering the passing of someone so obscure? As Vera, the beastly vixen in Edgar G. Ulmer’s king of the B’s, Detour, Ms. Savage left an indelible mark as the definitive hard living film noir tramp.
Ann Savage was born Bernice Maxine Lyon in Columbia, South Carolina, on February 19, 1921. Her father, an army officer, died when Ann was four. Several years later her mother, a jewelry buyer, moved her daughter to Los Angeles. The young ingenue trained at Max Reinhardt’s acting school and appeared in local theatre productions. Bernice got more than she bargained for: Bert D’Armand, the school’s manager later became her agent and, in 1945, Mr. Ann Savage. The two remained a couple until his death in 1969.
Bernice Lyon became “Ann Savage” long before she stepped in front of a camera. The name change took place during a workshop production of Golden Boy that led to a contract at Columbia Pictures. While with the studio she appeared in such sapless fluff as Two Señoritas from Chicago (1943), Footlight Glamour (1943) and Saddles and Sagebrush (1943).
Savage starred opposite Tom Neal in three pictures — Klondike Kate (1943), Two-Man Submarine (1944) and The Unwritten Code (1944) — before the cut rate combo teamed with Ulmer for the budget-less, bizarre and intensely personal film noir masterwork. Savage plays a chain-smoking, hitch-hiking harridan who bullies her way into Neal’s car and eventually topples his life. No character in the annals of cinema has ever called another character “chicken” with quite the amount of venom and spit in her voice as Ann Savage. Shot in six days with two actors, two sets, a rear screen projector and the world’s largest cup of coffee, Detour is a tour de force of economy and inventiveness.
Ms. Savage pretty much retired in the late 1950s. She moved from Hollywood to Manhattan with Bert, and after his death she returned to Hollywood to be near her mother. According to IMBD, she taught herself law by working as a docket clerk for her late husband’s attorneys and became an avid speed-rated pilot in her spare hours. IMDB’s bio of Ms. Savage reports that she had a guest spot on Saved by the Bell, but her credits show no mention of such an appearance. Most recently, she appeared as Canadian director Guy Maddin’s shrewish mother in the My Winnipeg (2007), a film that just catapulted to the top of my must-see list.
Ann Savage died in her sleep at a nursing home on Christmas Day from complications following a series of strokes. She was 87. Ms. Savage made it easy on film historians. 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!
A three DVD set that contains seven Savage features can be found here.
Tags: ann savage, ann savage dead, ann savage detour, ann savage dies, b movies, edgar g. ulmer, edgar ulmer, Obituary, tom nealShare: 
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Vera… she spits, snarls, swears… and those were the love scenes!
While you’re looking for the Guy Maddin movie, I’m searching for this entire documentary featuring Ann Savage talking about “Detour” - Vera aged beautifully!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFXQqEoNofA