Which actor played Al Roberts in the 1945 film noir Detour?

Tom Neal played Al Roberts in the 1945 film noir Detour.

Al Roberts is an unemployed pianist who leaves New York to join his singer girlfriend in California. After accepting a ride from motorist Charles Haskell, Al becomes trapped in a chain of accidents, fear, and deception that turns an ordinary journey into a fatalistic nightmare.

Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer for the low-budget Producers Releasing Corporation, Detour was adapted by Martin Goldsmith from his 1939 novel. Neal’s performance is central to the film’s first-person narration: Al appears both as a participant in events and as a man trying to explain how circumstances overwhelmed his choices. Ann Savage plays the dangerous and memorable Vera.

The film is often discussed as a defining Poverty Row noir rather than a conventional studio production. Although it was made cheaply, later critics praised its atmosphere, expressionistic shadows, and bleak sense of doom. A common mix-up is assigning Al Roberts to Richard Conte, Zachary Scott, or John Garfield, none of whom played the role.