I agree with your estimation of
Detour
, Woodyanders. It's one of the earliest of the "nihilistic classics" of the war and postwar eras, with
Odd Man Out
and
In Cold Blood
higher budgeted and more artistically ambitious films with similar themes, although those two seem to have more blame to "go around". Then there were pulpier films along similar lines, such as
The Cruel Tower
and
Town Without Pity
. Even into the 60s there was
Cape Fear
and the Sal Mineo vehicle, such as it can be called,
Who Killed Teddy Bear
.

With you on this one, Woody!

I absolutely love this film. It's pure unvarnished film noir nihilism at its most bleak and despairing, complete with a pathetic hard-luck chump for a "hero," a deliciously hateful and venomous femme fatale, a beautifully brooding gloom-doom mood that positively drips with dread and despair, and a dandy serpentine plot that winds towards an inevitable grim ending.
You've seen Guy Standeven in something because the man was in everything.

68 minutes i'll never forget
so many movies, so little time

I agree too, there was a lot to this economic movie that had more to say than longer films, with vastly bigger budgets and over-rated stars.

One persons opinion has no more value than another's. I greatly enjoyed the movie. In now way is it flawless, but better than many other movies. To each their own.