The Hitch-Hiker

The Hitch-Hiker

20/3/1953 1h 11m 6.8/10

Overview

Roy and Gilbert's fishing trip takes a terrifying turn when the hitchhiker they pick up turns out to be a sociopath on the run from the law. He's killed before, and he lets the two know that as soon as they're no longer useful, he'll kill again. The two friends plot an escape, but the hitchhiker's peculiar physical affliction, an eye that never closes even when he sleeps, makes it impossible for them to tell when they can make a break for it.

Director

Ida Lupino

Top Billed Cast

Edmond O'Brien

Edmond O'Brien

Roy Collins

William Talman

William Talman

Emmett Myers

Frank Lovejoy

Frank Lovejoy

Gilbert Bowen

José Torvay

José Torvay

Captain Alvarado

Sam Hayes

Sam Hayes

Radio Broadcaster

Wendell Niles

Wendell Niles

Wendell Niles

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

11/14/2022

6/10

William Talman ("Myers") is great in this thriller that follows the tortuous journey of two fishermen who stopped to pick up a traveller and discover they are now in the hands of a gun-toting psychopath. Determined to escape the pursuing authorities, he forces them to drive, then walk, through largely desert terrain heading for a port and his escape. To make matters worse, he has already informed them that when he gets there - he is going to kill them!. Ida Lupino directed this quite spooky drama with some skill and Edmond O'Brien and Frank Bowen play well together as the captives in what is essentially a taut three-hander. It does push the bounds of plausibility at times, though - there are opportunities to overwhelm their antagonist and after a while those begin to undermine the threat; you do begin to believe that good will out and so the tension starts to diminish quite quickly... It's a very darkly filmed, moody piece of cinema that is rarely seen nowadays and is still well worth catching up with almost 70 years on.

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