The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
1h 11m | PG-13
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
Studio: RKO Radio Pictures
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Drama
Video: 720p
Cast
Edmond O'Brien
as Roy Collins
Frank Lovejoy
as Gilbert Bowen
William Talman
as Emmett Myers
José Torvay
as Captain Alvarado
Sam Hayes
as Radio Broadcaster
Wendell Niles
as Wendell Niles
Reviews
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.