Free Great Movies Review
Long before The Hitcher (1986), there was The Hitch-Hiker (1953), a tight and tense 70-minute film noir thriller directed by Ida Lupino. There's a murdering hitchhiker on the loose named Emmett Myers, played by William Talman. Two buddies from California are heading out on a fishing trip to Mexico and they pick up the crazed Myers who holds them at gunpoint through pretty much the rest of the movie as they drive for the Gulf of California. The black car travels through beautiful desert vistas, as inside the car Myers terrorizes the two friends who slowly begin to unravel in the desert heat. With a few stops along the way and only the radio as their companion, they listen as the authorities close in on their road trip through Mexico. Based on the real life road trip murder spree of Billy Cook who got the gas chamber in 1952. Ida Lupino's direction is superb, William Talman's portrayal of the twisted hitchhiker is relentless, and the music by Leith Stevens adds to the tension.
Movie Description
The Hitch-Hiker is a 1953 film noir directed by Ida Lupino about two fishing buddies who pick up a mysterious hitchhiker during a trip to Mexico.
The movie was written by Robert L. Joseph, Lupino, and her husband Collier Young, based on a story by blacklisted Out of the Past screenwriter Daniel Mainwaring (who did not receive screen credit). The film is based on the true story of psychopathic murderer Billy Cook.
It is regarded as the first American mainstream film noir directed by a woman. The director of photography was RKO Pictures regular Nicholas Musuraca.
In 1998, The Hitch-Hiker was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."
(Summary from Wikipedia)
Copyright Info: This movie is in the public domain and is legally available for free on YouTube.