:
Edmond O'Brien,
Edmond O'Brien,
Frank Lovejoy,
more...
:
Ida Lupino,
Ida Lupino
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Kino
: Film Noir, Vintage Noir
: 70 min.
: English
see additional details...
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Daniel Mainwaring took this story right out of the headlines of the day, penning this true story of a mass murderer who was eventually executed in San Quentin's gas chamber. Released during McCarthy's witch-hunt, Mainwaring was not given credit because Howard R. Hughes, who produced it under RKO, refused to give credit to any "radicals." The story is that of two men on a fishing trip who pick up a hitchhiker. He turns out to be a sadistic psychopath who has committed multiple murders, a sociopath who hates humanity because of his own abuse as a child. He also has an affliction which terrifies these two men: an eye which is permanently open, thereby never allowing them to know if he is really asleep or just faking it--something which he does with regularity to scare them...letting them take off and then meeting up with them just as they feel they have escaped from him. A tense thriller skillfully directed by the only female director of the time, Ida Lupino, it is a suspenseful tale of terror on the highways. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
You might also enjoy:
The Big Knife
Ida Lupino acts in this suspensful and cynical drama from the same era
Detour
Ultra low-budget noir also shows the potential perils of hitchhiking
The Hitcher
More modern (i.e., less subtle, more violent) take on the deranged hitchhiker story; has a cult following
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| When was the last time you invited death into your car?
by eifert
September 12, 2004 - 9:10 PM PDT
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2 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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| The Hitch-Hiker is an excellent low budget suspense movie. Two old friends take a road trip away from their families to go fishing and hunting. They pick up a hitchhiker who turns out to be a serial killer. The killer decides to keep the men alive until he can get away from a police dragnet through the desert. The two men can't escape even though they try several times. (The killer has a lazy eye so he sleeps with one eye open!) I consider this kind of a low budget Treasure of Sierra Madre mixed with the 80's thriller The Hitcher. I also enjoyed the relentless way the killer messed with Edmund O'Brian so much so that you could see O'Brian just ready to loose it at any moment. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.54)
76 Votes
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