''Hitch-Hike'' ( it, Autostop rosso sangue, lit=Blood-red hitchhiking), also known as ''Death Drive'' is an Italian

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Pasquale Festa Campanile Pasquale Festa Campanile (28 July 1927 – 25 February 1986) was an Italian screenwriter, film director and novelist, best known as a prominent exponent of the commedia all'italiana genre. Life and career Born at Melfi, in the province o ...

. The film stars

Franco Nero Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor, producer, and director. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), ...

and

Corinne Cléry Corinne Cléry (born 23 March 1950), also known as Corinne Piccolo, is a French actress. She is known for the films ''Moonraker'' (1979), '' The Story of O'' (1975), ''Hitch-Hike'' (1977) and ''Yor, the Hunter from the Future'' (1983). Early l ...

as a couple in a troubled marriage, and

David Hess David Alexander Hess (September 19, 1936 – October 7, 2011) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and director. He came to prominence for his portrayals of murderous villains and gruff characters in several films in the 1970s and 198 ...

as a fugitive who takes them hostage. The musical score was written by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

. The film is based on Peter Kane's novel ''The Violence and the Fury''.

Plot

Walter Mancini (Nero), an alcoholic reporter, and his wife Eve (Cléry) are on a

road trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey on the road. Typically, road trips are long distances travelled by automobile. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by t ...

with a trailer heading back to Los Angeles. Along the way, they pick up a

hitch-hiker Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads hav ...

(Hess) who introduces himself as Adam Konitz. Konitz soon turns out to be a sadistic escapee from an institution for the criminally insane, and he is running from the law after robbing two million dollars with his partners. He takes the couple hostage and orders Eve to head to Mexico. They are soon stopped by two policemen and after Walter attempts to signal them by writing " SOS" on his matchbox, Konitz shoots them both. While the three stop for the night, Konitz's two partners, whom he had betrayed to get all the loot for himself, shoot at Konitz and take control of the money and the car. They decide to keep the Mancinis alive until reaching the

Mexican border Mexico shares international borders with three nations: *To the north the United States–Mexico border, which extends for a length of through the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. *To the southe ...

. While driving, they are attacked by someone in a truck. The attacker turns out to be Konitz who kills his former associates and again takes the Mancinis hostage. After they reach a secluded place, Konitz strips and rapes Eve and forces Walter to watch the act. As Konitz gets ready to kill Walter, Eve shoots him with Walter's

hunting rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with bo ...

. Despite Eve's opposition, Walter decides to keep the two million instead of going to the police. After the four young motorcyclists the couple met at a gas station pass them and pour oil on the road, the Mancinis' car goes off the road and crashes. One of the youngsters takes three hundred from Walter's pocket, but leaves the suitcase on the back seat untouched. The thieves then ride away. Eve is badly hurt and requests help from Walter. Walter brings Konitz's body from their trailer and plants it on the accident scene. He then tells the dying Eve that the thieves had only helped him. He had planned to stop after 15 to 20 miles, kill her and make it look like an accident. After lighting up a cigarette and setting the car and the trailer on fire, Walter starts walking and, hearing a car come by, thumbs a ride.

Cast

as Walter Mancini *

(as Corinne Clery) as Eve Mancini *

as Adam Konitz *

Joshua Sinclair Joshua Sinclair (born May 7, 1953) is an American writer, producer, actor and director born in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populou ...

(as John Loffredo) as Oaks *Carlo Puri as Hawk *

Ignazio Spalla Ignazio Spalla (best known as Pedro Sanchez; 5 May 1924 – 9 February 1995) was an Italian film actor. Born in Siena, Spalla was mainly active in Spaghetti Westerns, usually playing roles of Mexicans, gunfighters and outlaws. His first roles ...

(as Pedro Sanchez) as Mexican Way Station Clerk *Leonardo Scavino (as Leon Lenor) as Mendoza *Mónica Zanchi (as Monica Zanchi) as Campsite Lover *Benito Pacifico as Highway Patrolman #1 *Angelo Ragusa as Highway Patrolman #2 *Luigi Birri as Motorcycle Punk #2 *

Robert Sommer Robert Sommer (April 26, 1929February 27, 2021) was an internationally known Environmental Psychologist and held the position of Distinguished Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of California, Davis.

as Harry Stetson * Ann Ferguson as Lucy Stetson *Fausto Di Bella as Motorcycle Punk #1

Production

The film was based on ''The Violence and the Fury'' by Peter Kane. In ''The Devil Thumbs a Ride'', a short documentary on the film, Nero states that he became involved in the film because he already knew Campanile well, and Campanile had earlier stated his wish to work with him. Nero was in Germany shooting '' 21 Hours at Munich'', in which Hess also had a small role, when Campanile called him and suggested starring in ''Autostop rosso sangue''. Because Hess wanted to work in Italy, Nero suggested him as the second male lead. Hess had earlier played a similar role in ''

The Last House on the Left ''The Last House on the Left'' is a 1972 American exploitation horror film written, directed and edited by Wes Craven in his directorial debut. The film follows Mari Collingwood (Sandra Peabody), a hippie teenager who is abducted, raped, and ...

''."The Devil Thumbs a Ride." Hitch-Hike DVD,

Blue Underground Blue Underground is an American company specializing in releasing authoritative editions of cult and exploitation movies on Blu-ray Disc and DVD. It was originally formed as a shell company to oversee 'making of' documentaries during founder ...

, Inc. 2002. Just a few days before the shooting of the film began, Nero broke his arm at the set of the

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

Keoma Keoma is a hamlet in southern Alberta under the jurisdiction of Rocky View County. Keoma is located approximately 35 km (21 mi) northeast of Downtown Calgary, on Highway 566, 2.0 km (1.2 mi) east of Highway 9 and 19 km (12 mi) north of the ...

'' while giving a misbehaving horse a punch. Nero approached Campanile with his problem and the script was quickly modified. In the final script, Nero's character hurts his hand in the beginning of the film and Cléry's character drives the car. Because filming in the United States would have been too expensive, the film was shot in the mountains of the

Gran Sasso Gran Sasso d'Italia (; ) is a massif in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. Its highest peak, Corno Grande (2,912 metres), is the highest mountain in the Apennines, and the second-highest mountain in Italy outside the Alps. The mountain lies wit ...

, around the city of

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

and

Crognaleto Crognaleto is a ''comune'' and city of slightly less than 2,000 people in the Province of Teramo, central Italy. Crognaleto sits at an elevation of and has its communal administrative offices in the ''frazione'' (outlying area) of Nerito. The c ...

in central Italy. The location resembled

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

, and American-like gas stations and signs were also created.

Reception

In a contemporary review, the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'', the film was condemned for being "dependent on heavy doses of violence to keep its predictable plot moving" and was "directed in a bland and featureless manner by Festa Campanile, and overtly portentous in its dialogue". The review concluded that it was "notable only for its extensive borrowings: ''

Duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

'' for the murderous truck that terrorises car and trailer on the mountain road; ''

The Wild One ''The Wild One'' is a 1953 American crime film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. The picture is most noted for the character of Johnny Strabler, portrayed by Marlon Brando, whose persona became a cultural icon of the 1 ...

'' and company for the motorcycle louts deliberately causing havoc on the highways; and numerous 'road' movies for its general format." Morricone's score was praised as an "attractive score, which makes fine use of a theme tune played on guitar, to its credit."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0077188, title=Hitch-Hike 1970s crime thriller films Italian crime thriller films 1970s Italian-language films English-language Italian films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Pasquale Festa Campanile Italian serial killer films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films set in the United States Films about hitchhiking 1970s Italian films