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''The Hitch-Hiker'' is a 1953 American
film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarde ...
thriller co-written and directed by
Ida Lupino Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...
, starring
Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Brien w ...
, William Talman and
Frank Lovejoy Frank Andrew Lovejoy Jr. (March 28, 1912 – October 2, 1962) was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He is perhaps best remembered for appearing in the film noir '' The Hitch-Hiker'' and for starring in the radio drama '' Night Beat ...
, about two friends taken hostage by a
hitchhiker 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 have ...
during an automobile trip to Mexico. ''The Hitch-Hiker'' was the first American mainstream film noir directed by a woman. It was selected in 1998 for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." The film was a fictionalized version of the Billy Cook murder spree.


Plot

As the film begins, a man is shown hitchhiking and being picked up by a succession of people whom he subsequently robs and kills. A suspect, Emmett Myers (Talman), is publicized in newspaper headlines. Two friends, Roy Collins (O'Brien) and Gilbert Bowen (Lovejoy) are driving in
southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ag ...
toward a planned fishing trip in the Mexican town of San Felipe on the
Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...
. Just south of
Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000,0 ...
, they pick up Myers, who pulls a gun and takes them hostage. Myers forces them to journey over
dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...
s into the Baja California Peninsula toward Santa Rosalía, where he plans to take a ferry across the
Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...
to
Guaymas Guaymas () is a city in Guaymas Municipality, in the southwest part of the state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. The city is south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and from the U.S. border. The municipality is located on the Gulf of Calif ...
. Myers terrorizes and humiliates the two men, at one point forcing Bowen, standing a long distance away, to shoot a tin can out of Collins' hand. One night during their one attempt to escape, Collins hurts his ankle. When the car is damaged, Myers forces them to continue on foot despite Collins' injury. Myers ridicules the two men for missing opportunities to escape for fear the other might be killed. He boasts, "You can get anything at the end of a gun." Police in the U.S. and Mexico are hunting Myers, and authorities know that he has abducted the two men, who hear this on the radio. They understand that their lives are in danger. To mislead Myers, the police purposely alter information to suggest they think he is still in the United States. Arriving at Santa Rosalía, Myers tries to conceal his identity by forcing Collins to wear his clothes. Discovering the regular ferry to
Guaymas Guaymas () is a city in Guaymas Municipality, in the southwest part of the state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. The city is south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and from the U.S. border. The municipality is located on the Gulf of Calif ...
has burned, he hires a fishing boat. A local resident discovers his identity and contacts authorities, who are waiting at the pier. After a shootout and scuffle, Myers is arrested and Collins and Bowen are freed unharmed.


Cast

*
Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Brien w ...
as Roy Collins *
Frank Lovejoy Frank Andrew Lovejoy Jr. (March 28, 1912 – October 2, 1962) was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He is perhaps best remembered for appearing in the film noir '' The Hitch-Hiker'' and for starring in the radio drama '' Night Beat ...
as Gilbert Bowen * William Talman as Emmett Myers * José Torvay as Captain Alvarado *
Wendell Niles Wendell Niles (December 29, 1904 – March 28, 1994) was an announcer during the American golden age of radio and later in television. Early years Niles was born in Livingston, Montana and grew up there. He attended New York University and ...
as Himself (Radio Announcer). *
Jean Del Val Jean Del Val (born Jean Jacques Gauthier; 17 November 1891 – 13 March 1975) was a French-born actor, also credited as Jean Gauthier and Jean Gautier. Career He played roles during the Hollywood silent era, beginning with ''The Fortunes of Fi ...
as Inspector General * Clark Howat as Government Agent *
Natividad Vacío Natividad Vacío (September 8, 1912 – May 30, 1996) was an American character actor in films and television from the 1950s through the 1980s. Born Natividad Domínguez Vacío in El Paso, Texas, he was Mexican-American. He nearly always played ...
as Jose * Rodney Bell as William Johnson


Background

The film was based on the murder spree of Billy Cook, who in 1950, murdered a family of five and a traveling salesman, then kidnapped Deputy Sheriff Homer Waldrip from
Blythe, California Blythe is a city in eastern Riverside County, California, United States. It is in the Palo Verde Valley of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River, approximately ...
. Cook ordered his captive to drive into the desert, where he tied him up with blanket strips and took his police cruiser, leaving Waldrip to die. Waldrip got loose, however, walked to the main road, and got a ride back to Blythe. Cook also took hostage two men who were on a hunting trip. Cook was tried, convicted, and received the death penalty. On December 12, 1952, Cook was executed in the gas chamber at
San Quentin State Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the o ...
in California.


Production

The film was written by Lupino and her former husband Collier Young, based on a story by
Daniel Mainwaring Daniel Mainwaring (February 27, 1902 – January 31, 1977) was an American novelist and screenwriter. Biography A native of Oakland, California, Mainwaring began his professional career as a journalist for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' and enjoy ...
which was adapted by Robert L. Joseph. Mainwaring did not receive a screen credit due to his then being on the
Hollywood blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry Blacklisting, blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of ...
. ''The Hitch-Hiker'' went into production on June 24, 1952, and wrapped in late July.TC
Overview
/ref> The
director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
was
RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...
regular
Nicholas Musuraca Nicholas Musuraca, A.S.C. (October 25, 1892 – September 3, 1975) was a motion-picture cinematographer best remembered for his work at RKO Pictures in the 1940s, including many of Val Lewton's series of B-picture horror films. Biography Bor ...
. Location shooting took place in the
Alabama Hills The Alabama Hills are a range of hills and rock formations near the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California. Though geographically separate from the Sierra Nevada, they are part of th ...
near Lone Pine and
Big Pine, California Big Pine (formerly, Bigpine) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Inyo County, California, United States. Big Pine is located approximately south-southeast of Bishop, at an elevation of . The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census, up from 1,35 ...
. Working titles for the film were "The Difference" and "The Persuader". Lupino was a noted actress who began directing when
Elmer Clifton Elmer Clifton (March 14, 1890 – October 15, 1949) was an American writer, director and actor from the early silent days. A collaborator of D.W. Griffith, he appeared in ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915) and '' Intolerance'' (1916) before givin ...
got sick and couldn't finish the film he was directing for Filmakers Inc., the production company founded by Lupino and her husband Collier Young to make low-budget, issue-oriented movies. Lupino stepped in to finish the film and went on to direct her own projects. ''The Hitch-Hiker'' was her first hard-paced, fast-moving picture after four "women's" films about social issues.Hurd, Mary (2007)
''Women Directors & Their Films''
pp. 9-13. Praeger, Westport, Connecticut.
Lupino interviewed the two prospectors whom Billy Cook had held hostage, and got releases from them and from Cook as well, so that she could integrate parts of Cook's life into the script. To appease the censors at the
Hays Office The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...
, however, she reduced the number of deaths to three. ''The Hitch-Hiker'' premiered in Boston on March 20, 1953, to little fanfare and immediately went into general release. The film was marketed with the tagline: "When was the last time you invited death into your car?" The film is in the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
.


Reception

''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' said that "with nothing more than three able actors, a lot of rugged scenery and their own impressive talents as producers, authors and director, Collier Young and Ida Lupino have brewed a grim little chiller." The ''Inquirer'' critic praised the performances and said the film was "directed with masculine strength by the amazing Miss Lupino." The ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...
'' gave the film three and a half of four stars, saying Lupino made "good and exciting use" of the real-life incident. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called the film an "unrelenting but superficial study of abnormal psychology coupled with standard chase melodrama." Critic A.H. Weller complimented the performances and Lupino's "brisk direction," but criticized the plot as excessively predictable. ''
The Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' said that the film performed a public service, by warning motorists about the dangers of picking up hitchhikers.


Legacy

The film has been widely praised in the years since its release, and holds a 93% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, based on 43 reviews. Critic John Krewson lauded the work of Ida Lupino, and wrote,
As a screenwriter and director, Lupino had an eye for the emotional truth hidden within the taboo or mundane, making a series of B-styled pictures which featured sympathetic, honest portrayals of such controversial subjects as unmarried mothers, bigamy, and rape ... in ''The Hitch-Hiker'', arguably Lupino's best film and the only true noir directed by a woman, two utterly average middle-class American men are held at gunpoint and slowly psychologically broken by a serial killer. In addition to her critical but compassionate sensibility, Lupino had a great filmmaker's eye, using the starkly beautiful street scenes in ''
Not Wanted ''Not Wanted'' is a 1949 American drama film directed by Elmer Clifton and an un-credited Ida Lupino and starring Sally Forrest, Keefe Brasselle and Leo Penn. A few days after shooting started, Clifton suffered a heart attack. Lupino stepped in t ...
'' and the gorgeous, ever-present loneliness of empty highways in ''The Hitch-Hiker'' to set her characters apart.
''
Time Out Film Guide Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' wrote of the film,
Absolutely assured in her creation of the bleak, noir atmosphere – whether in the claustrophobic confines of the car, or lost in the arid expanses of the desert – Lupino never relaxes the tension for one moment. Yet her emotional sensitivity is also upfront: charting the changes in the menaced men's relationship as they bicker about how to deal with their captor, stressing that only through friendship can they survive. Taut, tough, and entirely without macho-glorification, it's a gem, with first-class performances from its three protagonists, deftly characterised without resort to cliché.
In January 2014, a restored 35mm print was premiered by the Film Noir Foundation at Noir City 12 at the
Castro Theatre The Castro Theatre is a historic movie palace in San Francisco that became San Francisco Historic Landmark #100 in September 1976. Located at 429 Castro Street in the Castro District, it was built in 1922 with a California Churrigueresque faç ...
in San Francisco. On April 6, 2014 ''The Hitch-Hiker'' was shown again at the
Egyptian Theatre Egyptian-style theatres are based on the traditional and historic design elements of Ancient Egypt. The first Egyptian Theatre to be constructed in the US – which inspired many of the identically-named theatres that followed it – was Graum ...
in Hollywood. Mary Ann Anderson author of ''The Making of The Hitch-Hiker'' appeared at this event. While most ''films noir'' were filmed in claustrophobic cities, ''The Hitch-Hiker'' was filmed in the desert southwestern United States (territory similar to that of Baja California, where most of the story takes place), mostly in wilderness and small villages. Critics Bob Porfiero and Alain Silver, in a review and analysis of the film, praised Lupino's use of shooting locations. They wrote, "''The Hitch-Hikers desert locale, although not so graphically dark as a cityscape at night, isolates the protagonists in a milieu as uninviting and potentially deadly as any in film noir." Silver, Alain, and Elizabeth Ward, eds. ''Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style'', film noir analysis by Bob Porfiero and Alain Silver, page 130, 3rd edition, 1992. New York: The Overlook Press. .


See also

*
List of films in the public domain in the United States Most films are subject to copyright, but those listed here are believed to be in the public domain in the United States. This means that no government, organization, or individual owns any copyright over the work, and as such it is common propert ...
*
The Hitcher (1986 film) ''The Hitcher'' is a 1986 American road horror-thriller film directed by Robert Harmon and written by Eric Red. It stars Rutger Hauer as the title character, a murderous hitchhiker who stalks a young motorist (C. Thomas Howell) across the ...


References


Sources

* Foster, Gwendolyn Audrey. “The Narcissistic Sociopathology of Gender: Craig’s Wife and The Hitch-Hiker,” Part 2. ''Film International'', March 9, 2014


External links

* ''The Hitch-Hiker'' essay by
Wheeler Winston Dixon Wheeler Winston Dixon (born March 12, 1950) is an American filmmaker and scholar. He is an expert on film history, theory and criticism.Bill Goodykoontz, December 23, 2012, USA TodayDefining Tarantino Accessed Aug. 25, 2013, Quote = "...long, invo ...
on the
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
websit

* ''The Hitch-Hiker'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 469-47

* * * * * ''The Hitch-Hiker''
2008 upload
an
2009 upload
is available for free download at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hitch-Hiker, The 1953 films 1953 crime drama films American black-and-white films American crime drama films American road movies Crime films based on actual events 1950s English-language films Film noir Films about kidnapping Films about automobiles Films directed by Ida Lupino Films scored by Leith Stevens Films set in Mexico Films about hitchhiking RKO Pictures films United States National Film Registry films 1950s American films