The Hitch-Hiker

Lean-and-mean little fucker of a film. The entire thing cuts sharp as a knife, wasting no time in establishing its premise and zipping through a hard-edge 70 minutes of sweaty, simmering tension that at all times threatens to explode into definitive violence. I do wish it carried that grimness through to the end, but alas.

Tight, airless little thriller that gets a lot done in its very short running time (see, you don't need 30 minutes of backstory for every character!) While it never quite escapes its 50s studio trappings, Lupino gets a rawness out of this that really works.

Director & co-writer Ida Lupino elevates the bare bones elements of the plot into that resembles Collateral 1953. She's skilled at making this a suspenseful thriller--especially via usage of her creepy villain. At its heights the movie is exceptional at putting the audience in the driver's seat, as you wonder what you'd do with a gun at your back. However, I wish some character plots were expanded and that it could keep the suspense for the entire running time. Still, recommended for the fun.

Lupino does a fantastic job. A lean and mean thriller about a murderous hitch-hiker who makes a couple of regular guys drive him across the deserts of Mexico. The technical aspects are impressive, great lighting and editing and staging. The mood and the story are tense, and Talman's vicious streak cuts like a knife. The one weak point is that it's one of those movies where you keep thinking "well, what *I* would do is...." But it's fine if you just go along with it.

Nothing much to speak of. Banal and unrealistic.

One murderous hitch-hiker. Two hostages. And that's it. Sort of weak.

Taut, tense and claustrophobic, Lupino's thriller clocks in a little over 70 minutes, so frills are at a minimum. The simple story moves at a satisfying pace and the performances of the three leads, notably William Talman as the murderous hitcher, are all strong. It's impressively shot on location as well.

It takes a profound understanding of noir to capture suffocation against the backdrop of the wild west but Lupino easily makes the setting her own personal playground.

Straight-forward, gritty and intense. Directed by film star Ida Lupino (I never knew she directed). I liked her direction, the cinematography and music as well.

An early crime-drama inspired by true events; much in the same vein as Zodiac and Mind Hunter. The Hitch-Hiker is a fascinating early look at criminal and captive psychology. It has a few noir moments in the beginning and end, and for much of the middle it felt like variations of the same scene over and over. There are many good human moments sprinkled throughout that kept me engaged and connected. It's a well made film, but not the most exciting or interesting.

Good. Story is nothing special ofc but it's well-directed and acted.

A bottle episode type movie in the middle of the desert. Sure the car went all over Mexico but the people were trapped inside, held up by a psycho. This is literally just a PSA against picking up hitchers.

Ida Lupino does a lot with very little here. Most of the film is a car, three actors and desert roads, but she makes it all feel a little bigger than it is. Talman is the real standout. He's magnificently loathsome.

Not great, as far as noir goes.

This is a well done film with good performances. In real life this is definitely not a situation anyone would want to be in.

A completely solid film noir. It didn't blow me away, but Lupino's film is short and to the point with the usual noir stylings. Although the story isn't amazing, I thought this was better than other noirs just on the basis of execution.

I'm always amazed by the brutality of classic film. They understood the horror of powerlessness like few others.

Very important. Raw, beautiful and claustrophobic. My bro sleeps with his eyes open so I can relate

Brisk, well-paced film. The villain is interesting, with hints that a lot of his toughness is a bluff.

Intense and rugged.

Fun little psychological drama that, while short, prolongs the tension through a long ride through the desert. The ending is a little abrupt and the soundtrack a little too monotonous; otherwise, it's generally satisfying.

audiovisual 75 acting 74 overall feeling 55 avg 68

Notable for being the only significant noir directed by a woman, The Hitch-Hiker is a lean, decent film that suffers from some almost fatal flaws. Lupino gets the absolute most out of this, but it's mostly a failure at the conceptual/screenplay level. While Talman is unsettlingly good, the nominal heroes (O'Brien and Lovejoy) are uninteresting because they have not much to do other than look mildly scared or angry. They are also very passive, having next to nothing to do with the ending.

A gem, a hardened one which is personified by William Talman's grotesque yet entrancing serial murderer, a narrative which feels like a story from Flannery O'Connor, shot like noir and directed greatly by the same person who would make the vastly different The Bigamist and The Trouble with Angels.

They should have tried for the gun.

This is a good black and white film, doesnt let up and doesnt get bogged down or boring, which can be the case for a lot of black and white film, but this thoroughly kept up the pace and tension. Basically a hitch hiker is picked up by two best buds heading to their fishing trip, and the hitch hiker turns out to be a wanted murderer. Not an original concept but its done well, and im not all that bothered by unoriginal if it thoroughly entertains, and this kept me entertained.

Nice little thriller with William Talman--better known as the Perry Mason prosecutor--excellent as the hitch-hiking psycho.

Fairly decent trhiller from the luminous actress turned director Lupino. It's entertaining enough but quickly forgotten.

An interesting exercise in noir style, transposing the trademark genre visuals (shadows, harsh lighting, claustrophobic close-ups etc) from the dark city streets to the bright open expanses of the Mexican desert. Surprisingly, it works well, with the interior car shots being particularly tense. As a whole, though, the film didn't really cut it for me. The story feels half-baked, characters are under-developed and the ending is very anti-climactic.

The brooding black-and-white look here works well with the refreshingly simple hijack-thriller plot (with well-crafted tension between the two travelers and the hitch-hiker) that's tastefully spiced by brief glimpses into the secondary perspective of the police. The story does start to feel quite repetitive as it progresses, however, making their ongoing situation feel more unrealistic after every scene, but good acting and a taut screenplay help counter this to make a decent film overall.

A small scale film which could be easily forgotten except that it is directed (well) by a women and creates a tense atmosphere, even if you know its probably going to end on the side of good.

(muito bom)

Sure, the technical aspects are note worthy, but this felt like a long 70 minutes.

Star Rating: ★★★1/2

O mundo odeia-me tinha sua première há 70 anos em Boston. Bem diferente da Lupino que estamos acostumados com seus dramas sociais sobre mulheres, curiosamente esse foi o primeiro filme que vi dela há uns 20 anos, não é o seu melhor, mas talvez seja o mais famoso, mas um Lupino menor ainda é um diabo de jornada. Coleção Folha Grandes Diretores no Cinema.

There's a certain low budget rawness in the atmosphere and performances that makes it incredibly effective as a true crime film. At barely 70 minutes it wastes no time in getting right to the meat of things, two guys pick up a hitch-hiker who happens to be a murderer on the run, and the rest of the film is a very tense interplay between them. William Talman is unforgettable in his role, and his introduction is one of the film's greatest sequences, along with the finale.