Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

JinRoz For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Bill Slocum This solid chillfest presents what happens when two ordinary men take an unlucky road trip and meet up with the title character, a merciless killer with a taste for sadism.Collins (Edmond O'Brien) and Bowen (Frank Lovejoy) are war buddies who take off for a planned fishing trip to Mexico when they pick up Emmett Myers (William Talman), standing beside a stopped car. But Myers isn't the owner of the car, whom he murdered some distance away. He's a serial killer who sees Collins and Bowen as his next victims, as soon as he gets clear of the U. S. He wastes no time pulling his revolver and telling them the score:"You guys are gonna die, that's all. It's just a question of when."Director/co-writer Ida Lupino puts you in the car with the two doomed men, making every pit stop into a nail-biting exploration of how people deal with madness-induced pressure.There are three enjoyable anomalies worth considering along the ride. Two of them are much commented upon: the fact a glamorous film actress is at the helm of such a hard film, with no female speaking parts in English and informed throughout by a kind of Hemingway tough-guy sensibility; and the fact the heavy is played so absorbingly by Talman, that future law-and-order foil to TV's Perry Mason.The third: Of the two actors playing the prisoners, the one with the biggest name, O'Brien, who made such an impression three years prior as a similarly put-upon innocent in "D. O. A.", is something of a second banana here. Lovejoy's character is the one who employs patience and courage. He's got a wife and children, and as Myers taunts, "Just keep thinking' how nice it'll be to see 'em again."Lovejoy and Talman, not to mention Lupino, deserved more chances to stretch themselves as effectively as they do here. All three put up stellar work.Lupino and husband co-writer Collier Young set a quick tempo, punctuated by Myers' sneering jibes at his fellow travelers. No attempt is made at making him sympathetic, yet his terse, flat commands keep you riveted.When he relaxes, he's even more unlikable. He mocks Collins and Bowen for being "soft" and even brags later on how one of them might have gotten away if they weren't that way."You kept thinking' about each other, so you missed some chances," he says.You get the feeling Myers enjoys torturing the pair even more than he does the prospect of killing them. His fleering eyes, even with his right eyelid always half-closed, tell all you want to know about him.The film moves even more quickly than its 71-minute running time suggests. Occasionally there are breaks in the action while we see an American fed talk strategy with a Mexican police commander (Jean Del Val, recognizable as the first actor seen speaking in "Casablanca.") This feels a bit canned, though, as do the radio bulletins telling of Myers' progress whenever he tunes in. The climax comes off a bit flat, too.But "The Hitch-Hiker" entertains with its strong tension and its lack of gushiness or fat. This is a man's movie, no less manly for being the product of a woman who knew what men like, and how to deliver same.

writers_reign Ida Lupino was woefully underrated in all three areas - actress/writer/director in which she functioned in Hollywood. She appeared in - and enhanced - some great movies, Moontide, Roadhouse, The Big Knife, then became a writer/director on several major TV shows, plus a handful of low-budget but well-made feature films like The Hitch-Hiker. Coming in at 71 minutes, in black and white, 85 per cent of the running time involves only three actors, William Talman, Frank Lovejoy and Edmond O'Brian. If O'Brian is the class act, a gifted Shakespearean veteran who could turn his hand to anything, the other two are not overshadowed by any means and the ensemble playing is a joy to watch as is Lupino's inventive framing and use of shadow and light. A minor gem.

bkoganbing This film The Hitch-Hiker should serve as a warning not to pick anyone up on the road. You might just be picking up a mad dog killer like William Talman.Which is what good friends and fishing buddies Edmond O'Brien and Frank Lovejoy do on a fishing trip. No good deed ever goes unpunished as Talman uses their car for transportation and them for hostages. Talman was a real piece of work in this film. He bullies and taunts them for the entire running time of the film. He'll kill them when the time is right. As for now their plight serves as an object for his sick amusement. Talman is one terrifying and conscienceless human being.As for O'Brien and Lovejoy they're a pair of averages guys caught up in a bad situation. Lovejoy is the cooler of the two, but even he is close to breaking.The Hitch-Hiker is directed with crisp style by Ida Lupino. It's a terrifying film, as much horror as a Hitchcock effort without the froth.

SnoopyStyle This movie opens up with "This is the true story of a man and a gun and a car. The gun belonged to the man. The car might have been yours _ or that young couple across the aisle ... For the facts are actual." It reminds me of those industrial educational film played for high school students warning them of drunken driving or smoking weed. Roy Collins (Edmond O'Brien) and Gilbert Bowen (Frank Lovejoy) are driving off to have a good time away from the kids. They pick up psycho hitchhiker killer Emmett Myers (William Talman) who pulls out a gun. He forces them to drive.This is a strip down 71 minutes movie. Talman is over the top creepy with the wonky eye. It's the expected look of a psycho killer at the time. I didn't find it compelling. And I can't figure out why he kept both men. On the surface, there are a lot of compelling facts about this production. The dark subject matter puts it away from the big studios and solidly into the indie B-movie camp. The fact that director Ida Lupino is a woman makes this one of a short list. It also allowed her to work with blacklisted writer Daniel Mainwaring. However I didn't find neither the victims nor the killer that compelling. The movie just felt like dragging from one scene to the next. I find myself liking the production artwork a lot more than the movie.