The Hitch-Hiker

NEW DCP COMING SOON!  Beyond its obvious cultural significance as the only classic film noir directed by a woman (actress Ida Lupino), THE HITCH-HIKER is perhaps... Read more

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The Hitch-Hiker

Directed by Ida Lupino

Year: 1953
Running Time: 71
Color Type: B&W
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Country: U.S.
Language: English
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The Hitch-Hiker

Cast
Frank Lovejoy
Edmond O'Brien
William Talman

Crew
Directed by Ida Lupino


Beyond its obvious cultural significance as the only classic film noir directed by a woman (actress Ida Lupino), THE HITCH-HIKER is perhaps better remembered as simply one of the most nightmarish motion pictures of the 1950s. Inspired by the true-life murder spree of Billy Cook, THE HITCH-HIKER is the tension-laden saga of two men on a camping trip (Edmond O'Brien and Frank Lovejoy) who are held captive by a homicidal drifter (William Talman). He forces them, at gunpoint, to embark on a grim joyride across the Mexican desert.

Renegade filmmaking at its finest, THE HITCH-HIKER was independently produced, which allowed Lupino and ex-husband/producer Collier Young to work from a treatment by blacklisted writer Daniel Mainwaring, and tackle an incident that was too brutal for the major studios to even consider.

Awards

  • National Film Registry 1998

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Good pals Frank Lovejoy and Edmund O'Brien have their fishing expedition interrupted by trigger-happy William Talman in Ida Lupino's THE HITCH-HIKER.
Frank Lovejoy and Edmund O'Brien star as two good friends whose fishing expedition goes awry when they encounter THE HITCH-HIKER, directed by Ida Lupino.
William Talman, as THE HITCH-HIKER, terrorizes everyone he encounters in the classic noir directed by Ida Lupino.
William Talman's Emmett Myers emerges from the shadows in Ida Lupino's THE HITCH-HIKER.
Ida Lupino's THE HITCH-HIKER features the distinctive rock formations and terrain of Lone Pine.
Frank Lovejoy is perhaps best remembered as the quintessential noir everyman, a description that fits his role as Gilbert Bowen in Ida Lupino's THE HITCH-HIKER.
Edmund O'Brien, a veteran of many a film noir, here plays Roy Collins in Ida Lupino's THE HITCH-HIKER.
William Talman, as the titular character, takes the wheel in Ida Lupino's THE HITCH-HIKER.
From left: William Talman, Frank Lovejoy and Edmund O'Brien in Ida Lupino's THE HITCH-HIKER.
A fraught moment for Frank Lovejoy and Edmund O'Brien in Ida Lupino's THE HITCH-HIKER.
William Talman may be outnumbered for most of the running time, but his is a frightening and formidable villain in Ida Lupino's THE HITCH-HIKER.
Edmund O'Brien and Frank Lovejoy cannot shake William Talman's THE HITCH-HIKER.
Ida Lupino's THE HITCH-HIKER is a prototypical noir film set in an environment more normally seen in a western.
Edmund O'Brien involuntarily dons THE HITCH-HIKER's black leather coat.
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