The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

“Sure, you'll make it to Guaymas, but they'll catch up with you and put you out of your misery. You haven't got a chance. You haven't got a thing except that gun! You'd better hang onto it because without it, you're finished!”

            Sometimes when I come late at night I have to park down a hill from my house. Across the street from the hill is a bunch of trees and it is dark over by those trees and it is scary! I am always terrified that someone is gonna come out of those trees and attack me! I also get freaked out if I have to get in my car at night when my car is parked down the hill because I think someone is in the car waiting to get me! (Seriously, would you guys think I was twenty-eight?)

            The 1953 film The Hitch-Hiker begins with two guys Gilbert and Roy (Edmond O’Brien) being held up in their own car by a murderous hitch-hiker named Emmett Myers. That right there is one of my big fears!! Imagine getting in your car and someone is in the backseat with a gun pointed at you?! HELL NO!

            Since Emmett has escaped from jail he is trying to get down to a city in Mexico where he can take a ferry to get away to somewhere else. He has Roy and Gilbert drive him to the town but of course Emmett’s plan does not smoothly. The FBI and the Mexican police are working to stop him and even though they have no idea the police are helping out Roy and Gilbert have been leaving things behind for people to find them.

            Of course Emmett is captured and Roy and Gilbert go free.

            I was not too thrilled with The Hitch-Hiker. I think I was expecting it to be better for a few reasons: Ida Lupino not only directed the film she also wrote and produced it with her husband Collier Young and it is a Film Noir. I think I had my expectations too high for The Hitch-Hiker. So many film buffs I know told me I should watch it and that it was really good and I think that killed it for me. I also found it so frustrating because I wanted Gilbert and Roy to just run away so bad and Emmett was the most annoying bad guy ever! I will say I like the psychological games Emmett played with Roy and Gilbert to get them to do what he wanted and to break them down. That was cool. I will say The Hitch-Hiker is worth watching at least once. It is not totally terrible it is just not one of my favorite Noirs I have sat through or films in general.