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About this movie

Genres:
Horror, Science Fiction, Drama
Language:
English
Running time:
1:10:45
Partner rating:
GREEN
Released:
Quality:
480 (DVD equivalent)

Cast & Crew

Cast

  1. Edmond O'Brien Ray Collins
  2. Frank Lovejoy Gilbert Bowen
  3. William Talman Emmett Myers
  4. José Torvay Capt. Alvarado
  5. Sam Hayes Sam
  6. Wendell Niles Wendell
  7. Jean del Val Inspector General
  8. Clark Howat Government Agent
  9. Natividad Vacio Jose
  10. Rodney Bell William Johnson
  11. Wade Crosby Joe the Bartender
  12. Ed Hinton Chief of Police
  13. Larry Hudson FBI Agent
  14. Henry Escalante Mexican Guard
  15. Gordon Barnes Hendrickson
  16. Al Ferrara Gas Station Attendant
  17. Nacho Galindo Proprietor
  18. Martin Garralaga Bartender
  19. Tony Roux Gas Station Owner
  20. Jerry Lawrence News Broadcaster

Directors

  1. Ida Lupino

Producers

  1. Collier Young
  2. Ida Lupino

Writers

  1. Robert L. Joseph

The Hitch-hiker

Daniel Mainwaring took this story right out of the headlines of the day, penning this true story of a mass murderer who was eventually executed in San Quentin's gas chamber. Released during McCarthy's witch-hunt, Mainwaring was not given credit because Howard R. Hughes, who produced it under RKO, refused to give credit to any "radicals." The story is that of two men on a fishing trip who pick up a hitchhiker. He turns out to be a sadistic psychopath who has committed multiple murders, a sociopath who hates humanity because of his own abuse as a child. He also has an affliction which terrifies these two men: an eye which is permanently open, thereby never allowing them to know if he is really asleep or just faking it--something which he does with regularity to scare them...letting them take off and then meeting up with them just as they feel they have escaped from him. A tense thriller skillfully directed by the only female director of the time, Ida Lupino, it is a suspenseful tale of terror on the highways.

Reviews by Rotten Tomatoes

Scored 'fresh' by Rotten Tomatoes

100%Tomatometer score: 100% positive reviews from professional critics.

percent positive reviews

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