Ida Lupino‘s 1953 true crime noir, The Hitch-Hiker, sees Collins (Edmond O’Brien) and Gilbert (Frank Lovejoy) unintentionally decide up Emmet Myers (William Talman), a violent assassin and escaped convict. The movie facilities round whether or not or not the pair will be capable of escape Myers earlier than he kills them. The Hitch-Hiker is a good watch for anybody wishing to check character writing and the best way to maximize each facet of storytelling. Not many movies could possibly be made with a small funds and basically simply three characters and maintain such a tense and interesting narrative. Lupino’s affect on this movie is felt all through the narrative and filmmaking, in her number of characters and the way she makes use of them. Not solely is the directing and cinematography a triumph, however all three actors, O’Brien, Lovejoy, and Talman, give incredible performances, guaranteeing The Hitch-Hiker is effectively deserving of its 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ida Lupino Excels at Exploring the Noir Style Via True Crime
Ida Lupino weaves a tense story that attracts from the real-world inspiration of Billy Cook dinner, who murdered six folks and kidnapped three others in 1950, who he took on “murderous highway journeys”. The opening of The Hitch-Hiker is a shot of a person, who we by no means see however assume is Myers, ready to hitchhike, together with textual content that explains that this might occur to anybody. It is a bone-chilling and chilly reminder that sticks with the viewers all through the movie. Lupino makes use of Myers to intensify the gritty, noir facets of the movie, exploring the soul of a person with no morals.
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As the primary U.S. basic noir movie directed by a lady, Lupino takes a novel strategy to exploring the male-dominated style. Collins and Gilbert are each ex-army, with Gilbert being an skilled marksman, however neither are nice heroes nor badasses. Reasonably than seeing them pounce on Myers in his sleep, they attempt to run off. Watching their compliance and rising desperation is a much more attention-grabbing exploration of the need to outlive that exists inside all of us relatively than the unnatural will to threat your life preventing a battle towards the chances. Equally, Myers’ anti-climactic ending goes towards the basic noir ending of our heroes having an enormous confrontation with the villain, like in The Third Man, which got here out 4 years prior.
Within the novel The Making of The Hitch-Hiker, Lupino defined that she wished a way of “realism” within the seize of Myers, the place police merely discover and arrest Myers on the finish of the road, which is how Cook dinner was captured. The second of Myers’ arrest could possibly be considered as anti-climactic, however Myers’ helplessness as he’s held by police, and his incapacity to defend himself when he’s attacked by Collins, reveals the lack of the ability that he held all through the movie. We see that ultimately, an individual’s morally condemnable actions will meet up with them.
‘The Hitch-Hiker’ Is Shot Extremely For Its Time
Regardless of this being filmed in 1953 and produced independently, The Hitch-Hiker seems to be unimaginable. Well-known cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca shot the film, highlighting the distinction of the shadows towards the desert, turning it into much more of a hellish, inescapable wasteland than it already is. Shot largely with the three males in a automotive, the digital camera’s motion at one level from outdoors the automotive to inside, revealing Myers within the shadows. It’s a nice little bit of digital camera movement, because it positions Myers like a monster within the shadows, making him a terrifying villain from the start.
The rear projection used all through holds as much as today, and offering a way of movement that’s consistently constructing rigidity as we see our heroes shifting nearer to their finish vacation spot, and probably their remaining one. Having this sort of movement blended with the claustrophobia of Collins and Gilbert being trapped within the automotive with Myers is an efficient use of all of the instruments at a director’s disposal. The Hitch-Hiker is just not with out errors, as at completely different factors, throughout exterior pictures, you may clearly see solely two males within the automotive, relatively than the three there must be. Nevertheless, these will be forgiven contemplating the movie’s apparent limitations in funds and expertise.
William Talman and Edmond O’Brien Ship Standout Performances In ‘The Hitch-Hiker’
Nice writing and directing usually are not sufficient to maintain a 70-minute narrative with simply three characters, nevertheless. The charisma, chemistry, and performances of the actors could make or break the movie, and in The Hitch-Hiker, Lovejoy, O’Brien, and Talman make each single line, motion, and response rely. Nevertheless, while Lovejoy’s Gilbert is nice as the common one who sticks up for his good friend, it’s Edmond O’Brien as Collins and William Talman as Emmet Myers that notably stand out, as they’re polar opposites that distinction with one another so effectively. Regardless of virtually zero backstory on this movie, Collins feels gentler than Gilbert, partly because of not being the marksman and the very fact Myers picks him because the sufferer to bully.
As we watch Collins turn out to be increasingly determined, Myers’ sick and twisted enjoyment turns into higher, with the glint in his eye rising as Collins’ terror-filled scowl deepens. After Collins has a breakdown, Myers takes nice pleasure in telling Gilbert to depart him alone, quipping, “Cannot you see he is praying?” These opposites of brutality and vulnerability make Myers’ seize on the finish a lot extra rewarding. Talman’s menacing and funky demeanor when Myers acts as if he have been on a highway journey with a number of buddies is terrifying and his violent outlook on the world makes you concern for all of the characters he interacts with. This cements him as among the best noir villains of all time.
General, The Hitch-Hiker is a good and distinctive noir thriller. Ida Lupino’s sensible and distinctive strategy exposes the fragility of Myers’ energy and explores the survival instincts inside humanity, offering an enchanting execution of the basic noir style. The Hitch-Hiker is made stronger by all of its distinctive elements coming collectively to make it nice, with all three of the important thing actors giving 110% to the roles and making the noir thriller a must-watch movie for anybody who loves cinema.
Throughout a seemingly strange fishing journey, two pals discover themselves in a dangerous state of affairs after selecting up a hitchhiker who’s a wished felony. As their journey turns into more and more harmful, they have to devise a plan to flee the relentless risk posed by their risky passenger.
- Launch Date
- March 30, 1953
- Director
- Ida Lupino
- Solid
- Edmond O’Brien , Frank Lovejoy , William Talman , José Torvay , Sam Hayes , Wendell Niles , Jean Del Val , Clark Howat , Natividad Vacío , Larry Hudson , Collier Younger , Gordon Barnes , Rodney Bell , Orlando Beltran , Wade Crosby , June Dinneen , Joe Dominguez , Henry A. Escalante , Al Ferrara , Taylor Flaniken , Nacho Galindo , Martin Garralaga , Ed Hinton , Jerry Lawrence , George Navarro , Kathy Riggins , Tony Roux , Felipe Turich , Rosa Turich
- Runtime
- 71 Minutes
- Writers
- Ida Lupino , Robert L. Joseph , Collier Younger , Daniel Mainwaring
The Hitch-Hiker is at present obtainable to stream on Prime Video within the U.S.
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