The Hitch-Hiker

Released in 1953, The Hitch-Hiker occupies a singular place in American film history. Directed by Ida Lupino, one of the few women working behind the camera in Hollywood during the era, it was the first American film noir directed by a woman. Inspired by the real-life crimes of spree killer Billy Cook, the film strips the genre down to its essentials, creating a tense and relentless tale of fear and survival.

What begins as a routine fishing trip becomes a nightmare when friends Roy Collins (Edmond O’Brien) and Gilbert Bowen (Frank Lovejoy) pick up a hitchhiker named Emmett Myers (William Talman), an escaped killer wanted for a string of murders. Forced to drive him through the Mexican desert at gunpoint, the two men search desperately for a chance to escape. But Myers’ unnerving habit of sleeping with one eye open leaves them uncertain whether he is ever truly off guard.