- The Hitch-Hiker is a nasty little film noir that impresses both with its excellent cinematography and with its refreshingly simple story. Steering away from the all-too-common noir potboiler, director Ida Lupino delivers a terse, straightforward tale of a villainous escaped convict named Myers (William Talman) and his two hapless victims, Collins and Bowen (Edmond O'Brien and Frank Lovejoy). The first several scenes only provide dark hints of Myers' malevolence, but the big reveal in the back of Bowen's car shows a man whose ugly countenance matches his scarred soul.
- The rest of the film follows the eponymous hitch-hiker as he forces Collins and Bowen through a hellish tour of northern Mexico. Myers is particularly intimidating because he's both sadistic enough to make Collins shoot cans out of Bowen's hand but also careful enough never to slip up. And then there's that unblinking eye of his that never permits the two men an opportunity to escape. Amplifying Myers' threatening demeanor is some of the best low light cinematography I've seen in any film noir, whether depicting dimly lit backwoods or the shadowed docks of a port town. The whole thing makes for a rather terrifying ride, and one that I won't soon forget.
- William Talman played the DA in Perry Mason!
- Ida Lupino was one of the few women to direct a film noir.
- It is further worth noting that is one of the very few films of its era in which Mexicans are depicted positively.
