The Hitch-Hiker

A film noir and a road movie in one. A road traveled under the gun of a serial killer, no less. Ray and Gilbert go fishing for the weekend. After picking up a hitch-hiker, as they soon find out, a man on the run followed by the FBI, the men’s trip out of town turns into a nightmare. Now it is Emmet Myers who navigates the trip to Mexico from the back seat. The more the frightened men show their dread, the more the killer derides them. Myers’ intention is to show his hostages what real masculinity means. The movie is based on the story of a real-life serial killer, William ‘Billy’ Cook, who terrorized America in 1950 and 1951, killing 6 people on a spree. He was finally captured in Mexico and sentenced to death in California in 1952. When PCA officials sternly rejected the screenplay as too violent, the authors turned to the Department of Justice for help. Lupino visited ‘Billy’ in jail to collect material. She reproduced his paralyzed eye which never closed, giving him a horrific resemblance to a Cyclops. Ida went out on set right after giving birth to her daughter, Bridget. Collier Young, Lupino’s second husband and producer of the film, got a cameo as a Mexican peasant.