The Hitch Hiker

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The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

American film noir.
Two friends on a fishing trip pick up a stranded motorist who turns out to be a psychotic escaped convict. This sociopath has already murdered other good Samaritans in his efforts to evade authorities.

Based upon an incident that happened in California in the early 1950s. A man named Billy Cook murdered a family of five, including three children, then killed a traveling salesman. He kidnapped two hunters and took them across the border into Mexico, intending to kill them, too, but before he could he was captured by Mexican police and subsequently extradited to the US, where he was tried for the murders, convicted, and executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin on December 12, 1952.

In an interview, William Talman, who gave a chilling portrayal of escaped murderer and serial killer Emmett Meyers, recalled an incident that happened shortly after the release of the film, in which he was driving his convertible in Los Angeles with the top down, and he stopped at a red light.

Another driver in a convertible who was stopped next to him stared at him for a few seconds, then said, “You’re the hitchhiker, right?” Talman nodded, indicating that he was. The other driver got out of his car, went over to Talman’s car and slapped him across the face, then got back in his car and drove off.

In recalling the story, Talman said, “You know, I never won an Academy Award but I guess that was about as close as I ever will come to one.”

The Hitch-Hiker is regarded as the first American mainstream film noir directed by a woman and was selected in 1998 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”

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