THE HITCH-HIKER (Lupino, 1953)
(Directed by Ida Lupino from a screenplay by Lupino and Collier Young; starring Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, and William Talman. Released 20 March 1953; watched 2023w07 via Criterion Channel)
As an avowed sucker for small casts and minimal locations, THE HITCH-HIKER is eveything I want in a noir: Lupino wastes no time, not a single frame –this thing MOVES. Career-best performances from O'Brien (need to rewatch DOA at some point), Lovejoy, and Talman – Talman especially: the "you can't tell when I'm sleeping" scene is one of the most unsettling in recent memory, noir or otherwise. While possessed of its fair share of shadow dark, it's THE HITCH-HIKER's use of the wide-open desert that makes it special: proof that it doesn't have to been dimly lit and shadowy to underscore the shadow of our souls; sometimes it's the inexhaustible light that casts the darkest pall.
