There may be some menace in the eye of a villain that won't shut, and some sadism in him making one buddy shoot a can out of another's hand from a distance, but overall there's not enough meat on the bones of this film to keep it interesting. It's too linear and too simple, even if it is an accurate portrayal of the killer Billy Cook, who had shocked the nation a couple of years earlier. Maybe the title card which stresses how it COULD BE YOU was inserted out of a perceived need to heighten the emotions for the spare, lean content which follows, in case viewers couldn't make that mental leap. Director Ida Lupino creates a mood out in the desolate wasteland and sticks to it, and hats off to her being behind the camera though. I suppose it doesn't much matter what labels are put on it, but I was surprised to see this one categorized as film noir, as it doesn't seem like it to me.
Review of The Hitch-Hiker
