The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947)

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

I just want to quote the tagline for the film here, someone's deliciously demented hokum: "NOT EVEN HER KISSES COULD HALT HIS FURY...when his evil brain cried "KILL!"So there you have it, Detour's sibling film in the hitchhike b-noir subgenre is every bit as feverish. Once more a plucky all-American guy picks up disastrous company from out of the Californian night. Once more hidden urges threaten to pull apart the soul.Like that film, on the surface we have blackmail, deceit and all the other ordinary tropes of the potboiler, but it's the deeper noir engine that makes all the difference; our guy was on his way to a dream late at night, a dreamy wife waiting for him in Los Angeles (she's a dainty being and her room seems to be shot through with lace and frills), an anniversary that morning, but the gods of the crossroads have other plans in store, sardonic plans, mischievous.So he has no sooner finished talking on a gas-station phone with the wife, reassuring, sweet-talking, he's going to be there in a couple of hours tops, than two broads are in the backseat of his car. With booze spilled all over him and that stupid grin on his face, he'd have trouble convincing anyone he's not on his way back from partying in Vegas with a bunch of girls, the stuff about co-workers and a birthday party only the lame excuse.The sense of anxious nightmare becomes more evident when they hole up for the night in a friend's empty lakehouse. His panic to do the right thing and be back home in time for the wife not to be upset, in retrospect testimony makes him out to be the only one suspect. Turns out that every move he made incriminates him, every desperate phonecall in the middle of the night, the smell of booze all over him.The final beat is all about the horrifying dissolution of identity and self, so characteristic of noir.Meanwhile, cops are solving the case from the side of poker tables. It's all about fates dealing the cards cops assume, but the young gas-station attendant demonstrates there's clear math to it.The math is that there is no fate, the dreamer is always what is being dreamed. There is no difference between who you are and the narratives you surround yourself with. You will need no better clue than a miraculous last-minute apparition by the wife in that lakehouse that extricates him from nightmare. Whatever it is he was up to in Vegas, the film as a whole is one hell of a guilt trip.

This is a little-seen film noir that doesn't quite live up to its hype but comes pretty damn close.Starring that quintessential bad guy, Lawrence Tierney (who was a bad guy in his personal life as well which eventually sank his career)this film is truly deranged. Tierney goes on a killing spree and ties up with an innocent and very gullible salesman, played by Ted North, whoever he was. They go careening up the California coast, picking up a couple of hitchhiking girls on the way and end up in a beach house where they hide from the police. Some more killing takes place and then it ends. Doesn't sound like much, does it? But what makes it a part of noir history is the chilling performance of Tierney. He may have been the toughest looking, meanest guy in B-movie history and he plays it to the hilt. He is the reason to search out this film.

With a title like that, incredible plugs from several film noir historians and the presence of Lawrence Tierney, I just had to find this movie and buy it, even if it was sight-unseen and hard to obtain.This had a "Detour" look to it, meaning a very low-budget film noir with a no- name cast except for Tierney, although he wasn't a big star anyway. I knew him from the film "Born To Kill" and was intriguing. Tierney played the same kind of psycho here. He was convincing, since he was mean and tough and nasty in real life, too.In this film, four people dominate: one good man, one bad man, one good woman, one bad woman. The bad people, of course, have the best lines. You know Tierney is not good because insults everyone he sees, even a little baby. The other people are idiotic and you want slap them and say, "Wake up!" before Tierney does something bad to them.The cops in here are also a bit strange. They would rather play poker than go chase a criminal. On second thought, maybe that was sensible. Anyway, it was odd to see.In a nutshell, Tierney is on the run, and winds up with these other saps who he cons into hiding out in someone's vacant house. Most of the film is talk, not much action, but it moves pretty well and it only lasts 62 minutes. There are laughs along the way despite the seriousness of the story but it still was disappointing overall. I guess I expected too much. The title is still the best thing about the film. See it, if you can, but don't spend money on it as I did.

An awesome film noir, an awesome film of any color...not to be missed. Expert pacing, classic dialogue, terrific story. Highly recommended for anyone who's looking for something new and different, an escape from the today's tired formulas. Sure, this film is formulaic itself, but you'll love it. And watch for some bizarre bit players.