The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947)

Law-abiding Jimmy Ferguson soon regrets giving a ride to killer Steve Morgan.

Director:

Felix E. Feist

Writers:

Robert C. DuSoe (novel), Felix E. Feist

Stars:

Lawrence Tierney, Ted North, Nan Leslie

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lawrence Tierney	...	Steve Morgan
Ted North	...	Jimmy 'Fergie' Ferguson
Nan Leslie	...	Beulah Zorn, alias Carol Demming
Betty Lawford	...	Agnes Smith
Andrew Tombes	...	Joe Brayden, Night Watchman
Harry Shannon	...	Detective Owens, San Diego Police
Glen Vernon	...	Jack Kenny, Gas Station Attendant
Marian Carr	...	Diane Ferguson
William Gould	...	Police Capt. Martin, San Diego Police
Josephine Whittell	...	Diane's mother
Phil Warren	...	Pete, Roadblock Motorcycle Cop
Robert Malcolm	...	Deputy Sheriff Grover

Storyline

Steve Morgan kills a man in a holdup and hitches a ride to Los Angeles with Fergie. At a gas station, they pick up two women. Encountering a roadblock, Morgan takes over and persuades the party to spend the night at an unoccupied beach house. The police close in as one by one, the others learn that Morgan is a killer.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic | hijack | evil man | cult film | robbery | 

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Taglines:

He'll kill until he dies!

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 February 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Morte Misteriosa

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min 62 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

User Reviews

Brutal

Laurence Tierney seems to have been born to play this role. He is sinister, amoral, nasty. It's beautifully filmed and superbly directed, though it has a raw feel.

Tiernry is the title character. A devil he surely is. He gets the poor dope who picks him up a very hard time. The two women they then give rides to fare even less well.

Betty Lawford is perfect as the tough, over-the-hill floozy of those two. She is always looking for a deal for herself -- silk stockings, salvation... We like her, though, and feel that we may have encountered her or her like behind countless counters.

We feel bad for the gas station attendant when Tierney says cruel things about the picture of his young daughter. There is no doubt: Tierney's character is a dreadful person. But the gas station attendant is a pain himself. He's an annoying know-it-all.

The police are not portrayed in a very favorable light, either. So who do we actually like? Maybe the younger of the two hitchhikers, Beulah. Her older pal, though we surely do not admire her. The watchman Tierney cruelly gets drunk? Not really.

It's a slice of life cut with a hatchet and the slice is not pretty no matter what angle we look at it from.