Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) The Hitch-Hiker (1980) User Reviews

Time Machine...?

[Brucey_D · 8/10 · 17 December 2020]

Starring roles for Rod Taylor and Cyril Cusack in this episode, which must have been filmed in summer 1979.

As far as I can tell the whole episode was filmed in the Cambridge area; many of the locations are quite recognisable even today. The Red Lion Hotel still exists and is near Whittlesford station. The final scenes are shot near Fulborn; it's distinctive windmill is clearly visible in the background.

The M11 western bypass wasn't yet finished when this was filmed, but further south the M11 was already in use.

Rod Taylor is perhaps most well known for 'The Time Machine' film, and for me, this episode's main interest is in glimpses of familiar locations forty years ago; this episode is its own time machine if you like.

The plot is pretty good and the acting is excellent. This makes it one of the better episodes in this series. Eight out of ten from me.

A warning for picking up hitchers.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 10 February 2016]

Paul Duvine, a successful American writer has a passion for top notch cars, his pride and joy, a large BMW saloon. On day he stops to pick up a hitchhiker, Michael Fish, an Irishman, who encourages him to break the speed limit. Fish 'Fingers' has slight of hand, and soon begins relieving Paul of his possessions, and causing his driver a load of annoyance and stress.

Dahl recounts the tale of his own picking up of a Hitchhiker, and what went wrong, so you can see where his idea came from.

Two utterly brilliant actors, Rod Taylor is fantastic as the nice guy with a kind heart, and Cyril Cusack does an awesome job as the devious, if slightly stereotypical Irish conman, a clever story, one that makes you angry watching it, evokes feelings that I last felt in 'The way up to Heaven.'

This is a very clever, intelligent, emotive episode. Watch it carefully. 8/10

The Hitch-Hiker

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 7 October 2022]

The story begins with an unnerving story from Roald Dahl. His experience of once picking up a hitchhiker who replied his kindness by sticking a knife to Dahl's throat.

I really wonder if it is a true story. Dahl did not strike me as someone who would pick up random strangers.

The Hitch-Hiker starts with American writer Paul Duveen (Rod Taylor) who his taking out his new fast cat, a BMW out for a ride.

He decides to pick up an old Irish hitch-hiker, who states his name is Michael Fish (Cyril Cusack.) He is a prickly character.

Unfortunately Duveen is coaxed by Fish to speed his car which unfortunately lands him in trouble with a traffic cop.

Duveen later finds out that Fish is a man of many talents, one of them being an expert pickpocket.

It is an interesting character study. Duveen feels at top of the world with his new ride. Yet he is brought down a peg or two both by the traffic cop and ultimately Fish.

Even though at one point Duveen thinks he has got away with any driving ban courtesy of Fish. You just know that another twist is coming. I doubt it would have mattered if Duveen was very careful with his car keys.

Sleight of hand

[nqure · 7/10 · 5 July 2021]

Dahl's ominous introduction is actually misleading as this episode leans more on the entertaining and brazenly audacious.

Paul Duveen, an American residing in Cambridge, picks up an itinerant vagrant, and so begins a series of events that see him booked for speeding, evade justice, only to discover that his passenger is a man with one final trick under his sleeve. We discover that Paul is a writer whilst Michael Fish, the hitchhiker, is much more enigmatic about what he does for a living. He is off to the races at Epsom, he tells Paul, despite not being a gambling man. Our interest is piqued.

It is a two-hander, though the late John Forgeham puts in a memorable performance as a stern, officious traffic-policeman. I did enjoy it when he asked - in his terse, offhand manner - if Paul was speeding for a number of implausible reasons . I liked how the power balance in the relationships seemed to shift during the episode, & not just between Paul & Michael - at one point, Michael feigns offence & asks to leave the car before Paul cajoles him back in .Who is actually in control here? The driver or his enigmatic passenger? Then there are the scenes with the policeman. Paul appears suitably contrite, whilst Michael is impertinent, as if he couldn't care less what book the law threw at him - precisely because he's already got it in his possession.

It is a well-structured piece for such a short drama, but loose enough to maintain a continual sense of the unpredictable. Ultimately, it is about a writer, the figure who thinks he is wiser than most (maybe even someone like Dahl himself), getting taught a lesson by a cunning trickster.

"You are my witness to a very serious offense."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 23 August 2021]

I never heard the term 'fingersmith' before, that's a pretty nice and sanitized way of calling one a pickpocket. I got a kick out of the motorcycle cop (John Forgeham) in this one, he had more than a share of plausible excuses he must have heard dozens of times before when he pulled Paul Duveen (Rod Taylor) over. The story is cleverly written, with passenger Michael Fish (Cyril Cusack) demonstrating various sides to his con-man character, all the while taking Duveen sufficiently into his confidence to pull off the ultimate heist. Roald Dahl opened this story with his own experience about a pair of hitchhikers that wound up turning him off to the whole idea. Using the hitchhiking theme, Rod Serling also came up with a story with the same title in the first season of his Twilight Zone series. That one turned out to be even more ominous than this one, with Inger Stevens in the role of the unlucky driver.

OK Tales of the Unexpected episode.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 28 April 2007]

Tales of the Unexpected: The Hitch-Hiker starts as an American author Paul Duveen (Rod Taylor) gets in his BMW in Cambridge & begins his drive to London, on the way he notices a hitch-hiker & decides to give him a lift. The elderly Irish hitch-hiker introduces himself as Michael Fish (no not the cult iconic British TV weatherman!, Cyril Cusack) & refuses to tell Duveen what he does for a living, unfortunately for Duveen it's not before long he finds out...

This Tales of the Unexpected story was episode 4 from season 2 that originally aired here in the UK during March 1980, the first of two Tales of the Unexpected episodes to be directed by Alastair Reid this was an OK way to pass 30 odd minutes. The story by Roald Dahl was dramatised by Robin Chapman & during his filmed introduction Dahl states that he always gave hitch-hikers lifts until one rainy night he stopped to pick two up one of whom stuck a knife to his neck & told him to get out which he did & they drove off leaving him in the rain & I suppose this story came from that unnerving experience. Anyway, this makes for a nice chance for this series while although it's yet another crime drama with a twist it's a different sort of story with a different setting & for that alone The Hitch-Hiker is a decent watch even if one might say it's a touch predictable, it's still pretty good fun to watch though with likable character's that are quite well developed considering it's tight running time.

Again this hasn't dated too well with horrible fashions, outdated police procedures & pretty awful looking cars. The casts of this series were generally excellent & feature all sorts of popular & familiar British TV actors & this is no exception with decent performances.

The Hitch-Hiker is a good tale of the unexpected episode that while in keeping with this series isn't outstandingly brilliant is watchable all the same.