ChikPapa Very disappointed :(

Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

ackstasis By all accounts, Lawrence Tierney was one mean customer. He got his break in Hollywood playing the titular gangster in 'Dillinger (1945),' and its success saw him typecast as the ultimate bad-guy. In Felix Feist's 'The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947),' Tierney gives a powerhouse performance as Steve Morgan, a scheming fugitive who hitches a ride with law-abiding salesman Jimmy Ferguson (Ted North). As a short, sharp low-budget thriller, the film has plenty to recommend, any weaknesses early on compensated for by a mounting air of tension that you could cut with a knife. Steve Morgan is a riveting character from the moment he appears on screen. For one, he's not afraid to speak his mind, even insulting the appearance of the gas station attendant's (Glen Vernon) baby daughter. When Morgan propositions a virginal runaway (Nan Leslie), his flattering advances sound more like threats than complements. Only fellow hitchhiker Agnes Smith (Betty Lawford) can rival his hardness, a callous tramp looking out for herself. Given the B-movie budget, the other performances as about as good as one could expect. Ted North is almost too amiable as the main character, constantly appearing smitten by the mere thought of his pretty wife. Betty Lawford is good, playing her role precisely as Claire Trevor might have – incidentally, Tierney would co-star with Trevor that same year in 'Born to Kill (1947).' Harry Shannon's San Diego police chief inhabits the quaint universe of B-movie law enforcement, playing poker between phonecalls and recruiting an enthusiastic boy-scout gas station attendant to come along for the ride. These idiosyncracies come with the territory, I suppose – very few low-budget noirs are without the occasional weak performance or dubious plot turn. More damning is that Steve Morgan is denied an ending that befits his mighty presence, the film cutting to the next scene without allowing his fate to sink in. At least the meagre finances allow greater freedom for risk-taking: certainly, no big-budget studio picture would have delegated the young, innocent beauty to lie face-down in a lagoon.

Prof-Hieronymos-Grost Jimmy 'Fergie' Ferguson is a pretty dumb travelling salesman who gives a late night ride to Steve Morgan(Lawrence Tierney),a man on the lam from the cops after a daring armed robbery went wrong leaving a guard dead.While stopping at a gas station Morgan offers a ride to two damsels in distress who are going their way,Morgan thinks it will help cover his tracks but the gas station attendant is a police informer and recognizes Morgan from police descriptions and soon the police are on their tails.Fergie himself has been drinking heavily and Morgan uses this as a ruse for his dodging the cops but as the heat mounts and they dodge roadblocks,Morgan whose ID is still not known to the occupents suggests they take the heat off and go to the nearby beach house owned by one of Fergie's workmates,it is here that the Devil in Morgan appears. There are a few well developed sub plots within this short but pacey thriller,the cops are given a humorous and a very relaxed crime fighting spirit,the crimes tending to interfere too much with their poker games,The card shark gas attendant who takes their money is also given a humorous side but all characters are given time to develop.Betty Lawford as the tough blonde Agnes is very good and is a good foil for the more sheltered brunette Carol Demming an aspiring actress who Morgan takes an immediate shine to,the feeling is not mutual.Ted North as Fergie is perhaps the least successful character,his role serving little more than a starting point for the film to gather pace but it is without doubt the performance of Tierney that steals the show,a real life tough guy whose menace is never in any doubt.Often compared to Ulmer's Detour and Lupino's Hitchhiker,The Devil Thumbs a Ride is perhaps left a little wanting in such high brow company,but it still remains a fun and exciting entry in the RKO back catalogue and despite its wonderfully descriptive title isn't really that violent,most of the violence occurring off screen.See it if you get a chance

drednm This little gem sure packs a punch---or a low blow. Lawrence Tierney is wonderful as the psycho who tricks a dope (Ted North) into giving him a ride from San Diego to Los Aangeles. Along the way they pick up two stranded women: a tough blond (Betty Lawford), and an innocent (Nan Leslie). Of course Tierney is on the lam from a robbery and murder but he fools them into dodging the cops (after he runs one down) by going to the dope's friend's beach house for the night. Several sub plots involve some interesting characters. No on is really what they seem to be. The dope is driving drunk across state but he's actually a devoted husband trying to get home. Tierney is a vicious killer. The blond is a willing accomplice, and the innocent wants to be an actress. The cops (especially Harry Shannon) are almost comical in their rapport, and the gas station kid (Glen Vernon) turns out to be a card shark. Great characters here with everyone having some nice screen time. Andrew Tombes is the night watchman who makes a spectacular drunk. Minerva Urecal is the widow with THE phone (Laguna Beach was the STICKS in 1947), and Marian Carr is the little wife who makes a surprise appearance. Josephine Whittell is the mother in law. Dick Elliott is the guy with the stupid dog.Tierney is the driving force and he's really good in his patented tough guy role. Lawford is surprisingly good. She hadn't made a film since 1937 and never made another after this one. She kept reminding me of Lizabeth Scott. Vernon almost steals the film as the gas station kid who goes along for a ride with the cops. North is the weakest actor but his dope part doesn't really call for much. Interesting little noir film with a totally unrepentant main character. He never even bats an eye!

Carolyn Paetow Written and directed by the auteur of the Crime Does Not Pay shorts, this entertaining film noir is not what one might expect. Rather than a straight, hard-edged drama, the movie is so riddled with comic relief that it has the quirky quality of a burlesque. Many of the characterizations are zany, and most of the acting ranges from mediocre to abysmally bad. Only Lawrence Tierney's portrayal of the diabolical hitcher keeps the plot from sinking into farce, as his sardonic, serpent-like treatment drives the story relentlessly through a cast of ditzy dames, doddering drunks, and card-dealing cops. Fans of Tierney and so-terrible-it's-terrific flicks should thus be delighted! (And keep an eye out for all the Production-Code-breaching innuendo!)