“The devil thumbed another ride,” declares the radio announcer, a warning too late for Roy (Edmond O'Brien) and Gilbert (Frank Lovejoy), two fishing buddies who have just picked up a hitchhiker. Their trip to Baja was supposed to be a joyful weekend away from the wives, not a terror tour through the harsh Mexican desert. Under the watchful eye of a downwardly mobile maniac (played by William Talman of Perry Mason fame), the two pals find themselves captive in their commandeered car, heading for the coastal town of Santa Rosalia. Director Ida Lupino uses the almost pitiless Mexican landscape to great effect (though much of what we see is actually California's Owens Valley). If the nefarious streets of the city underpin the classic noir, its counterpart could be this foreboding rock-strewn stretch, captured by the great cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca. Talman's psychopath disdains all in his way, including the local inhabitants who speak only indecipherable “Mexican.” Doubtless, the homicidal hitchhiker will meet his own end, communicated in a tongue he can better understand.