The Devil Thumbs a Ride
Release date: 1947-02-20
Votes: 21
Genres: Thriller, Crime
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.
Reviews
John Chard
The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947) The Tierney Terror. The Devil Thumbs a Ride is directed and written by Felix E. Feist. It stars Lawrence Tierney, Ted North, Nan Leslie, Betty Lawford, Andrew Tombes, Harry Shannon, Glen Vernon and Marian Carr. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by J. Roy Hunt. After just robbing a San Diego theater and killing the manager, Steve Morgan (Tierney) hitches a ride to Los Angeles with Jimmy Ferguson (North), a trusting young salesman. After a stop at a gas station, the two men pick up a couple of dames looking for a ride, and soon Morgan is manipulating everyone so as to stay ahead of the cops looking for him. Compact at just over an hour in length, The Devil Thumbs a Ride thrives on account of Tierney’s strong performance. He in turn exudes a charming veneer and a cold hearted darkness that unnerves throughout. The set-up is pretty thin and even the most forgiving of noir fans will attest that the sheer idiocy of the other passengers beggars belief. No matter what Morgan does, however crazy or evil, he will spin a yarn and the dopes fall for it. While a plot strand that sees the head detective take a member of the public with him in pursuit of Morgan, is pushing it a bit too far. Still, once the four of them reach a beach house belonging to a friend of Ferguson, the picture gathers apace and the drama explodes to reveal its bloody denouement. Good noirish characters and Tierney on form ensure it’s never less than entertaining, though the weakness of the writing asks a lot of the audience. 6/10
Movie Recommendation
8MM1999-02-26A small, seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max, he relentlessly follows a bizarre trail of evidence to determine the fate of a complete stranger. As his work turns into obsession, he drifts farther and farther away from his wife, family and simple life as a small-town PI.More...
Chronicle2012-02-01Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.More...
The Shanghai Gesture1941-12-25A gambling queen uses blackmail to stop a British financier from closing her Chinese clip joint.More...
Dune: Part Two2024-02-27Follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.More...
Deadpool & Wolverine2024-07-24A listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life with his days as the morally flexible mercenary, Deadpool, behind him. But when his homeworld faces an existential threat, Wade must reluctantly suit-up again with an even more reluctant Wolverine.More...
Titanic1997-11-18101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.More...
Top Gun: Maverick2022-05-21After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.More...
Dune2021-09-15Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.More...
The Running Man1987-11-13By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.More...
Barbie2023-06-18Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.More...
The Northman2022-04-07Prince Amleth is on the verge of becoming a man when his father is brutally murdered by his uncle, who kidnaps the boy's mother. Two decades later, Amleth is now a Viking who's on a mission to save his mother, kill his uncle and avenge his father.More...
Weekend at Bernie's1989-07-05Two young insurance corporation employees try to pretend that their murdered employer is alive by puppeteering his dead body, leading a hitman to attempt to track him down to finish him off.More...
Red Heat1988-06-17A tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.More...
The Holdovers2023-10-27A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.More...
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey2012-12-12Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit enjoying his quiet life, is swept into an epic quest by Gandalf the Grey and thirteen dwarves who seek to reclaim their mountain home from Smaug, the dragon.More...
The Godfather Part II1974-12-20In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.More...
Home Alone1990-11-16Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. When thieves try to break into his home, he puts up a fight like no other.More...
The Shawshank Redemption1994-09-23Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.More...
The Blues Brothers1980-06-16Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.More...
Mickey 172025-02-28Unlikely hero Mickey Barnes finds himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living.More...
Similar Movies
Rebecca
1940-03-23Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.Water on Mars
2012-03-13Unhappy with his unstimulating home life, 9-year-old Daniel yearns to be abducted by aliens. He sneaks out of his house to relive the kind of adventures he once shared with his dad, but encounters a seedy cast of characters on his journey to see the universe.Among the Living
1941-12-12A mentally unstable man, who has been kept in isolation for years, escapes and causes trouble for his identical twin brother.711 Ocean Drive
1950-07-01A telephone repairman in Los Angeles uses his knowledge of electronics to help a bookie set up a betting operation. After the bookie is murdered, the greedy technician takes over his business. He ruthlessly climbs his way to the top of the local crime syndicate, but then gangsters from a big East Coast mob show up wanting a piece of his action.Roadside Assistance
2016-07-15A mysterious woman stranded by the side of the road hitches a ride with a passing stranger - neither of them is who they seem.Bad Boys II
2003-07-18Detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey of the Miami Narcotics Task Force are tasked with stopping the flow of the drug Ecstasy into Miami. They track the drugs to the whacked-out Cuban drug lord Johnny Tapia, who is also involved in a bloody war with Russian and Haitian mobsters. If that isn't bad enough, there's tension between the two detectives when Marcus discovers that playboy Mike is secretly romancing Marcus’ sister, Syd.Trapped
2002-09-20When their daughter is abducted by experienced kidnappers, the Jennings turn the tables on their seemingly fool-proof plan.John Q
2002-02-15John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the donor's list.Taken
2008-02-18Bryan Mills, a former government operative, is trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter Kim. After reluctantly agreeing with his ex-wife to let Kim go to Paris on vacation with a friend, his worst nightmare comes true. While on the phone with his daughter shortly after she arrives in Paris, she and her friend are abducted by a gang of human traffickers. Working against the clock, Bryan relies on his extensive training and skills to track down the ruthless gang that abducted her and launch a one-man war to rescue his daughter.The Vanishing
1988-10-27Rex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.Ace Ventura: When Nat...
1995-11-10Summoned from an ashram in Tibet, Ace finds himself on a perilous journey into the jungles of Africa to find Shikaka, the missing sacred animal of the friendly Wachati tribe. He must accomplish this before the wedding of the Wachati's Princess to the prince of the warrior Wachootoos. If Ace fails, the result will be a vicious tribal war.Thesis
1996-04-11While doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured to death. Soon she discovers that the girl was a former student at her college...3 Kids and a Queen
1935-10-21An eccentric, wealthy spinster, 'Queenie' Baxter is erroneously presumed to be kidnapped. She subsequently pretends to indeed be kidnapped, , in order to allow a reward of $50,000 to benefit an impecunious family headed by Tony Orsatti and his three sons, Blackie, Doc and Flash.Spare Parts
1979-05-21Honeymooning couple Monica and Mike check into a motel in New Mexico. All seems normal until an ambulance pulls up and abducts Mike. Monica narrowly escapes and, with the help of truck driver Bill, discovers the awful secret of the motel and the ambulance service.Mesrine: Killer Insti...
2008-10-22Jacques Mesrine, a loyal son and dedicated soldier, is back home and living with his parents after serving in the Algerian War. Soon he is seduced by the neon glamour of sixties Paris and the easy money it presents. Mentored by Guido, Mesrine turns his back on middle class law-abiding and soon moves swiftly up the criminal ladder.The Air I Breathe
2007-02-07A gambler’s bet spiraling into chaos, a gangster's prophetic visions, a pop star’s dark entanglement, a doctor’s desperate race against time to rescue his beloved... Four interconnected stories reveal life unfolding through four emotional pillars — joy, passion, grief, and love.Mercenary for Justice...
2006-04-25Mercenary John Seeger is one of the best in the business. John and his crew battle some soldiers on Galmoral Island in Southern Africa as they're trying to rescue the French Ambassador -- there's a coup going on. Some of John's soldiers unload their machine guns into the Ambassador and his family, blowing the mission and getting his best friend Radio Jones killed. He heads back to the US and visits Radio's wife Shondra to tells her the news, and then promises that he'll take care of her and her son Eddie. But shortly after he makes that vow, Shondra and Eddie get kidnapped.Paradox
2017-08-25When a Hong Kong police negotiator is informed about the sudden disappearance of his 16-year-old daughter in Thailand, he travels there to search for her whereabouts.Land of Smiles
2017-05-01A young backpacker is lured through the third world paradise of Thailand searching for her kidnapped best friend and unknowingly she becomes the object of a sociopath's obsession.El cerco
1955-08-31A group of robbers assault a factory in the port of Barcelona, but, upon being discovered, they are forced to flee hastily, each one his own way. An exhaustive police device is then initiated with the aim of capturing them. But the police persecution to which the members of the gang are subjected incites distrust between them and, one after another, they will fall, until only two remain.