The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947)

Excellent but underrated film

Admirable film.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

A very enjoyable, mostly fast-paced film noir written & directed by Felix Feist, who also brought you This Woman Is Dangerous. FF doesn't muck around. The story of a murderous armed robber on the lam cracks along, and is full of snappy lines from all the characters - especially Lawrence Tierney, who clearly revels in his nastiness. Story gets a bit bogged down in a holiday house, and it's full of implausibilities, but it's also packed with a great supporting cast, who give it all they've got - even if what they've got tends to the fairly dumb at times..but hey, this is cheap and cheerful entertainment. Even Tierney's unremitting (and enjoyable) meanness is alleviated by the lively tone of the piece. Tierney by the way is the guy who plays Elaine's implacable dad in a classic episode of Seinfeld. However, his performances in the title roles of Dillinger and Born To Kill (both 1947) are chilling.

With a title like that, incredible plugs from several film noir historians and the presence of Lawrence Tierney, I just had to find this movie and buy it, even if it was sight-unseen and hard to obtain.This had a "Detour" look to it, meaning a very low-budget film noir with a no- name cast except for Tierney, although he wasn't a big star anyway. I knew him from the film "Born To Kill" and was intriguing. Tierney played the same kind of psycho here. He was convincing, since he was mean and tough and nasty in real life, too.In this film, four people dominate: one good man, one bad man, one good woman, one bad woman. The bad people, of course, have the best lines. You know Tierney is not good because insults everyone he sees, even a little baby. The other people are idiotic and you want slap them and say, "Wake up!" before Tierney does something bad to them.The cops in here are also a bit strange. They would rather play poker than go chase a criminal. On second thought, maybe that was sensible. Anyway, it was odd to see.In a nutshell, Tierney is on the run, and winds up with these other saps who he cons into hiding out in someone's vacant house. Most of the film is talk, not much action, but it moves pretty well and it only lasts 62 minutes. There are laughs along the way despite the seriousness of the story but it still was disappointing overall. I guess I expected too much. The title is still the best thing about the film. See it, if you can, but don't spend money on it as I did.

Ironic, given that TCM's print of "Detour" looks and sounds so awful it borders on unwatchable, this little film plays with crystal clear sound and a perfect picture.While "Devil" does not really approach the genius of "Detour", it is a very engaging story and a fun hour of film. The hitch-hiker is disturbingly without conscience, and his ability to manipulate the actions of both the driver and the other passengers display a rather keen understanding of the sociopathic personality. Just how different life was in the 1940's is immediately made clear by those two dames that get picked up early in the film (this is so unlikely in 21st America that no self-respecting film-maker would ask you to believe it).The pace is taunt, which I like, and there are a few real surprises along the way. Our story is marred only (and BADLY) by a very stupid slapped on ending that may have gotten a chuckle out of contemporary audiences, but will surely illicit only groans from the modern viewer. Still worthwhile, enjoy the ride and don't pick up any strangers!

I really need to see this little gem again. Tierney really is the whole movie.TCM runs "The Devil Thumbs A Ride" early in the mornings on rare occasions. On one of those I taped it several years ago, lent it to a brother and never got it back. GRR.Its plot is one those relentless, improbable stories with so many loose ends you cannot conceive of them all being tied up in 63 minutes.BTW, Tierney was the older brother of actor Scott Brady, who appeared in "He Walked By Night," "Johnny Guitar," "The China Syndrome" and many other films. More visible, but not as good an actor as his older bro. IMHO