Get Your Reps In: “The Hitch-Hiker” Is a Groundbreaking Road-Trip Thriller

The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

Legendary multihyphenate Ida Lupino was the first woman to make a mainstream American film noir, co-writing and directing this fictionalized take on the 1950 Billy Cook murder spree. It’s a groundbreaking road-trip thriller about two friends (Edmond O’Brien and Frank Lovejoy) who are taken hostage by a hitchhiker while traveling to Mexico. Cinemagic, Nov. 2.

Mission Hill (1999-2000)

Join Simpsons showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein for a special screening of a selection of newly restored, never-before-seen episodes of Mission Hill, their adult animated series about 20-somethings living in a big-city loft. Stick around afterward for a post-show Q&A with Oakley and Weinstein. Clinton, Nov. 4.

Decasia (2002)

Decasia is a 66-minute experimental meditation on the inevitable physical decay of film, consisting of a collage of segments edited together from deteriorating prints (all set to an original symphonic score by Michael Gordon). Made by experimental artist Bill Morrison, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2013. 5th Avenue, Nov. 4-6.

Gun Crazy (1950)

Two lovers (Peggy Cummins and John Dall) who share a twisted obsession with guns ditch the carnival where they work in favor of a bullet-blasting crime spree across the country. Screens as the first entry in Cinema 21′s “Film Noir in the 50s” series, hosted by film programmer Elliot Lavine. Cinema 21, Nov. 5.

Indecent Desires (1968)

Sexploitation auteur Doris Wishman’s obscure thriller follows a creep who finds a doll that miraculously resembles the secretary he’s fixated on (when he touches the doll, she feels it, setting off a series of erotic, violent and psychologically terrifying events). Featuring an introduction by artist Lisa Petrucci of Something Weird Video. Hollywood, Nov. 5.

ALSO PLAYING:

Academy: The Funhouse (1981), Nov. 2-3. Coraline (2009), Nov. 2-3. The Boxtrolls (2014), Nov. 4-10. The Killing (1956), Nov. 4-10. Cinemagic: Revenge (2017), Nov. 2. Raw (2016), Nov. 3. Night of the Creeps (1986), Nov. 4. Clinton: Tout Va Bien (1972), Nov. 7. Hollywood: Deliverance (1972), Nov. 2. The Outfit (1973), Nov. 3. Seven Grandmasters (1977), Nov. 8.