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🔔 Notify me when it’s streamingSynopsis
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.
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Cast & crew
Directed by Felix E. Feist
Lawrence TierneySteve Morgan
Ted NorthJimmy 'Fergie' Ferguson
Nan LeslieBeulah Zorn, alias Carol Demming
Betty LawfordAgnes Smith
Andrew TombesJoe Brayden, Night Watchman
Harry ShannonDetective Owens, San Diego Police
Marian CarrDiane Ferguson
William GouldPolice Capt. Martin, San Diego Police
Josephine WhittellDiane's motherPhil WarrenPete, Roadblock Motorcycle CopRobert MalcolmDeputy Sheriff Grover
Glen VernonJack Kenny, Gas Station AttendantVideos
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Reviews · from TMDB members
John ChardFeb 23, 2014
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 s… Read more
alesman. 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