Hitch Hike story
Charles Underhill and his niece Anne pick up teenager Len as a hitchhiker. Underhill learns that Len is a juvenile delinquent and, believing that Len is going to hurt him, speeds to get the attention of a police officer. Len is revealed to be unarmed, and Underhill receives a ticket instead. Underhill is distressed at destroying his crime-free record, but Len pickpockets the officer's book, saving him. Directed by: Paul Henreid. Story by: Ed Lacy, Bernard C. Schoenfeld.
16 total · 5 major · 11 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| guardian and child | major | Anne's uncle Charles was her legal guardian and was concerned about her good standing in the community. |
| teenage rebellion | major | Anne was a stereotypical troubled teen, and had been sentenced to probation over her role in stealing a car. |
| uncle and niece | major | The story concerned the troubled relationship between Charles and his juvenile delinquent niece, Anne. |
| young character vs. old character | major | Charles was an old stick-in-the-mud and Len a young, rebellious man. |
| youth rebellion | major | One gathers from the cultural backdrop of the time that the juvenile delinquent Anne and the nonconformist young hitchhiker Len represented a larger challenge to the prevailing social order, as represented by the law-abiding older man Charles. |
| conservative vs. liberal | minor | Len commented on how old "insiders" like Charles are conservative and opposed to young "outsiders" like Len and Anne. |
| dangerous driving | minor | Charles was issued a speeding ticket for going 80 mph in a 40 mph zone. |
| fear for one's life | minor | Charles feared for his life after he thought Len had made veiled threats about killing him. |
| female attraction to bad men | minor | Charles commented on how girls like Anne instantly fall for the rowdiest delinquents. |
| labor strikes in society | minor | In his sketch, Alfred Hitchcock commented on some workers who were picketing for extra hours. |