1x16 The Hitch-Hiker - The Twilight Zone (1959) Episode Guide

The Twilight Zone (1959)

- Episode 01x16

Episode: 01x16
Title: The Hitch-Hiker
Type: Regular Episode
Production Code: 173-3612
First Aired: Jan. 22, 1960

Season 1 » Episode #16 - The Hitch-Hiker

The Twilight Zone (1959) - 01x16 The Hitch-Hiker

Summary: While driving cross-country, a young woman notices the same hitch-hiker on the road ahead, beckoning her toward a fatal accident.

Who appeared in this episode?

Narrator

Guest Stars:

Nan Adams	played by Inger Stevens
Sailor	played by Adam Williams
Mechanic	played by Lew Gallo
The Hitch-Hiker	played by Leonard Strong
Counterman	played by Russ Bender
Gas Station Man	played by George Mitchell (II)
Mrs. Whitney	played by Eleanor Audley
Waitress	played by Mitzi McCall
Highway Flagman	played by Dwight Townsend

Episode Quotes

Season 1 / Episode 16: - The Hitch-Hiker

The Hitch-Hiker: Going my way?

Season 1 / Episode 16: - The Hitch-Hiker

Narrator: Her name is Nan Adams. She's twenty-seven years old. Her occupation - buyer at a New York department store. At present on vacation, driving cross-country to Los Angeles California from Manhattan. Minor incident on Highway 11 in Pennsylvania. Perhaps filed away under "accidents you walk away from." But from this moment on, Nan Adams' companion on a trip to California will be terror; her route - fear... her destination... quite unknown.

[More Quotes]

MISTAKES/GOOFS

CONT: When Nan tries to run over the hitchhiker, she swerves her car, a light-colored 1959 Mercury, at him. But in the insert shot that shows the car swerving, it's a black 1957 Ford.
GEOG: When Nan, in her car, escapes the oncoming train, the locomotive is clearly marked "SP" on the nose. The Southern Pacific RR did not serve the part of the US she was supposed to be in. It is obviously footage shot in California, where the SP did run.

TRIVIA

The original radio play was originally produced for a summer replacement series called "Suspense" on September 2, 1942 and starred Orson Welles. The program was so popular that Welles restaged the same script for "Philip Morris Playhouse" on October 15, 1942 and "Mercury Summer Theater on the Air" on June 21, 1946.
The protagonist's voice-over narration references the radio-play source of the episode.
Alfred Hitchcock (I) tried to purchase the rights to the radio play for his television series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955), for $2000 but his bid was rejected. Nevertheless, Cayuga Productions was able to obtain rights to Lucille Fletcher's script for $2000 and $1100 for each episode re-run.
The Hitch-Hiker only has a total of two lines.
Musical cues Bernard Herrmann composed for the 1946 radio production were re-scored for this episode.

Episode Screenshots (From Season 1)

KEYWORDS:

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