Hitch Hike 1977

On a long road back to Los Angeles, Walter Mancini, Franco Nero, an alcoholic reporter, travels with his wife Eve Mancini, Corinne Cléry, and their trailer. They pick up a hitch-hiker who introduces himself as Adam Konitz, David Hess, and what begins as a tense ride quickly reveals its dark core: Konitz is a sadistic escapee from an institution for the criminally insane, and he’s fleeing with two million dollars stolen with partners. He wastes no time in seizing control, forcing Eve to drive toward Mexico while the couple’s world collapses around them.

Soon they are halted by two policemen. Walter tries to signal for help by writing SOS on a matchbox, but Konitz shoots the officers and keeps the group moving. After a night on the road, Konitz’s two partners—whom he had betrayed to keep all the loot for himself—open fire, seize the money, and take the car. They decide to keep the Mancinis alive just long enough to reach the Mexican border, planning to disappear with the fortune.

As they press on, the trio is ambushed by a truck that crashes into their vehicle. The attacker turns out to be Konitz again, who kills his former associates and reclaims the money and the hostage pair. At a secluded spot, Konitz strips Eve and sexually assaults her, forcing Walter to watch the horror. When Konitz prepares to kill Walter, Eve grabs Walter’s hunting rifle and fires, killing Konitz.

Even with Eve’s protests, Walter chooses to keep the two million rather than seek police help. Their fragile veneer of safety shatters again when four young motorcyclists—met earlier at a gas station—pass them on the road, oil spilling across the surface and sending the car off the pavement. A thief scavenges Walter’s pocket for three hundred dollars, leaving the cargo bag with the money untouched. The gang rides away, and Eve is badly injured.

Walter retrieves Konitz’s body from the trailer and places it at the crash site, then tells the dying Eve that the supposed “helpers” had, in fact, only aided his plan. With Eve fading, he lights a cigarette, sets the car and trailer on fire, and starts walking toward the next horizon. A passing car eventually appears, and Walter sticks out a thumb, stepping into an uncertain future with the money—and the moral ruin—still with him.