On this day, March 28, 1912, screenwriter Lucille Fletcher was born.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Screenwriter Lucille Fletcher was #BornOnThisDay March 28, 1912. Remembered for her radio & TV work, credits include for radio Sorry Wrong Number (1943) later a film (1948) & The Hitchhiker, 1st a radio play, later adapted for TV's The Twilight Zone. Passed in 2000 (age 88). #RIP

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Lucille Fletcher


Fletcher in 1963

Born: Violet Lucille Fletcher; March 28, 1912; New York City, U.S.
Died: August 31, 2000 (aged 88); Langhorne, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater: Vassar College
Occupation: Writer
Known for: The Hitch-Hiker, Sorry, Wrong Number

Violet Lucille Fletcher (March 28, 1912 – August 31, 2000) was an American screenwriter of film, radio and television. Her credits include The Hitch-Hiker, an original radio play written for Orson Welles and adapted for a notable episode of The Twilight Zone television series. Lucille Fletcher also wrote Sorry, Wrong Number, one of the most celebrated plays in the history of American radio, which she adapted and expanded for the 1948 film noir classic of the same name. Married to composer Bernard Herrmann in 1939, she wrote the libretto for his opera Wuthering Heights, which he began in 1943 and completed in 1951, after their divorce.

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The Hitch-Hiker (The Twilight Zone)


Inger Stevens in a scene from the episode

Episode no.: Season 1, Episode 16
Directed by: Alvin Ganzer
Teleplay by: Rod Serling
Based on: The Hitch-Hiker by Lucille Fletcher
Featured music Stock, featuring Bernard Herrmann's score for the original radio version of "The Hitch-Hiker"
Production code: 173-3612
Original air date: January 22, 1960
Guest appearances:
Inger Stevens as Nan Adams
Leonard Strong as The Hitch-Hiker
Adam Williams as Sailor
Russ Bender as Counterman
Lew Gallo as Mechanic
George Mitchell as Gas Station Man
Eleanor Audley as Mrs. Whitney (voice)

"The Hitch-Hiker" is the sixteenth episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone which originally aired on January 22, 1960, on CBS. It is based on Lucille Fletcher's radio play The Hitch-Hiker. It is frequently listed among the series' greatest episodes.

Opening narration

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.

The narration continues after the dialogue between Nan and the mechanic.

Minor incident on Highway 11 in Pennsylvania. Perhaps, to be 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.

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If you've never seen "The Twilight Zone" episode "The Hitch-Hiker," you have missed one of the creepiest things on TV ever.

Wed Mar 29, 2023: On March 28, 1912, screenwriter Lucille Fletcher was born.

[samnsara]

1. thank you for sharing this. So many women in the early film and tv industry..

..my fav is Peg Lynch. Mostly radio..but some rare tv shows. She wrote all her own radio shows including The Couple Next Door, Ethel and Albert and The Little Things in Life.