The Lodger - 1926

One of Alfred Hitchcock's earliest thrillers is The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog.

Cast: Ivor Novello, June, Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, Malcolm Keen, Helena Pick, Alfred Hitchcock

Genre: Thriller/Crime

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay: Eliot Stannard, Alfred Hitchcock, Marie Belloc Lowndes

Cinematography: Baron Ventimiglia

Composer: Paul Zaza

Review:

The Lodger was made in 1926, a year before sound became a commercial reality for the movie industry. So it is a so-called silent film (Although there was never really any such thing- films were always shown with some kind of live musical accompaniment.) Of course, what was missing was dialogue, which made it impossible for films to be just "radio with pictures". What enthusiasts of the silent era maintain is that the absence of sound forced filmmakers to develop the visual potential of the medium to a high art.
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Review - continued

Certainly this is clearly evident in The Lodger which succeeds brilliantly in creating a powerfully atmospheric world and telling its story almost exclusively with images although there are a minimum of "inter-titles" as they are known.

Hitchcock was only 26 when he made The Lodger and although it was his third film, he said later that it was really his first because he was able to demonstrate his own very particular style. One of the pleasures of watching The Lodger is picking things that reappear in his later work.

Perhaps the most significant is the way he plays with guilt and innocence. The central figure, played by the popular actor, writer and composer Ivor Novello, is an ambiguous figure, anticipating the many Hitchcock heroes who would be accused of crimes they didn't commit. There are also the beautiful blondes and many minor details like staircases, handcuffs and the first of Hitchcock's cameo appearances.

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog is based on the novel by Mrs. Belloc Lowndes which is a retelling of the Jack the Ripper story. It has been remade many times, but when the production company, Gainsborough Pictures, first saw Hitchcock's version they hated it and withheld it, demanding changes. But, not for the first time, the public and the press proved them wrong. The film was a spectacular success, and one critic called it the finest British production ever made- "A directorial triumph".

But of course, lovers of the master's work need no such endorsement to relish the delights of The Lodger.
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