The Lodger (1944)

Really Surprised!

Nice effects though.

Excellent but underrated film

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

I'm constantly amazed at how well these old movies from the 40s and 50s conveyed mood, time and space. They didn't have the CGI effects we have today to generate backgrounds so they used what they had. I think it looks more genuine than the stuff today. London's Whitechapel is an icky, smoky, dark, dank and shallow place in the 1880s. The narrow streets and sense of everything pushed together gives the whole movie a sense of claustrophobia.Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Sara Allgood play the Bontings, who open their home to Mr. Slade (Laird Cregar), the lodger of the title. He is a pathologist who carries a black medical bag, goes out at odd hours, and is kind of creepy. Merle Oberon is the Bontings' niece, Kitty, who is a stage dancer at a local theater. Lastly, George Sanders (The Saint/The Falcon) plays Scotland Yard detective Warwick.Mr. Slade's behavior becomes more and more suspicious as the Ripper killings continue and the locals are in a frenzy. The Ripper murders are handled pretty gently with only shadows and off camera screams. Nothing on camera (I think its actually more effective to imagine the murders anyway) and they play with a lot of the facts of the murders in terms of timing and level of savagery.The movie is ambiguous as to whether Slade IS the Ripper. Was he the actual Ripper or was he just "working" during the same time as the Ripper. The movie leaves that up to the audience. I preferred that to a tidy wrap up.At a crisp running time of 90 minutes plus, the cast and crew did a marvelous job of conveying the sense of fear and distrust that the ripper murders engendered. The only drawback for me were the tepid musical numbers they shoehorned in for Ms. Oberon. She has an amazing voice, but the dance numbers were so cheeky and lame (by today's standards) that it dragged down the picture for me. I kept imagining Madeline Kahn's Lili Von Schtupp from Blazing Saddles every time Ms. Oberon did one of her two dance numbers.Watch this with the lights out and a storm raging for added effect. Its a fear borne from mood, not on screen scares. Top notch.

Once again, we have the streets of London taken over by Jack the Ripper (at least his ilk). Women are being murdered on dark foggy nights as the return to their homes or wander the streets. Some are prostitutes; some are just careless citizens. Anyway, the city is on edge and no one dares look past any stranger. Of course, that is assuming the person is a stranger. That said, a man takes a room in a house. His comings and goings are suspicious to the landlords, but they are also in need of the rent. Times aren't the best. The whole plot evolves around the murder of the women and how the man in the house is connected to their whereabouts. This is a very intense, well made film with great suspense.

Rarely seen today, this version of "The Lodger" was shown in January, 2014, at BFI Southbank, London, as part of its "Gothic" season. Unfortunately it was the version mangled by British censors. The attempted murder of Kitty (Merle Oberon) is impossible to understand because her apparent strangulation is interrupted by two or possibly three censor cuts. Then, far from being mown down by bullets (as another review mentions), Slade (Laird Cregar) is seen being cornered by police before, very abruptly, falling through a window into the Thames. It's a great shame that this butchered version is preserved in the National Film Archive.

Lame headline aside, this is a good, suspenseful melodrama based loosely on the Jack The Ripper legend. Just between us, I always feel John Brahm's directorial hand is a little uneven, but here he is right on the mark. He came up with a gem of a period piece, and you can look 'til your eyes drop out, you won't find anything out of place - (oh,alright,the anachronism mentioned on the title page) - he even had wick holders at the foot of the staircase, this being the 1880's before electricity. Surprisingly good production values for a movie in this genre.Laird Cregar is genuinely creepy (see humorous headline), as well as big. He puts the show over and is aided by George Sanders in a good guy role for a change and minus his usual smirk. Merle Oberon is lovely and sings, or at least lip-synchs some songs. I think one mark of a good production is often the quality of the supporting cast, and there is nothing lacking here - Cedric Hardwicke, Sarah Allgood, Queenie Leonard all give it their best.Director Brahm created a tense, atmospheric feel that is sustained and the picture is well-paced without dead spots in its 84 minute run. This is a good movie and minus the schlock that usually accompanies pictures of this type. It was on Fox Movie Channel the other morning and it is well worth your time.