The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1928)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Memorable, crazy movie

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

(Flash Review)Regarded as Hitchcock's first true feature film, he brings a lot of cleverness, tension and intrigue to the story. A story about a serial killer known as the Avenger who is speculated to be wearing a scarf. One day, during the London Fog, a man with a scarf comes knocking looking for lodging where a room is for rent. The woman hesitantly rents him a room but becomes increasingly suspicious. Has she just rented a room to a serial killer or is she being overly worried? Will the lodger be treated normally during his stay especially when he starts to fancy the woman's daughter? Hitchcock builds great suspense as the story unfolds with some creative camera trickery, effective POV shots all accompanied by stellar and moody cinematography. With this film, Hitchcock set the tone and themes for his outstanding film career.

A landlady suspects her new lodger (Ivor Novello) is the madman killing women in London.We open with a shot of a woman's face in terror, which could very well have been Janet Leigh in "Psycho". Hitchcock walks a fine line between thriller and horror. In this film, he probably leans more towards "thrills" and "suspense", but there is always the horror lurking in the background -- a killer called the Avenger killing women! Who is next?There seems to be some debate over whether or not this was inspired by the Jack the Ripper murders, or is some kind of fictionalized telling of the story. The consensus seems to be that there is no connection, but it really makes no difference. Whether jack or any other killer, it is a scary thought to think a serial killer is sleeping where you live.Amazingly, the production company did not like what Hitchcock had created. How this can be is unclear, as "The Lodger" is definitely one of his better earlier films. For me, he would not strike gold again until "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934) and would be very hit and miss until the late 1940s. But history has vindicated -- Hitchcock is legendary and the names of the producers have been forgotten.

After a few flops in his early career, Alfred Hitchcock in 1926 tried his hand for the first time at the crime genre - and the result, "The Lodger", became his first big hit, of course. And it already introduced to the audience MANY of his later famous features: the storyline, the suspense-enhancing effects, the haunting, creepy music - and of course the plot twists...The movie really goes RIGHT into the matter from the very beginning: in the first scene, we see a young blonde being strangled... It was the work of the "Avenger" again, as we soon learn, who is described as 'tall, with his face hidden behind a scarf'; immediately, the news is spread by the newspapers and over the radio, and everybody reads or listens, shocked and curious at the same time, just like this was a crime novel or a radio play; but the girls who work at the nearby club called "Golden Curls" really are a little worried by this maniac serial killer and his 'preference' for blonds...And then, next door at Mrs. Bunting's inn, a mysterious stranger turns up to rent a room - tall, with a scarf over his face... And not only that: Mrs. Bunting's pretty young daughter Daisy is - a blonde...Slowly though, the lodger, with his good manners and appealing ways, wins Daisy's confidence, which makes her boyfriend Joe pretty jealous; but she ignores him as well as her parents' warnings, and goes out with him - on a TUESDAY night, the day the 'Avenger' always commits his murders...! Now, from here on, we who have seen the movie are not allowed to give away any further information, of course...It's really formidable how Hitch, with his FIRST thriller, at once seemed to have found his so very own, special style; Hitchcock fans will recognize LOTS of issues he later used again in all those classics that brought him the reputation of the BEST director of thrillers there ever was. But "The Lodger" isn't only of special interest for fans of the director or the genre: it's also a very interesting time document.It gives us a very nice glimpse of the Age of the Flappers, with their bobs and their loose dresses, and some good old jazz music to match with the atmosphere of the time. But as soon as the plot becomes dramatic, we hear that strangely threatening music that sends shivers up our spine and lets us feel that something horrible's about to happen...There are movies that NEVER get dated; "The Lodger" is one of them. It's still as IMMENSELY suspenseful from the first until the last moment as it was 90 years ago!

I love the opening title card, showing a caricature of a trenchcoated figure with a wide brimmed hat, lurking through a doorway, bathed in orange light. Girl, with a wide open gape, screaming, as she discovers the blonde body, the latest victim of "The Avenger", a Jack The Ripper-like maniac stalking and killing blondes on the foggy streets of London. But who is responsible? Is it the new lodger taken in by the Buntings, who has taken an uncanny interest in their blonde daughter? Hitchcock's first suspense flick, as well as one of his earliest surviving films, is nearly expressionistic, theatrical, essential viewing for Hitchcock fans and fans of silent films, even if a bit static and harmed by contrived happy ending. A lot of the film deals, not with the actual murders, but with the sensationalistic media coverage of the murders. Based on the somewhat overrated book by Marie Belloc Lowndes, this film improves on that slow moving tale, based partially on the Jack The Ripper killings form 1888, and theories as to who the killer was. A lot of commenters merely mention this as being Hitchock's first film, and talk about the traits he later used which he originated with this film. But people couldn't say that at the time of the initial release, they could (and should) only talk about what a good movie this is, to this day. It still holds up as a good suspense movie, despite being nearly a century old, and regardless of who directed it and at what point in their career.