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

Dir: Alfred Hitchcock

1927

*****

The great Alfred Hitchcock directed many a masterpiece throughout his long career, and as different as they all are, there will always be something uniquely special about his 1927 silent classic; The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog. Starring Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, June Tripp, Malcolm Keen, and the great Ivor Novello, it was Hitchcock's third feature film. The Lodger is based on a novel of the same name by Marie Belloc Lowndes, about the Jack The Ripper murders, and on the play Who Is He?, a comic stage adaptation of the novel by the playwright Horace Annesley Vachell that Hitchcock saw in 1915. It was unlike any other film at the time, a complete departure from many of the melodramas and the operatic horrors that it has been compared too. The image of Ivor Novello, the Lodger, standing in the doorway is as chilling today as it was in the 20s. Novello had a huge say in the character, which saved Hitcock's bacon somewhat. Originally, the film was intended to end with ambiguity as to whether or not the lodger was innocent. When Novello was cast in the role, the studio demanded alterations to the script. Hitcock remembered "They wouldn't let Novello even be considered as a villain. The publicity angle carried the day, and we had to change the script to show that without a doubt he was innocent". Personally, I think this worked for the better, and Hitchcock did well to never show the true villain onscreen. Bizarrely, and maybe because it was so revolutionary, producer Michael Balcon was furious when he first watched it and nearly shelved it altogether (and Hitchcock's career along with it). After considerable bickering, a compromise was reached and film critic Ivor Montagu was hired to salvage the film. Hitchcock was initially resentful of the intrusion, but Montagu recognised the director's technical skill and artistry and made only minor suggestions, mostly concerning the title cards and the reshooting of a few minor scenes. The result, described by Hitchcock scholar Donald Spoto, is "the first time Hitchcock has revealed his psychological attraction to the association between sex and murder, between ecstasy and death." Indeed, The Lodger introduced themes that would run through much of Hitchcock's later work: the innocent man on the run, hunted down by a self-righteous society, and a fetishist sexuality. Hitchcock had clearly been watching contemporary films by Murnau and Lang, whose influence can be seen in the ominous camera angles and claustrophobic lighting. While Hitchcock had made two previous films, in later years the director would refer to The Lodger as the first true "Hitchcock film”. Beginning with The Lodger, Hitchcock helped shape the modern-day thriller genre in film. It was also something of a first for Hitchcock fans.  Alfred Hitchcock appears sitting at a desk in the newsroom with his back to the camera and while operating a telephone (5:33 minutes into the film). This is Alfred Hitchcock's first recognisable film cameo and was to become a standard practice for the remainder of his films. However, Hitchcock's cameo only happened because the actor who was supposed to play the part of the telephone operator failed to show up, and Hitchcock filled the breach at the last minute. It's a good example to show anyone who would suggest that silent films were somehow limited and couldn't show really suspense, horror, intrigue or terror. It's a magical film in many respects, the true grandfather of many a great thriller and a bonafide classic without a doubt.