The Lodger

Lodger, The (1932)

** (out of 4)

The first remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1927 film of the same title. A serial killer is running through London at the same time as a strange young man (Ivor Novello) shows up at a boarding house. Even though this thing runs a small 60+ minutes it feels like three hours because the pacing is so incredibly slow and boring. The acting is among the worst I've ever seen and the performance by Novello is incredibly bad. I could help but laugh at his acting, which is so bad it almost seems like he's spoofing the film.

Having seen the HItchcock silent film, this was a disappointment. It lacks HItchcock's gift for the misunderstood protagonist. There is so much done to make Ivor Novello look like the bad guy that we know immediately that he is not it. He is made much more quirky and not mysterious enough. At times he lapses into normalcy and quickly moves back to this eccentric, almost unapproachable being. The plot, of course, involves a "Jack the Ripper" figure who is killing women near telephone boxes. Novello's character shows up and rents an apartment at the home of an older woman and her husband. The female interest is also there. Because "London is lonely," he strikes up a relationship with the young woman, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend, a loudmouthed, overbearing character. People are suspicious of the foreign visitor and when he is discovered with blood on him, he is handcuffed but escapes. There is great concern for the young woman who, by the way, should be scared and should be looking out for herself. I will not spoil the end, but it is not nearly as captivating as the Hitchcock version, where the man is hunted mercilessly. The speeches are really hard to make out; alas, the new technology; and this really diminishes the effectiveness. See this as a curiosity. It just doesn't work very well.

This is the 'soundie' remake of Hitchcock's first thriller "The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog", again with Ivor Novello in the title role - but without Hitchcock as director...

The story is pretty much the same as in the original: a strange lodger comes to Mr. and Mrs. Bunting's house, and their daughter Daisy is soon feeling very much attracted to him - but then the suspicion falls on him that he might be the mad killer who calls himself the 'Avenger' and goes around cutting young girls' throats... Only the twist ending takes a slightly different turn this time - but see for yourself!

Of course, this film can't reach the class of Hitchcock's masterpiece; but seen for itself, it's still a very neat and scary classic whodunit - especially the nightly London fog scenes are extremely suspenseful. Ivor Novello's performance may look a little like he's still stuck in the silent film days - but then it's the role he played before, and maybe he wanted to recreate it just as it was. While beautiful Elizabeth Allen (who would also become the heroine in another scary movie, "Mark of the Vampire", two years later) is really excellent as sweet, trusting Daisy; and there are some typical British 'characters' - and a PRETTY unpleasant reporter (he sure wouldn't have been depicted in a Hollywood movie this way; reporters usually were, especially in that era, heroes!) who's also in love with Daisy...

If you haven't seen Hitch's original - or if you can accept the fact that most average directors just haven't got the GENIUS Hitchcock had - this film will be quite entertaining, and somehow nostalgic in a... well, British way...

Not much to recommend in this creaky antique. It's another version of the Ripper story, with the mysterious killer loose in London. He appears to be a lodger in an ordinary household where the daughter takes a shine to him despite his odd behavior. But then his lyrical piano playing does indicate a romantic soul. On the whole, however, actor Novello delivers a rather unfocused performance as the lodger, never gelling as a real object of menace. But I suppose something like that was required for his crucially ambiguous role. On the other hand, actress Allan is quite natural as the charming daughter, a turn that could easily transfer to the modern screen.

The Amazon print that I saw was murky in the extreme, effects of age I suppose. Too bad, because whatever atmospheric lighting was used was clouded over; that plus a muddy sound track made this version rather difficult to watch. Moreover, the choppy narrative suggests a poorly edited longer cut. Overall, it's an oft-told tale, done to much better effect by Hitchcock (1927) and John Brahm (1944), at least in terms of the version I saw.

This film, known in the US as 'The Phantom Fiend' and seemingly only surviving in appalling prints with muddy soundtrack, was the first sound remake of Hitchcock's wonderfully atmospheric silent classic, 'The Lodger'.

As in the earlier film, British composer and matinée idol Ivor Novello plays the mysterious lodger of the title, this time affecting a bizarre European accent and managing to be even more creepy than in the silent version. His acting though was far too mannered for the sound screen, even if we do get to hear his piano playing in this film!

In support, Elizabeth Allen and a very young Jack Hawkins are not at all bad, although the story is extremely familiar and you could take a fair attempt at guessing the ending. Maurice Elvey's direction is rather pedestrian but the principals are photographed well and the tension is kept up well over the short running time.

Not a substitute for the silent version (or the superior sound version with Laird Cregar) but an interesting curio.