The Lodger

I'm not too sure that with London regularly steeped in dense fog and with a murderer lurking the streets at night, I'd be looking to be renting out my spare room, but luckily for musician "Angeloff" (Ivor Novello) he not only finds bed and board with the kindly "Bunting" family but gets an added bonus in that he is soon also courting the daughter of the house, "Daisy" (Elizabeth Allan). Is he all he seems? Well the police are less than convinced as some of his nocturnal activities out-of-doors leave him open to suspicion. Now, what undoubtedly compromises this is the fact that the audience is in on the secret a bit too early in the proceedings and that it does take rather a while to get itself up and running. Once it is, though, the contributions from a lively Barbara Everest and A. W. Baskcomb as his hosts; the possibly a little too flighty Allan and the engaging Novello - who does manage to squeeze in a tune to remind us that it isn't so very long since this would have been a silent movie, all build well enough to it's dimly-lit denouement. Keep an eye out for Jack Hawkins and if you try not to compare it to other (earlier) versions, then I think it's quite a watchable outing for a charismatic star.

I saw the short US version (Phantom Fiend) of the sound remake of Hitchcock's the Lodger which was based on a novel based on the Jack the Ripper murders.

Ivor Novello (the real life counter part to Jeremy Northam's character in Robert Altman's Gosford Park) stars as the strange man who has rented a room from a nice family in London. The times are dangerous as some one called the Avenger is killing young women. Things begin to get dicey as the family begins to suspect that they may in fact be harboring a killer.

This is strange film due to the odd performances of some of the actors (Novello included) who seem to still think they are in silent films. The sound is uneven with some exchanges lost in "mud" due to poor sound recording. It makes it a bit tough to get through. Not helping matters is the fact that the story has been told and retold numerous times, so odds are you'll have some idea of whats going on. Its not a bad tale just one that I find overly familiar.

Its an okay film, thats of interest more for the odd early sound touches and casting than anything in the story.

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...

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.

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.