I saw this film under it's U.S. release title, "The Phantom Fiend", and it was interesting to pick out the similarities and differences between this one and the 1927 silent picture "The Lodger", which was Alfred Hitchcock's first mystery thriller. Actor Ivor Novello appeared in both as the title character, exuding a finely nuanced and mysterious performance in both, though he was probably a bit creepier in the original version. His first appearance on screen in the earlier picture had him with a wrap across his face, hinting a bit too obviously that he might be the "Avenger" killer. In this picture, he appears as a more refined individual, a practiced musician, who inadvertently seems to match up to the real Avenger's description perfectly.
For purposes of this story, the character of Joe Martin (Jack Hawkins) is made a newspaper reporter instead of a police detective. Though introduced as a suitor for pretty Daisy Bunting (Elizabeth Allan), he comes off as a boorish lout, and you'll probably wonder as I did what Daisy might have ever seen in him in the first place.
It was curious to see how way back in the early Thirties, criminal psychology painted a picture of the 'call box murderer' as someone with an 'unhinged brain'. The Avenger had developed an animosity toward all women after his wife deserted him, taking out his revenge on blonde women in the heart of London. The picture leaves some room for interpretation as to whether Michel Angeloff (Novello) might have known the real killer, (the name sounded like Stephan Ovanitch to me, but that character isn't listed in the credits). Angeloff uttered Stephan's name just before he saved Daisy from attack, but it could be he learned of that name from the press.
Just before that though, Angeloff made his retreat from a local pub as frightened patrons identified him as The Avenger. I had to wonder how they concluded that, since the papers never printed a picture of the unhinged Stephan, who Angeloff did bear an uncanny resemblance to. Then, once the crowd began to follow him out the door, Angeloff somehow manages to elude them off-screen to make the save for Daisy. The chase scene in 1927's 'Lodger' led to an entirely different conclusion, and the abruptness of this picture's finale caught me somewhat off guard.
Both pictures, this one and the original, both have their merits. Hard to say which one of the two is 'better', although Alfred Hitchcock fans will want to see the earlier version for a look at the master well before he refined his film making style. It's also the first of Hitch's pictures in which he makes a cameo, one of the hallmarks of his later efforts.
For purposes of this story, the character of Joe Martin (Jack Hawkins) is made a newspaper reporter instead of a police detective. Though introduced as a suitor for pretty Daisy Bunting (Elizabeth Allan), he comes off as a boorish lout, and you'll probably wonder as I did what Daisy might have ever seen in him in the first place.
It was curious to see how way back in the early Thirties, criminal psychology painted a picture of the 'call box murderer' as someone with an 'unhinged brain'. The Avenger had developed an animosity toward all women after his wife deserted him, taking out his revenge on blonde women in the heart of London. The picture leaves some room for interpretation as to whether Michel Angeloff (Novello) might have known the real killer, (the name sounded like Stephan Ovanitch to me, but that character isn't listed in the credits). Angeloff uttered Stephan's name just before he saved Daisy from attack, but it could be he learned of that name from the press.
Just before that though, Angeloff made his retreat from a local pub as frightened patrons identified him as The Avenger. I had to wonder how they concluded that, since the papers never printed a picture of the unhinged Stephan, who Angeloff did bear an uncanny resemblance to. Then, once the crowd began to follow him out the door, Angeloff somehow manages to elude them off-screen to make the save for Daisy. The chase scene in 1927's 'Lodger' led to an entirely different conclusion, and the abruptness of this picture's finale caught me somewhat off guard.
Both pictures, this one and the original, both have their merits. Hard to say which one of the two is 'better', although Alfred Hitchcock fans will want to see the earlier version for a look at the master well before he refined his film making style. It's also the first of Hitch's pictures in which he makes a cameo, one of the hallmarks of his later efforts.