The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

A landlady suspects her new lodger is the madman killing women in London.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Marie Belloc Lowndes (from the novel by) (as Mrs. Belloc Lowndes), Eliot Stannard (scenario)

Stars:

June Tripp, Ivor Novello, Marie Ault

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marie Ault	...	The Landlady
Arthur Chesney	...	Her Husband
June Tripp	...	Daisy - A Mannequin (as JUNE)
Malcolm Keen	...	Joe - A Police Detective
Ivor Novello	...	The Lodger

Storyline

A serial killer known as "The Avenger" is on the loose in London, murdering blonde women. A mysterious man arrives at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting looking for a room to rent. The Bunting's daughter is a blonde model and is seeing one of the detectives assigned to the case. The detective becomes jealous of the lodger and begins to suspect he may be the avenger.

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Plot Keywords:

lodger | detective | serial killer | fiancee | expressionism | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 February 1927 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Lodger

Filming Locations:

Islington, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£12,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gainsborough Pictures,Carlyle Blackwell Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min (National Film Archive print) 90 min (TCM print) 67 min (video) 98 min (Ontario) 92 min (2012) (theatrical) 90 min (2012 restoration)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the first film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in which he makes one of his trademark cameo appearances.

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Goofs

In shots looking downstairs to the hand-cuffed Daisy, the lodger's position varies between left shoulder forward to the camera and right shoulder forward.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Female eyewitness: Tall he was - and his face all wrapped up.

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Connections

Referenced in Hitchcock: The Early Years (1999)

User Reviews

Fun stuff, very Hitchcock!

This movie is fantastic and fascinating mostly because of its director, but it would be fun either way. I'd say that it's better than many films of the same period, but not to the same extreme degree that Hitchcock's movies eventually achieved.

You can see it's his work, though. Hitchcock knew that what made a suspenseful movie good had nothing to do with gore or loud noises, and this shows even in his early work. The Lodger has a distinctly Hitchcock feel to it--fun and scary--and it's interesting to see how he gets around the lack of sound, considering the fact that most (all?) of his other films were talkies.