The Lodger Directed by Alfred Hitchcock 1927 | 90 Minutes | Unrated | Procurement: During my early days as a film buff, I often frequented the Wal-Mart $5 movie bin, looking for great deals on films I felt fondly about. Then one day, as I was sifting through the pile of trash that often finds its way in the $5 bin (crappy combo packs and crumby chick flicks) I unearthed the title Alfred Hitchcock: The Legend Begins, which featured 18 of Hitch's earliest British works. The pack also included two episodes of his television show, Alfred Hitchcock Present:, both of which, curiously enough, were not installments directed by Hitch himself. But for $5, and as an aspiring film buff, I couldn't pass up this potentially prestigious piece to add to my collection. I could show off to my friends, chest sufficiently jutted out, that I had 18 Alfred Hitchcock films you've never heard of. Some of them silent! *Insert gasp here*
Upon my purchase, I also marathoned the collection on the forums, so it will be interesting to compare my reviews then and now. And as a note, as a box set of sorts, it should prove difficult to part with the whole thing, so most of these upcoming reviews will probably be keepers, even if they individually wouldn't have made the cut. I've got to keep up my prestigious collection y'know! |
Review:As one of my favorite directors, Alfred Hitchcock has delivered us some of cinema's finest achievements from
Rear Window,
Vertigo,
Psycho, and on and on (many of these films will come up later in this marathon). But some of the master's earliest films go mostly unseen, especially when compared to his masterworks.
The Lodger is one such film, but one which truly reflects Hitch's niche and an early document of his tremendous style. Perhaps his most famous silent film,
The Lodger tells a story reminiscent of the Jack the Ripper. A serial killer, The Avenger, is on the loose in London, claiming his victims, fair haired women, each Tuesday evening amidst the fog of England's capital city. During this affair, a young man (Ivor Novello) appears at the doorstep of Mrs. Bunting (Marie Ault), seeking a room for let. The lodger keeps to himself and seems quite particular about his privacy. The Bunting's daughter Daisy (June), a blonde herself, is perpetually shielding herself from the advances of Joe (Malcolm Keen), a detective who has been assigned to the case of The Avenger. But when the lodger arrives, she finds herself smitten with him. However, the eerie nature of his daily routine and the general goings on about the neighborhood strikes suspicion into the hearts of the Buntings and Joe, the detective on the case. They all seem threatened by the lodger, whose true intentions lie secret to only himself, as the others fear for the safety of Daisy, the beautiful fair haired daughter of the Buntings.
May I comment quite briefly at how awesome it is that Hitch's obsession with blondes seems to rear its head so early on in his career as well as in this collection. But might I also, not so briefly, comment on how Hitch's style and impeccable storytelling rears its head so early on as well. Silent films are certainly different beasts all together from "talkies", but in essence, the same magic touch of showing the audience the right thing at the right time must be handled, and this is something at which Hitchcock excels like none other. I wonder if the fact that Hitchcock got is start in silent films affected his style later on in his career at all. A certain level of craft must be achieved in order to piece together a narrative without dialogue, save a title card here or there. Being able to hone that skill in the silent era had to be invaluable to Hitchcock later on his career, where he was able to put his great storytelling to good use. Then again, he could also have just always been that efficient in getting what he needed across at precisely the right moment.
Another aspect that I have always enjoyed from Hitchcock is his ability to handle multiple genres in a single film. As a serial killer storyline,
The Lodger clearly plays into his "Master of Suspense" persona, but there always seems to be a bit of that trademark humor includes as well. It can be seen here as well. The romantic aspects of the film don't quite work as well as you might hope, however. The melodrama of the love triangle (the lodger, Daisy and Joe) seems to slow the momentum of the film in the mid-section of the film. But it is picked up again in time to bring the film to an explosive finale. As a part of the melodramatic mid-section, the film's star, Ivor Novello, over does it a bit. Silent film acting is completely different than acting as we know it today, but Novello's facial expressions overcompensate far too much for the lack of words available for expression.
Despite the few qualms I mentioned above, the film is exceedingly entertaining. Hitch keeps us on our toes for most of the runtime, and presents a rather thought provoking examination of human paranoia and basic human instincts. While the style of the film reminds me of signature Hitchcock, it is really the base story itself that makes it as good a film as it is. Hitchcock merely does the story great justice, handling it with care and adding his own flair for the dramatic. The conclusion really is fantastic. If I had to recommend one early Hitchcock film to fans, or even non-fans, I would be hard-pressed not to pick
The Lodger. It was just as good, if not better, than how I remembered it from my first viewing.
Rating: ***1/2 - GreatFormat: DVD
Quality: LOWThe transfers for all of the titles in the box set are quite poor, which could affect my final decision on the box. It is also a no frills disc with absolutely no special features.
Decision: KEEPERAs I mentioned above in the procurement section of this post, it will be mighty difficult to part with this collection, even if I respond sour to many of the film. But with a knock out like this to lead-off both this marathon and the box set, at the very least this individual film is a keeper. I will make a decision on the box set when I have seen all of the films, but I am willing to bet I keep it.
NOTE: Most of the reviews will probably not be this long. Unless of course I become as inspired each time as I was to write this review.