The Lodger [PG]

The streets of London are being terrorised every foggy Tuesday night as a serial killer known as The Avenger stalks and murders young, blonde women. Amidst the chaos, a mysterious lodger turns up on the doorstep of a lodging house and begins to take a shine to the family’s blonde daughter Daisy whilst there. Whilst Daisy is flattered and reciprocates his advances, his peculiar behaviour begins to arouse suspicion in both her parents and her policeman beau on the case. 

One of Hitchcock’s signature thrillers filled with intrigue, suspense, and a strong dosage of plot misdirection and the pursuit of the wrong man, The Lodger succeeds in drawing gasps, nail biting, romantic swoons, and laughter from its audience. By now, having seen a fair few Hitchcock films, I’m ever on the lookout for signature techniques, preconceived plot twists, and everything of that kind: it’s like reading a detective novel and looking at everything with a strong critical eye, and for me this movie achieved the right level of surprise and suspense. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

The streets of London are being terrorised every foggy Tuesday night as a serial killer known as The Avenger stalks and murders young, blonde women. Amidst the chaos, a mysterious lodger turns up on the doorstep of a lodging house and begins to take a shine to the family’s blonde daughter Daisy whilst there. Whilst Daisy is flattered and reciprocates his advances, his peculiar behaviour begins to arouse suspicion in both her parents and her policeman beau on the case. 

Hitchcock in this movie uses repetition of certain motifs and symbols to great effect; something that I don’t think I’ve seen in his films before. We’ve got the repeated flashing dialogue of ‘to-night, golden curls’ and the added repeated appearance of the triangle: The Avenger’s sign, whenever a specific character or new day emerges. As ever, we’ve got these wonderful slow-moving close-ups and a new technique of facial morphing and the ‘see-through ceiling’ technique, all of which play to memorable effect within the film. 

My one criticism is that the accompanying score could have featured an added section that was a little bit more sinister: there were various parts that reflected the gaiety, romance, and drama of the piece, but nothing that seemed to reflect the sexual tension or the intended suspense. Nonetheless, it’s a feeble damper on an otherwise very enjoyable and classic Hitchcock thriller. 

Starring Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, June, Malcolm Keen, and Ivor Novello as The Lodger (who was great and I can so see a remake of this movie featuring Crispin Glover in his role), The Lodger is another classic Hitchcock thriller that ticks all the boxes really. Filled with action, drama, romance, suspense, and comedy, I really enjoyed it.