“The Lodger” (1927) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock / Z-View

The Lodger (1927)

Directors:  Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay:  Eliot Stannard based on The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes

Stars:  Ivor Novello and Alfred Hitchcock

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

A serial killer who calls himself The Avenger has killed seven blonde haired women.  He strikes late at night and police have few clues.

When a tall handsome stranger rents a room from Mr. and Mrs. Bunting, they think nothing of it… until he begins to display some strange habits.  He asks that the pictures of blonde women in his room be removed.  He quietly leaves his room at night and returns before morning.  And what is in the satchel that he keeps locked in a cabinet?  Could their lodger be The Avenger?

Alfred Hitchcock wanted The Lodger to be his first full sound film, but it ended up being his last silent feature.  The Lodger is also the first film to contain one of Hitchcock’s famous cameos!  The Lodger features some animated title cards and inventive shots (the Lodger pacing the floor seen from below as if the floor became invisible; the Lodger descending a spiral staircase and the only thing we see of him is his hand on the banister as he goes down, etc.).  Hitchcock considers The Lodger his first suspense film.

The Lodger earns 4 of 5 stars.