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

"Be careful, I'll get you yet."

Alfred Hitchcock made nine silent films from 1925 to 1929 (ten if you count Blackmail, which was made simultaneously in both sound and silent), and fortunately all of these except one (The Mountain Eagle, his second film) still survive today. The vast majority of British silent films have been lost, but because of Hitchcock's rising fame in the 30s and 40s, it was thought prudent to ensure that these early silents were preserved. Without that later fame, it is almost certain that most, if not all, of these films would have suffered the same tragic fate of countless others. The great thing about having access now to 54 of the 55 films Hitchcock produced is we can look at how his techniques developed over 50 years, and also look at themes that he was to later revisit.

After serving his filmmaking apprenticeship in Germany, as well as time spent on the set of such legendary films as F.W. Murnau's The Last Laugh, and making two commercially unsuccessful Weimar films he returned in 1926 to England and began to make his first film in his home nation - The Lodger.

Though he wasn't permitted total creative freedom by the studio, it was with this film that he began to develop his ideas, and Hitchcock himself later referred to it as the first real "Hitchcock film." There's certainly some very imaginative shots used in The Lodger, but more on that later...
The story concerns the titular Lodger, played by Ivor Novello. London is in the midst of a one-man crime wave as an unknown murderer is killing young, blonde females. He leaves a card on each of his victim's bodies, identifying himself as 'The Avenger'. It's worth noting that this was less than 40 years after the brutal Whitechapel murders when the notorious 'Jack the Ripper' was responsible for five murders in what was one of the most impoverished areas of London. With those murders still easily in living memory, The Lodger must have played on those fears from times when people were terrified to leave their homes at night.

The Lodger arrives

Daisy Bunting (June Tripp) is a blonde model at a fashion parade when she and the other showgirls read about the murders. The other girls begin to panic and cover their naturally blonde hair with wigs, while Daisy is quite nonplussed and returns home to her parents and her detective boyfriend, Joe (Malcolm Keen) who has been taking an interest in the Avenger killings. That night there is a knock at the door and Mrs Bunting goes to answer, revealing it to be - The Lodger! He has come enquiring about the room to let, and happily pays a month's rent in advance. The family are bewildered when he insists on turning around the pictures on the wall - all of blonde young girls, but dismiss it thinking simply that "he's not keen on the girls." When Daisy goes to the Lodger's room to remove the offending pictures, the couple find themselves attracted to each other, and over the next week they grow closer. Daisy's policeman sweetheart Joe has by now been assigned to the Avenger case and he grows resentful of Daisy and the Lodger's blossoming relationship. By now Mrs Bunting has noticed that when the Lodger leaves his room late at night, it coincides with an Avenger murder, and Joe realises that the murders are moving closer to the Bunting household.

When Daisy and the Lodger go out on a date, Joe confronts them but Daisy tells him that their relationship is now over and she only has eyes for the Lodger. Heartbroken, we see Joe staring into a puddle considering everything he's seen. He comes to the conclusion that the Lodger is indeed the Avenger, and returns to the Bunting's house, with two officers and a search warrant in hand. Despite the Lodger's protests, the room is searched and in a locked cabinet the policeman discovers a pistol, a map plotting the Avenger murders, newspaper articles, and a photograph of an attractive young blonde woman. The Lodger is handcuffed but manages to evade the police and the house, and runs away to be consumed by the London fog. Daisy eventually finds him still cuffed, shivering in the cold street. He then explains to Daisy that he has been hunting the Avenger himself as his own sister was murdered by him and he had vowed to his mother on her deathbed that he would bring the Avenger to justice.

The Lodger sees the oncoming mob, as he hangs defenceless

News spreads that the police know who the murderer is, and that he is on the run, and a mob of angry locals chase him through the streets. Joe then learns that the real Avenger has been caught and, realising the Lodger is innocent, goes to try and rescue him "before they tear him to pieces!". By now the Lodger has tried to climb a fence, but falls and catches his handcuffs in the iron spikes. Defenseless, the mob begin to beat him, though Daisy and Joe try to protect him. A newspaper boy then announces that the real Avenger has been arrested, and the mob let the Lodger go. He collapses into Daisy's arms.

If this had been any other Hitchcock film, or any other actor playing the Lodger, the ending would have been left ambiguous as the whether he was indeed guilty or not. However Ivor Novello at the time was hugely popular and it was unthinkable for the studio to even entertain the idea that he may have played a murderer. This sadly takes some of the sting out of the story, but this is nevertheless an excellent film. It's odd to say, but Novello is actually the weakest link of the cast here, with his overacting becoming distracting more often than not. June, playing Daisy, is perfectly charming throughout, and it's a shame that she didn't make more films as she is a pleasure to watch. The chemistry between her and Novello is one of the high points of the film, and Malcolm Keen, playing the policeman Joe, is similarly strong, and was to be rewarded with a more prominent role in Hitchcock's 1929 film, The Manxman.

The memorable opening shot

Hitchcock sets his stall out early here. The very first scene after the opening titles is a close up of a girl's terrified face, screaming. It makes a strong impact, and is the first of many touches that he employs to unnerve the audience. It's also obvious that he learnt a lot from Germany. The expressionist lighting, so popular in contemporary German cinema, is noticeable throughout, especially in the Lodger's room as night falls.
Another particularly ingenious moment is when Hitchcock wanted to convey the fact that the Lodger was pacing up and down in his room, but that the family downstairs could also hear his footsteps. We see the family stop their conversation, and stare up at the ceiling. Then cut to the Lodger walking around his room, then back to the family, and then to the lights hanging from the ceiling. Then we see the soles of the Lodger's feet as he walks up and down. Hitchcock achieved this by filming Novello walking over a glass surface, but the effect works perfectly here.

The first ever Hitchcock cameo

Another memorable, and unquestionably Hitchcockian moment is later, when Joe has been rejected by Daisy. Inconsolable, he sits in the street and looks down at a footprint left in the mud. Hitchcock wanted to convey that he was thinking of everything that had happened, before coming to the conclusion that the Lodger was the Avenger. To do this, we see the footstep, with images such as the aforementioned lights on the ceiling, the turning over of the blonde girls pictures, and the travelling bag he always carries with him. This kind of effect had hardly been used in 1927, and it is undeniably the kind of thing that is seen in F.W. Murnau's films, so it seems certain that Hitchcock picked up more than the odd trick from his time in Germany.
On its own merits, The Lodger really is a fine film, and an excellent example of British silent cinema. But as I said earlier, it's particularly fascinating to see early Hitchcock touches that would later be used to great effect. This has been recently restored as part of the BFI's 'Rescue the Hitchcock 9' campaign to restore his silent films, and it really does look fantastic now. Finally, The Lodger is famous for starting another staple of Hitchcock films - his cameos. It's easy to miss (and people who say it's also him in the crowd scene at the end are wrong), but it's there.