Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger (1927)

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) is one of Alfred Hitchcock’s early silent films. Hitchcock filmed an adaptation of the Marie Belloc Lowndes story and play based on the Jack the Ripper murders. Hitchcock directed the film in 1926. It was released in February 1927 in London. It did not make it to the United States until 1928.

The film begins with the latest Avenger (Jack the Ripper prototype) murder. A police officer and several passers by find the body of a murdered girl with a note from “the Avenger” pinned to her.

Mr. and Mrs. Bunting are waiting in their home, where they have a room to let. They are also worried about their daughter Daisy, played by June Tripp, who is a showgirl. They sit up each night until she arrives home because of the Avenger murders.

Joe, a London detective, is in love with Daisy. Joe has been assigned to the Avenger case. Joe is giving the Buntings an update on the investigation of the Avenger murders, when Daisy arrives.

A few minutes later, the Lodger, played by Ivor Novello, enters the home and take the room to let. Mrs. Bunting is reluctant to rent the room until the Lodger pays a month’s rent in advance.

The Lodger arouses the suspicion of the nervous Buntings and Joe. They find The Lodger’s habits, like turning around the pictures of women in his room so they are not looking at him, to be very odd. The Lodger also tends to go out and stay out late. Joe and the Buntings start to believe the Lodger is the Avenger.

Daisy is the only person, who does not think the Lodger is the Avenger. Daisy is clearly falling for the Lodger. Will it lead to her death?

Ivor Novello was born in Cardiff, Wales on January 15, 1893, He was considered a musical prodigy as a child. He wrote the World War I patriotic song, “Keep the Home Fires Burning”. In 1921, he began acting in silent film due to his leading man looks. Novello acted in 23 films from 1921 to 1934 before refocusing his artistic talents to music. Novello died of heart failure in London on March 6, 1951 at age 58.

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