The Lodger (1944) - One of My Favorite Horror Films
The Lodger (1944) moves in and out of my Top 10 favorite horror films all the time. It's incredible to look at, has one of the greatest performances I've ever seen in Laird Cregar as Jack the Ripper, features a London fog and a public London at night in all its activity quite busy (and the dance hall, too) producing quite an atmospheric presentation that pops that Gothic horror fan in me every time. It has one of my favorite casts with the likes of the aforementioned Cregar, George Sanders (as the detective out to catch Cregar), Cedric Hardwicke (the man of the apartment Cregar lodges), and Merle Oberon (Wuthering Heights, just five years prior) as the eventual performance artist growing in fame who Cregar eventually feels compelled to kill. I think it is the craft of Braham, how he composes every shot, and how he brings London to life that knock me for a loop every time. Yes, it can be talk-heavy, but how we are transplanted to this period astonishes me. I think "The Lodger" is a triumph.
IMDb user comments from 2007:
A mysterious man(Laird Cregar) claiming to be a pathologist under the false identity of Slade, moves into an apartment for let from a couple trying to make ends meet, and is suspected by them and music hall actress Kitty Langley(Merle Oberon)of possibly being Jack the Ripper, the White Chapel slayer. Women are dying heinously, slit by a blade from a man spotted carrying a specific type of black bag and it's noticed by Ellen(Sara Allgood)that Slade is burning his in the attic. Slade goes out at late hours claiming that he enjoys the lonely streets, while also proclaiming that he uses the attic for "experiments." When Ellen goes to husband Robert(Cedric Hardwicke)about her feelings regarding Slade, he shrugs her off as being foolish. Soon Kitty and Ellen begin listening and getting closer to Slade, who speaks coldly and articulately about things regarding women and their roles in London society. When Slade comes in contact with Kitty, whose profession deals in more adult subject matter when she performs on stage in risqué productions, he shows both allure and repulsion towards her acting routine. Meanwhile Scotland Yard Inspector John Warwick(George Sanders)is out looking for the Ripper and along the way falls in love with Kitty as they hint about Slade's unusual activities and behavior. Soon, the Ripper continues to strike and Kitty notices Slade burning bloody clothes in the attic which raises her suspicions to a fever pitch. Slade begins taking an obsessive fancy to Kitty and this sets off an amazing finale in her theater as police and John chase after the Ripper in a stunning climax explaining what they perceive, artistically happened to the White Chapel psycho.
Sound remake of Hitchcock silent is impeccably atmospheric with amazing realistic sets..London, at that time when Jack spread his reign of terror, is incredibly recreated with the eerily photographed foggy London streets. What an amazing cast, especially Hardwicke as a down-on-his-luck businessman who only rents out his rooms in the first place because of debts he owes for bad business decisions..and even here his wife Ellen does most of the work. She hears from Slade himself and notices his strange behavior and just the way he talks gives out signs that he's both incredibly intelligent and deeply disturbed. The film even hints, that Slade's possibly homosexual. Laird Cregar's chilling performance, as the camera often closes in to capture his brooding, cold-blooded menace with this living, breathing, seething undercurrent of madness that needs to be released at night against women who represent an object of hate for him to target, is a wonder to behold. This could be the finest interpretation of who Jack the Ripper was and how he behaved. You have the always-reliable Sanders smooth as the Inspector searching for the killer, a sophisticated intellectual and perfect nemesis of an equally intelligent street stalker that has evade capture. Oberon has that charming grace that one expects from such a talented actress..you can see why Jack would become enamored with such a beautiful creature. The film's simply a triumph..everything falls into place..the performances perfectly fit the characters, their dialogue is rich, interesting, and perspective, and the film is strikingly presented. Perfection of the highest order.
Sound remake of Hitchcock silent is impeccably atmospheric with amazing realistic sets..London, at that time when Jack spread his reign of terror, is incredibly recreated with the eerily photographed foggy London streets. What an amazing cast, especially Hardwicke as a down-on-his-luck businessman who only rents out his rooms in the first place because of debts he owes for bad business decisions..and even here his wife Ellen does most of the work. She hears from Slade himself and notices his strange behavior and just the way he talks gives out signs that he's both incredibly intelligent and deeply disturbed. The film even hints, that Slade's possibly homosexual. Laird Cregar's chilling performance, as the camera often closes in to capture his brooding, cold-blooded menace with this living, breathing, seething undercurrent of madness that needs to be released at night against women who represent an object of hate for him to target, is a wonder to behold. This could be the finest interpretation of who Jack the Ripper was and how he behaved. You have the always-reliable Sanders smooth as the Inspector searching for the killer, a sophisticated intellectual and perfect nemesis of an equally intelligent street stalker that has evade capture. Oberon has that charming grace that one expects from such a talented actress..you can see why Jack would become enamored with such a beautiful creature. The film's simply a triumph..everything falls into place..the performances perfectly fit the characters, their dialogue is rich, interesting, and perspective, and the film is strikingly presented. Perfection of the highest order.
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