Scott LeBrun Adapting the novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes, 17 years after Hitchcock had done so well with his silent film version, director John Brahm here creates a literate, exciting, spooky Victorian era thriller. During the time of Jack the Rippers' bloody reign of terror, a man who identifies himself as "Slade" (Laird Cregar) rents some rooms from an older couple named the Bontings (Cedric Hardwicke, Sara Allgood). He keeps odd hours, and supposedly needs the space to perform some sort of "experiments". Ellen Bonting (Allgood) comes to suspect that this eccentric gentleman "Slade" might in fact be The Ripper. This new tenant soon develops a fixation on Saras' comely niece Kitty Langley (Merle Oberon), a musical performer.The cast is tremendously good in this kind of setting, and the story, as told by screenwriter Barre Lyndon and director Brahm, is efficient and entertaining. It moves along quite well - even though it gives Oberon an opportunity to strut her stuff in two numbers, these are over fairly quickly. Lyndons' script has some noticeable themes to it, such as the cleansing power of water, and of the supposed "evil" that can be found in the most beautiful of women. The sets, the costumes, and the superior black & white cinematography by the talented Lucien Ballard all add substantial value to the production. It's as wonderfully atmospheric as so many other b & w horror films from the 30s and 40s. Some of the best moments actually take place when the score cuts out and we're left with ambient sound on the soundtrack. Brahm was one filmmaker who really knew how to generate suspense.Cregar is excellent in the title role. Even though we're never in any real doubt as to "Slade"s' identity, he dares to invite some sympathy for this deluded, deranged character. He makes all of his scenes riveting. Oberon is enticing as the young woman who will become his object of desire. The dapper, elegant George Sanders is fun as the Scotland Yard detective in charge of the case. Hardwicke and Allgood are fine as the landlords, and he's the one who urges some calm and reason while her imagination starts going wild. Aubrey Mather, Queenie Leonard, Doris Lloyd, David Clyde, Helena Pickard, and Frederic Worlock are all fine in support.Well worth a look, especially if one is partial to the genre films of this era, and / or they have a fascination for any Ripper-related story.Same story filmed again nine years later as "Man in the Attic", with Jack Palance in the lead.Eight out of 10.

classicsoncall I've seen both the 1927 silent film "The Lodger" directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and the 1932 sound remake titled "The Phantom Fiend" for an American audience. Both movies utilized the Jack the Ripper theme without using the name, whereas this version leaves no doubt who and what the story is based on. With the introduction of Laird Cregar's character Slade, one almost instinctively realizes it will be him who's revealed as The Ripper murderer, but coming so early in the picture one remains on guard for a twist in the story.Like most viewers commenting here, I was quite literally stunned by actor Cregar. This was my first view of him in any film and he managed to maintain a looming menace throughout the picture. There's no doubt he would have left a significant mark in film if he hadn't died tragically at an early age. He reminded me a bit of Orson Welles in size and girth, and if you study him closely, there's a similarity in facial appearance as well. Just take a look at the "Heaven Can Wait" photo of him posted on his character page here on IMDb. He looks more like the devil than the devil himself, if you get my drift, really creepy.That creepiness factor is used to good advantage throughout the movie, as Slade carries on a surreptitious presence at the Bonting home along with his mysterious forays into the night under the guise of a pathology student. His ideas about 'beauty is evil' and 'evil is beauty' seemed somewhat convoluted to this viewer, but I took that as in keeping with a tormented mind trying to deal with the anguish over his loss of a brother. You have to keep an eye on Slade as he goes into a frenzy over Kitty Langley's (Merle Oberon) Parisian Trot, his manic gaze galvanizes the viewer in a way few actors have the ability to do.

vincentlynch-moonoi I suppose that when the screen writers sat down to write this script that they had to make a decision: do we let the audience know who the murderer is right away, or is the mystery where the suspense is? Here they chose the former, which requires the suspense to build as the "good guys" slowly begin to figure out who the murderer is. It's not the easiest task, but here they do it quite well (in that sense it reminded me a bit of Alfred Hitchcock's "I Confess").Sometimes this film gets labeled as a "horror" film, but it should be classed as a "suspense film". Hitchcock directed a silent version of the tale, but not this rendition...although it might remind many viewers of a Hitchcock flick. The director here -- John Brahm -- had a rather checkered career that included some brilliant "Twilight Zone" episodes, but also the horrible Dana Andrews/Jeanne Crain film "Hot Rods From Hell". This film may have been his apex.The casting here is quite good. It's a different kind of role for the lovely Merle Oberon, here as a French-style can-can dancer. She does well and makes a perfect victim, and her hair style is great because it covers her very high forehead. But Laird Cregar -- as Jack The Ripper -- is the real star here...he is "the lodger". Cregar died from an excessive diet that he took for the film following this one; he was only 31. For once, George Sanders is the good guy -- a Scotland Yard inspector, and the love interest for Merle Oberon. Sir Cedric Hardwicke does nicely as the father who at first is sure Cregar is innocent, but slowly comes around to believing his wife (Sara Allgood) that Cregar is Jack The Ripper.The sets are appropriately atmospheric, the acting very good, and the story -- though relatively predictable (but then again, that's true of most movies) -- moves at a nice pace with a nice level of suspense. Highly recommended.

Spikeopath Victorian London, Whitechapple, and some maniac is slaughtering women with stage backgrounds. Could it be, that the mysterious Mr. Slade who has rented the upstairs rooms from Mrs Burton, is the man known as Jack the Ripper? This part of London is cloaked in fog, the cobbled streets damp and bearing witness to unspeakable crimes, the gas lights dimly flicker as the British Bobby searches in vain for Bloody Jack.The scene is set for what is to me the finest adaptation to deal with the notorious murderer, Jack the Ripper. A remake of the Alfred Hitchcock silent from 1927, this adaptation of the Marie Belloc Lowndes novel not only looks great (Lucien Ballard's photography creating fluid eeriness and film noir fatalism) but also chills the blood without ever actually spilling any. It's a testament to John Brahm's direction that the film constantly feels like a coiled spring waiting to explode, a spring that is realised in the form of Laird Cregar's incredibly unnerving portrayal of Mr Slade.Laird Cregar, as evidenced here, was a fine actor in the making. Sadly troubled by his weight and yearning to become a true matinée idol, he crashed dieted to such a degree his poor 28 year old heart couldn't cope with the shock. After just 16 films, of which this was his second to last, the movie world was robbed of a truly fine performer, a sad story in a long line of sad incidents that taint the Hollywood story.George Sanders and Merle Oberon (as police inspector and Slade's infatuation respectively) engage in a less than fully realised romantic strand, and Cedric Hardwicke dominates all the scenes that don't feature the might of Cregar, but really it's the big man's show all the way. Creepily enhanced by Hugo Friedhofer's score, The Lodger is a lesson in how to utilise technical atmospherics.The moody atmosphere here hangs heavy and the sense of doom is palpable in the extreme, it comes as something of a relief when the ending finally comes, as it's time to reflect and exhale a sigh of relief. Deviating from the novel, something which has over the years annoyed purists, The Lodger shows its hand very much from the off, but it in no way hurts the picture, if anything the exasperation at the supporting characters induces dry humour. The kind that comes in the form of nervous giggles out there in the dark, but rest assured, this is no comedy, it's a creepy classic from a wonderful era of film making. 9/10