Film Review
Alfred Hitchcock's
The Lodger (1927) may well be
the most celebrated adaptation of Marie Belloc Lowndes' identically
named novel about the infamous 19th century London serial killer Jack
the Ripper but John Brahm's equally stylish remake gives it a good run
for its money. A German-born émigré, Brahm was very
much influenced by German expressionism of the 1920s and 30s, and this
shows in all of his finest films made in Hollywood in the 1940s, none
more so than his chilling version of
The
Lodger, a superbly atmospheric period piece. With its
fog-wreathed London streets and shadowy interiors, all laden with
brooding menace, this is a film that chills the blood and has all the
qualities of an unravelling nightmare.
With the possible exception of Merle Oberon, whose acting skills are
hard to detect without the aid of an electron microscope,
The Lodger is supremely well
cast. George Sanders may nominally be on the side of the angels
(as a driven Scotland Yard detective) but he still manages to bring
something roguish to his portrayal, and you can't be entirely sure he
is taking the role seriously. Cedric Hardwicke and Sara Allgood
make an effective team as the husband and wife who take in the lodger
and end up constantly arguing over whether he is or is not the madman
who has made a habit of slicing up actresses the length and breadth of
Whitechapel. The real star of the film is, however, none of the
above, but Laird Cregar, who steals the film as the mysterious lodger,
bringing a potent mix of poignancy and spine-chilling menace to his
unforgettable portrayal of a twisted psychopath haunted by an incurable
sense of loss.
Cregar would subsequently work with Brahm on another period thriller,
Hangover Square (1945),
apparently playing a similar character to the one he plays here.
Tragically, that was to be Cregar's last film appearance, as he died
shortly after completing work on the film from a heart attack brought
on by the stress of having to lose weight. The almost feminine
gentility of Cregar's manner and voice made a striking contrast with
his bear-like physique, and so he was an ideal casting choice for the
tortured monster role. Although we have no doubt that Cregar is
the killer throughout (this is the main point of departure from
Hitchcock's film, which sustains the mystery right to the final reel),
we are compelled to sympathise with him and see him more as a victim of
tragic circumstances than a murderous fiend. In the most
memorable sequence, in which the lodger expresses his undying love for
his lost brother, Cregar pulls on our heartstrings with such force that
you wonder if they will snap. Equally, his scenes with Oberon
have a devastating poignancy and reveal to us not a monster but a soul
in bitter torment.
A lavish production by the standards of its day, John Brahm's
The Lodger doesn't just confine
itself to the streets of London, it also takes us into the glamorous
world of the Victorian music hall, with the Palace of Varieties
providing a suitably grand setting for the dramatic denouement.
Lucien Ballard's expressionistic cinematography not only creates
atmosphere, it also heightens the drama in key scenes, particularly
those in which pandemonium suddenly erupts following yet another Ripper
carve up. Low and high camera angles are used generously to
ratchet up the tension and confusion, whilst helping to reinforce the
ambiguity surrounding Cregar's shifty, doubled-edged character.
The only film which John Brahm subsequently made which can rival
The Lodger in both its visual
impact and narrative perfection is his 1946 film
The Locket, one of the most
ingenious and exquisitely crafted of all classic American films
noirs. Today, Brahm is best remembered for his frequent
contributions to the classic American TV series
The Twilight Zone and (ironically)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
© James Travers 2013
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Whitechapel, London, in the 1880s. In desperate need of cash so
that they can keep up appearances, Mr and Mrs Bonting are forced to
rent out one of their rooms to a lodger. The man who takes the
room introduces himself as Mr Slade and claims to be a student of
pathology. The lodger's strange manner immediately arouses Mrs
Bonting's curiosity and she soon begins to wonder if he might be Jack
the Ripper, a serial killer who has already slain several young women
in the area. When Slade starts to show an interest in their niece
Kitty, an aspiring young actress, the Bontings ally themselves with a
Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Warwick, who is confident he can
uncover the true identity of the Ripper...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.