ThrillerMysteryHorror

The Lodger

- PROBING EYES that marked the woman he loved for death!

In Victorian era London, the inhabitants of a family home with rented rooms upstairs fear the new lodger is Jack the Ripper.

Release Date : 1944-01-19

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : 20th Century Fox

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Kitty Langley

Original Name : Merle Oberon

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mr. Slade

Original Name : Laird Cregar

Gender : Male

Character Name : Inspector John Warwick

Original Name : George Sanders

Gender : Male

Character Name : Robert Bonting

Original Name : Cedric Hardwicke

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ellen Bonting

Original Name : Sara Allgood

Gender : Female

Character Name : Superintendent Sutherland

Original Name : Aubrey Mather

Gender : Male

Character Name : Daisy the Maid

Original Name : Queenie Leonard

Gender : Female

Character Name : Jennie

Original Name : Doris Lloyd

Gender : Female

Character Name : Det. Sgt. Bates

Original Name : David Clyde

Gender : Male

Character Name : Annie Rowley

Original Name : Helena Pickard

Gender : Female

Character Name : Hairdresser (uncredited)

Original Name : Ruth Clifford

Gender : Female

Character Name : First Murder Victim Katie (uncredited)

Original Name : Thora Hird

Gender : Female

Character Name : Wiggy (uncredited)

Original Name : Anita Sharp-Bolster

Gender : Female

Character Name : Stage Manager (uncredited)

Original Name : C. Montague Shaw

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man with Cart

Original Name : Skelton Knaggs

Gender : Male

Character Name : Comedian

Original Name : Charlie Hall

Gender : Male

Character Name : Woman in Audience

Original Name : Bess Flowers

Gender : Female

Character Name : Harris, the Haberdasher

Original Name : Olaf Hytten

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Heather Wilde

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Fred Aldrich

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Harry Allen

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Jimmy Aubrey

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Wilson Benge

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Billy Bevan

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Ted Billings

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Edmund Breon

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Mae Bruce

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Colin Campbell

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Herbert Clifton

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Grace Davies

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Harold De Becker

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Cyril Delevanti

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Frank Elliott

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Herbert Evans

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Douglas Gerrard

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Gibson Gowland

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Kit Guard

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Frank Hagney

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Gerald Hamer

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Lumsden Hare

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Alec Harford

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Forrester Harvey

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Stuart Holmes

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Kenneth Hunter

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Boyd Irwin

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Edna Mae Jones

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Colin Kenny

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Crauford Kent

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Charles Knight

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Connie Leon

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : George Magrill

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Kermit Maynard

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Mathew McCue

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Philo McCullough

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Clive Morgan

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Edmund Mortimer

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : John Rice

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : John Rogers

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Raymond Severn

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Yorke Sherwood

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Leslie Sketchley

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Will Stanton

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Jane Starr

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Robert R. Stephenson

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Donald Stuart

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Walter Tetley

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : David Thursby

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Frederick Worlock

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Your beauty is exquisite. 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, for then 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, yet this in no way hurts the picture. In fact 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

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-06-30

This is quite a suspenseful drama set amongst the murderous goings-on of "Jack the Ripper" in Whitechapel in 19th century London. Laird Cregan is "Slade" - an imposing, secretive, man who takes up lodgings with Sir Cedric Hardwicke and his wife Sara Allgood. Gradually his nocturnal habits begin to arouse her suspicion, and coupled with the ongoing "Ripper" fears, they begin to suspect that he may not be on the level. These tensions begin to heighten when "Slade" meets their music-hall star niece "Kitty" (Merle Oberon) who also lodges with them. They enlist the help of "Insp. Warwick" (George Sanders) who is already working on the "Ripper" case (and who is also quite keen on "Kitty" too!), and together they have to act quickly to prevent more killings. It's atmospheric and well paced; the cast all deliver well and the ending - it reminded me a bit of "Phantom of the Opera" (1943) - is quite a climactic affair. Cregan has something sinister about him from the start - and his eyes do much of his acting for him here - full of menace. Oberon plays the damsel in distress quite convincingly, too. John Brahm and Barré Lyndon have collaborated well here and it is well worth a watch on a dark night!