I've long been a fan of the 1927 Hitchcock movie, lots of atomosphere being led in one direction and then discovering that this was Hotchcock's trademark even early on. I liked Hitchcock's style even at this early stage, this may possibly be the UK's best silent movie.
Tonight I watched The Lodger 1944, based on Hitchcock's earlier work but very different in style and even more chilling. I guess I've discovered what many have known for years that this is a great movie. George Sanders in an early role, no wisecracks but that distinctive voice, Merle Oberon beautiful although I'm not sure how convincing she is as a showgirl and Laird Cregar, I can't remember seeing him in anything before and a pity I can't see him in anything he made after. What a great actor, despite censorship his portrayal of the serial killer has a tormented sexual edge to it, his Ripper has a very compelling and tortured edge to it, you can almost understand, almost but not quite.
Censorship must have meant that they changed the Ripper's victims from prostitutes to actresses.
The Lodger 1927 and 1944
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charliechaplinfan
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The Lodger 1927 and 1944
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Re: The Lodger 1927 and 1944
Like you, I was rather late in discovering this 1944 gem. I haven't seen the 1927 version but once and never on big-screen, which is my hope.
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: The Lodger 1927 and 1944
The two films are based on the same story but feel completely different and therefore the later does not feel at all like a remake.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Re: The Lodger 1927 and 1944
To me, the 1944 "Lodger" feels indebted to "Shadow of a Doubt." While the 1944 film is good, I don't really warm to Merle oberon and actually prefer 1945's "Hangover Square."
By the way, Hitchcock directed a radio version of "The Lodger" in 1940 for a CBS show called "Forecast." It was the pilot episode for "Suspense," which ran on CBS radio from 1942 to 1962.
By the way, Hitchcock directed a radio version of "The Lodger" in 1940 for a CBS show called "Forecast." It was the pilot episode for "Suspense," which ran on CBS radio from 1942 to 1962.
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Professional Tourist
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Re: The Lodger 1927 and 1944
Yes, and here it is.MikeBSG wrote:By the way, Hitchcock directed a radio version of "The Lodger" in 1940 for a CBS show called "Forecast." It was the pilot episode for "Suspense," which ran on CBS radio from 1942 to 1962.
There is also a 1947 radio version from the anthology series Mystery in the Air. Agnes Moorehead stars with Peter Lorre.
Re: The Lodger 1927 and 1944
I prefer Hangover Square to 1944's The Lodger due to Linda Darnell, but I have to admit That Merle has a great pair of legs also. That shows you were my mind is. Laird Cregar was a fantastic actor. 
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klondike
Re: The Lodger 1927 and 1944
I caught up with both 44's The Lodger, and Hangover Square this weekend past (the former, for first time since mid-90's, the latter for first time ever), and watched them back to back (courtesy of DVD 3-pack).
And I was reasonably sure that I was going to vote The Lodger as the superior creepy-Victorian-thriller, until Hangover Square got around to the Guy Fawkes bonfire scene . . and that one scene I found just unnervingly lurid enough to re-energize my involvement for the final third of the film. Afterwards, I had to admit that HS was definitely the more satisfying of the two.
Interestingly enough, what nearly queered that estimation for me was a)- Sara Allgood's brilliant cameo as the cheery-yet-skeptical landlady in The Lodger, and b)- George Sanders' oddly hollow & disengaged acting in both of these movies!
And I was reasonably sure that I was going to vote The Lodger as the superior creepy-Victorian-thriller, until Hangover Square got around to the Guy Fawkes bonfire scene . . and that one scene I found just unnervingly lurid enough to re-energize my involvement for the final third of the film. Afterwards, I had to admit that HS was definitely the more satisfying of the two.
Interestingly enough, what nearly queered that estimation for me was a)- Sara Allgood's brilliant cameo as the cheery-yet-skeptical landlady in The Lodger, and b)- George Sanders' oddly hollow & disengaged acting in both of these movies!
Re: The Lodger 1927 and 1944
From what I've read, Sanders really didn't like "Hangover Square." He deliberately blew one very expensive take because he didn't like the line he had to say. (It was replaced by the last line of the movie as it now exists.) As revenge, Zanuck supposedly cut out many of Sanders' scenes from the film, including a budding romance between Sanders and Laird Cregar's "good" sweetheart.
Re: The Lodger 1927 and 1944
There is a good discussion of "the Undying Monster," "The Lodger" and "Hangover Square" in Gary Giddens' latest book "Warning Shadows." (It was a DVD review originally.)
Giddens makes the point that the novel "Hangover Square" by Patrick Hamilton could never have been filmed during WWII because of its sour view of British society. I found that a sensible attitude. Most of the time, I encounter articles written by partisans of the novel who hate the film. I think "Hangover Square" is terrific, decades ahead of its time, and deserves to be better known, for the Bernard herrman score at least.
Giddens makes the point that the novel "Hangover Square" by Patrick Hamilton could never have been filmed during WWII because of its sour view of British society. I found that a sensible attitude. Most of the time, I encounter articles written by partisans of the novel who hate the film. I think "Hangover Square" is terrific, decades ahead of its time, and deserves to be better known, for the Bernard herrman score at least.