The Lodger

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

1944 1h 24m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

⭐

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 99★7IMDB · 4,460

ThrillerMysteryHorror

Synopsis

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

“PROBING EYES that marked the woman he loved for death!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Merle Oberon
Kitty Langley
Laird Cregar
Mr. Slade
George Sanders
Inspector John Warwick
Cedric Hardwicke
Robert Bonting
Sara Allgood
Ellen Bonting
Aubrey Mather
Superintendent Sutherland
Queenie Leonard
Daisy the Maid
Doris Lloyd
Jennie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Brahm
Writers: Barré Lyndon
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

84 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

82 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Brahm, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hugo Friedhofer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor J. Watson Webb Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Merle Oberon and Laird Cregar and George Sanders carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "PROBING EYES that marked the woman he loved for death!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Brahm directs. Lucien Ballard behind the camera. Hugo Friedhofer scores. J. Watson Webb Jr. cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

184 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
382 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by John Brahm, shot by Lucien Ballard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Hugo Friedhofer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor J. Watson Webb Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Merle Oberon and Laird Cregar and George Sanders carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "PROBING EYES that marked the woman he loved for death!".
9IMDB entry: tt0037024 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 99 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 19 themes, including "suspicion of murder", "jack the ripper", "lodger", "victorian england".

The technical file

Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
Original score: Hugo Friedhofer
Editing: J. Watson Webb Jr.
Costume design: René Hubert
Makeup / hair: Guy Pearce
Runtime: 84 min · 1h 24m
Status: Released
Budget: $800,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Lodger (1944)
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 4,460 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

2 wins total

Also by

John Brahm

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-07-19
★ 9/10
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
CinemaSerf2022-06-30
★ 7/10
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!