The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
| The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog | |
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Promotional poster
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| Directed by | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | Eliot Stannard |
| Based on |
The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Gaetano di Ventimiglia |
| Edited by | Ivor Montagu |
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Running time
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80 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | Silent film with English intertitles |
| Budget | UK£ 12,000 |
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog is a 1927 British silent film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, June Tripp, Malcolm Keen, and Ivor Novello. The film was released on 14 February 1927 in London and on 10 June 1928 in New York City. Based on the novel The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes and the play Who Is He? co-written by Belloc Lowndes, the film is about the hunt for a "Jack the Ripper"-like serial killer in London.
A young blonde woman, her golden hair illuminated, screams. She is the seventh victim of a serial killer known as "The Avenger", who targets young blonde women on Tuesday evenings.
That night, Daisy Bunting (June Tripp), a blonde model, is at a fashion show when she and the other showgirls hear the news. The blonde girls are horrified; hiding their hair with dark wigs or hats. Daisy laughs at their fears, and returns home to her parents, Mr and Mrs Bunting, and her policeman sweetheart, Joe (Malcolm Keen); they have been reading about the crime in the newspaper.
A handsome young man (Ivor Novello), bearing a strong resemblance to the description of the murderer, arrives at the house and asks about the room for rent. Mrs. Bunting (Marie Ault) shows him the room, which is decorated with portraits of beautiful young blond women. The man is rather secretive, which puzzles Mrs. Bunting. However he willingly pays her a month's rent in advance, and asks only for a little to eat. Mrs. Bunting is surprised to see that the lodger is turning all the portraits around to face the wall -- he politely requests that they be removed. Daisy comes in to remove the portraits, and an attraction begins to form between Daisy and the lodger. The women return downstairs, where they hear the lodger's heavy footsteps as he paces the floor.
The relationship between Daisy and the reclusive lodger gradually becomes serious, and Joe, newly assigned to the Avenger case, begins to resent this. The following Tuesday, Mrs. Bunting is awoken late at night by the lodger leaving the house. She attempts to search his room, but a small cabinet is locked tight. In the morning, another blonde girl is found dead, just around the corner.
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Wikipedia