THE LODGER - A STORY OF THE LONDON FOG
THE LODGER - A STORY OF THE LONDON FOG
Hitchcock's silent masterpiece, inspired by the crimes of Jack the Ripper, continues to captivate with its expressionist aesthetic a century later. The film captures the social hysteria of Londoners terrified by the attacks of the Avenger, who chooses his victims among blondes. Ivor Novello played the role of the mysterious stranger.
The film depicts the social hysteria of Londoners, terrified by the recurring attacks of the Avenger, who chooses his victims among blondes. The main (fair-haired) character in the silent film based on Marie Belloc Lowndes' best-selling novel is model Daisy, whose parents rent a room to a mysterious lodger. The girl establishes a connection with the newcomer, much to the dissatisfaction of the police inspector, who adores her. In the meantime, the Avenger, inspired by the character of Jack the Ripper, remains elusive. A new friend of Daisy falls under suspicion. The leading roles were portrayed by June Tripp, the Welsh star Ivor Novello, who also starred in the Hitchcockian drama DOWNHILL, and Malcolm Keen, known for his work with the director on the lost production of THE MOUNTAIN EAGLE and the silent melodrama THE MANXMAN.
Although Alfred Hitchcock made his debut as an independent director in 1925 with THE PLEASURE GARDEN, it was THE LODGER, premiered two years later, that shaped his original vision. It was in this film that the main themes of the master of suspense were formed, including the theme of an innocent person wrongly accused of a crime and the presence of a blonde protagonist. Looking at his early productions, it is clear that the melodrama genre was predominant among them. However, this mentioned work foreshadowed the filmmaker's fascination with horror cinema, which would make Hitchcock an icon in the following decades.
Almost a century after its premiere, the film dazzles with an expressionist aesthetic expressed through shadow symbolism, distorted perspective, and an omnipresent fog that builds an aura of mystery. Professor Krzysztof Loska, the author of the monograph HITCHCOCK - AN AUTHOR IN THE MIDDLE OF GATERNMENT, points out the similarity of the figure of the titular tenant to the cult figure of the vampire from Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's NOSFERATU (form NOSFERATU: A SYMPHONY OF HORROR). Hitchcock presented himself not only as a faithful student of the masters of German cinema but also as an innovative filmmaker telling a story using only visual effects. It is interesting to note that in THE LODGER, the director created his first cameo role, which he would repeat in a total of 37 productions, usually playing a character in a crowd, a passenger, or a passerby.
Text: Paula Apanowicz
THE LODGER - A STORY OF THE LONDON FOG will be shown at the Evangelical-Methodist Church of the Holy Cross (Ogrodowa Street in Poznań) with live music by Michał Jacaszek.
Jacaszek is a composer, producer and sound artist. Creates electroacoustic music combining electronically prepared sounds with acoustic instruments (several solo albums). He also works with other artists, in a variety of media including video, visual art, choreography and photography. Composes movie scores for FILM and live theatre music.
Member of Polish Society for Electroacoustic Music.
Member Of Polish Film Academy. Lives in Gdansk, Poland.
