The Lodger - Alfred Hitchcock

The Lodger directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1927 is often considered to be his first film. It is actually his third, but the first two have been lost. The first was named The Pleasure Garden. It was produced in 1925 and released in 1927. According to "The Art of Alfred Hitchcock" by Donald Spoto (which I will be using through out my Hitchcock viewings), it is the story of a two chorus girls who both dance at a music hall named The Pleasure Garden. They both have relationships that go in very different directions. Having seen the majority of Hitchcock's films, the plot sounds very familiar, and quite similar to the film Downhill. He seems to revisit the theme of how choices take similar people on very different paths in life. Hitchcock's second film was The Mountain Eagle (also produced in 1925 and released in 1927) which was the story of hillbillies of Kentucky - yet filmed in Germany with an English crew. 

The film that Hitchcock considered his first film is The Lodger. According to Spoto and interviews, Hitchcock started exploring and creating his own style of thriller with this film. It was produced in 1926, and released in 1927. It was the first time he worked with Ivor Novello - a very well known English actor, mainly of the stage (I believe) who also wrote music. If you have seen the 2001 film Gosford Park, the character of Ivor Novello is in it, and is wonderfully played by Jeremy Northam. Ivor Novello plays the title character of The Lodger in this black and white silent film. The story starts with news of a killer on the loose who is killing blonde young women. Novello comes to a house seeking a room to rent. He asks that all the paintings of blonde women are removed from his room, and he sticks to himself. The daughter of the household is blonde, and is attracted to him - he is mysterious after all. There is love, mistaken identities, and some really fantastic visuals. The one that sticks out is a visual of the family in the lower room hearing the lodger walk and pace his room above, and visually it then shows shoes pacing across the screen - but from underneath. As if the family is looking through the ceiling to see the lodger pace. The Lodger is also the first time that Hitchcock made his cameo in his own film - sitting in an office with his back to the camera. 

While you can find The Lodger in a variety of Hitchcock collections, I would recommend the Criterion Collection (spine 885). It has a digital restoration of the film, a new score by Neil Brand, interviews with film scholars and art historians, essays, excepts from audio interviews with Hitchcock, a radio adaptation of The Lodger, as well as a digital restoration of Downhill. Also, take into account the timeframe in which these films were made. There is sexist behavior, and some racist overtones at times. My writing about it does not mean that I approve at all. Like in a lot of art, there are some aspects we may not like or approve, but the overall film may be enjoyed regardless.