CNN showcased 'The Lodger' on March 11, 2016. It's a film I have always wanted to see, but it was rather flat in my opinion.
The Lodger was first made as a silent film by the venerable Sir Alfred Hitchcock. This 1944 re-make was only fair in regards to the horror/thriller genre. I was rarely if ever remotely moved by this fictional account of Jack the Ripper. The premise is not too solid and director John Brahm rarely if ever makes the film exciting. It all looks too stagey. The film, according to CNN caused quite the stir in '44 as it starred Merle Oberon who only made grade A films up to this time. Oberon played a music hall singer and much ado was made by the media of the era, especially LIFE magazine which caricatured Oberon and her dancing on heels. She was married at the time to the great Sir Alexander Korda of British film fame so even more was made of her appearance (mostly negative) in this feature.
The film is not all bad. I loved the main stars and the supporting players like Sara Algood and Sir Cedric Hardwick were enjoyable. The film, however, deserves no more than a 5 or 6. I'll go with 5.
There is a problem with your e-mail address and we are unable to communicate with you. Please go to My Account to update your email.
Please choose a username to sign your comments. Only letters, digits, dash - or period. Minimum 4 characters.
Your age and sex:
We publish all comments, except abusive, at our discretion.