Black & White World

The Lodger (1944)

This movie has a lot to recommend it:  the moody, atmospheric photography and lighting is just stunning; the look of the film is really above reproach.  The use of fog and shadows set the tone very nicely.  The direction and the performances were great.  Laird Cregar in particular was fascinating to watch.

But here’s what I didn’t get—is it supposed to be completely obvious who Jack the Ripper is from the moment he first appears on screen?  Or is it supposed to be a mystery?  If it’s supposed to be obvious, I can’t figure out why we would spend so much time watching the other characters try to piece it together—it just makes them look stupid for not seeing it.  If it’s supposed to be a mystery, well… it’s not.  At first, it was so obvious I thought it must be a red herring, so that distracted me for a little bit.  But, no—not a red herring.  It’s almost laughable how obvious it is—he couldn’t be more transparent if he were wearing a big “JACK THE RIPPER” t-shirt.  Covered in blood and entrails.

But speaking of laughable moments, here’s my favorite:  near the beginning of the movie, the newsies are getting out a special edition with news on the Ripper case—the big update is that he’s actually been spotted this time.  One of the newsies is wearing a huge sandwich board which reads:  “RIPPER HAS BEEN SEEN!” And this guy tears open his pack of newspapers, reads the headline and hollers out, “Cor lummy, they’ve seen him!” Yes sir, I know—I just read that on your chest.  Couldn’t they have the guy with the “RIPPER EVADES POLICE” sandwich board do that line?  Or swap the sandwich boards?  It’s such a small thing, but if it’s that small, that makes it so much easier to avoid, doesn’t it?  It made me laugh.  I’m not trying to be nit-picky about it—I wouldn’t say that ruined my enjoyment of the movie or anything.  It just seemed that it was completely avoidable if anyone had been paying attention.

The movie does have a very suspenseful chase scene near the end, through an old Victorian-era theatre.  I’ve always thought old theatres were full of great places to hide.  It’s also got a fantastic climax.  It’s worth seeing for sure, I was just bothered by how non-mysterious the mystery was.

1. Looked this up when I realized it wasn’t the Hitchcock version, and instantly want to see this one, despite the moderate rating here. Will be interested to see your comments.

   Posted by Patrick  on  07/14  at  01:32 PM

2. They will be up right after lunch—in this case when I say “soon” I mean soon!

   Posted by  on  07/14  at  02:57 PM
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