Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger

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It is possible this film is the finest British production ever made.

Bioscope, 1926

Presented with an original live score by acclaimed pianist and composer Chris Gestrin, the first signature Hitchcock movie is based on the Jack The Ripper murders (here renamed “The Avenger”). As the suspicion that a neighbour may not be all he seems, the cat- and-mouse tension reaches almost unbearable proportions.

Made in 1926 for Michael Balcon’s new Gainsborough studios, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog was Hitchcock’s first thriller, and his first critical and commercial success. Coming shortly after his return from Germany, it draws heavily on the German expressionist tradition established in such films as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919) and Nosferatu (1922). These films, which used stylized, angular sets, high contrast light and shadow to convey disturbed psychological states, were to be a major influence on the developing director, and this movie teems with visual invention and excitement.

The Lodger was written by Eliot Stannard from a popular novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes (sister of the poet Hilaire Belloc), and starred matinee idol Ivor Novello as the mysterious lodger who falls under suspicion. June Tripp, the young actress who starred as the landlady’s daughter, Daisy, was the second of a series of actresses who became blonde at Hitchcock’s insistence – the first was Virginia Valli, star of The Pleasure Garden(1925). Joe, Daisy’s policeman fiancé, jokes, “I’m keen on golden hair myself, same as the Avenger is”. It soon became clear that Hitchcock had similar tastes.

The Lodger was a great success, and quickly established Hitchcock as a name director.

Hitchcock: “The Lodger was the first true Hitchcock movie… the first picture possibly influenced by my period in Germany… the first time I exercised my style. I took a pure narrative and, for the first time, presented ideas in purely visual terms…”

Truffaut: “A very good movie which showed great visual inventiveness. I really enjoyed it.”

About Chris Gestrin
Since graduating with a Film Scoring degree from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in 1995, Vancouver native Chris Gestrin has become an integral part of the Canadian music scene. As a versatile pianist and multi-keyboardist, composer, engineer and producer he has worked on over 400 albums covering a wide range of musical styles. From avant garde electronic improvisations to greasy soul organ music, introspective piano jazz to top of the charts pop, rock and hip-hop, Gestrin is in high demand for his eclectic talents and ability to bring a high level of musical inspiration to any situation.

As a jazz artist, Gestrin has performed on and off the stage not only with his great Canadian colleagues, but with a who’s who of the Jazz world. Gary Peacock, David ’Fat Head’ Newman, Kenny Wheeler, Jerry Granelli, Duke Robillard, to name a few. In the more mainstream music world, Chris has had the pleasure of working with a large number of prominent artists including Randy Bachman, Bryan Adams, D.O.A., Bob Rock, Paul Rodgers, Colin James, Jann Arden, Motley Crue, K-OS, Swollen Members, Jim Byrnes, Steve Dawson, Nickelback, Loudon Wainwright III, Long John Baldry and Jeff Healey.

Hitchcock’s most underrated movie.

Kevin Maher, The Times

One for Hitch fans, one for thriller fans, one for cinema fans. Do not miss.

Wally Hammond, Little White Lies

This restoration of Hitchcock’s 1926 silent melodrama offers a gripping prehistory not just of his own work, but the Hollywood thriller itself.

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

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