The main problem with The Lodger is that there's no suspense in the storyline, so it lies very flat. Sara Allgood and Cedric Hardwicke are a married couple who run a boarding house, and she impulsively rents a room to a very creepy man, Laird Cregar. Coincidentally, he's desperate for shelter immediately following one of the Jack the Ripper killings. Coincidentally, he's never around when one of the killings take place, he has a strong emotional aversion to actresses, and he's seen burning his clothing to get rid of mysterious stains. Where's the suspense?
George Sanders plays a policeman, so I thought there might be a chance that there would be a huge plot twist and Laird was innocent; Merle Oberon turns to George, comforted by his uniform, only to be alone with him and feel his fingers close in around her neck! But no, there is no great twist. This isn't meant to be a spoiler, but instead to prepare you for the type of thriller it is. George gets to play a good guy for one of the few times in his career, and Laird is definitely and obviously the bad guy. The suspense comes in whether or not George will find out before Laird kills Merle?
While Merle usually got to wear beautiful clothes in her movies (was this in her contract?), in this movie, she plays a can-can dancer and got to show off her very lovely legs. She doesn't have much acting to do, but then again, nobody else does either. The Lodger is definitely a B-picture, the type to turn on when you're very, very tired on Halloween and still want the television running while you fall asleep.
George Sanders plays a policeman, so I thought there might be a chance that there would be a huge plot twist and Laird was innocent; Merle Oberon turns to George, comforted by his uniform, only to be alone with him and feel his fingers close in around her neck! But no, there is no great twist. This isn't meant to be a spoiler, but instead to prepare you for the type of thriller it is. George gets to play a good guy for one of the few times in his career, and Laird is definitely and obviously the bad guy. The suspense comes in whether or not George will find out before Laird kills Merle?
While Merle usually got to wear beautiful clothes in her movies (was this in her contract?), in this movie, she plays a can-can dancer and got to show off her very lovely legs. She doesn't have much acting to do, but then again, nobody else does either. The Lodger is definitely a B-picture, the type to turn on when you're very, very tired on Halloween and still want the television running while you fall asleep.