Discuss The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
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Hitchcock tells us TWICE that he’s going to trick us. And I still fell for it -_-
posted by rooprectSTAFFMOD on November 5, 2023 at 5:37 AM
Even better than the trickery I raved about in The Lady Vanishes, here in one of Hitch's earliest films we get the ultimate fakeout in cinema: when the director tells us up front exactly how he's going to trick us. If we're paying attention, which I evidently wasn't, Hitchcock gives us a spoiler in the opening scene. Then he repeats it in the 2nd scene (which I again missed).
First the no spoiler version in case you haven't seen the movie...
The movie opens with a woman being murdered, then an old lady who witnessed the murder describes the killer to a crowd of people. As she's describing the killer's appearance having a scarf covering the lower half of his face, behind her a prankster in the crowd covers his face with a scarf and then startles her. For a second, we see the prankster's distorted image which terrifies the old lady until she suddenly realizes she's been tricked.
In the 2nd scene we're backstage in the dancers dressing room as they read about the murder. The camera focuses on a particularly worried young woman. Then suddenly we see a knife, then a masked face. Cut to the worried dancer being shocked, then suddenly laughing as she realizes it was just one of the dancers fooling her.
Those are your 2 clues. Now go watch the movie.
SPOILERS BELOW
Ok, if you've watched the movie you know the twist. The "lodger" first appears to us as a creepy figure with a scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face. "Ah, ok this is the real killer" we think. "Time to get serious." For the bulk of the film everything seems to confirm that the lodger is the killer, and the only question is whether he'll be caught before he murders Daisy.
But then surprise, it turns out he wasn't the killer after all (the killer is never even shown, highlighting the fact that he wasn't really important. Call it the original McGuffin). And then we remember those opening scenes and their significance. Hitchcock was telling us, twice, that he's going to trick us with a fake killer. The guy with a scarf and a creepy stare isn't going to be our man, and Hitchcock himself is the prankster fooling us. 🤦
Reply by bratface
on November 5, 2023 at 2:42 PM
Did you edit your original post?
Reply by rooprect
on November 5, 2023 at 2:57 PM
I originally posted it in the wrong Lodger (1944). It's in the right place now (1927).
Didn't realize there was a remake 😬
Reply by bratface
on November 5, 2023 at 4:14 PM
Phew, I thought I was imagining things, especially because I can't find the movie where you first posted. 🤨
Reply by genplant29
on November 5, 2023 at 4:21 PM
It was here (also a good movie, btw).
Reply by bratface
on November 5, 2023 at 5:31 PM
So weird. I tried searching for it but it didn't show. More reason that I thought I was imagining it all!
Here is another 'remake':
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0851530/
Reply by rooprect
on November 5, 2023 at 6:39 PM
Cool, I want to check out both Lodger remakes. I'm a fan of Hitchcock remakes & homages, even the bad ones. His films are such canon, there's no threat of him ever being outdone or replaced. So remakes are fun just to see how his ideas inspired new filmmakers.
I've heard it said that Mission: Impossible II is an unofficial remake of Notorious. Haven't seen it but it's on my list!
Reply by bratface
on November 5, 2023 at 7:42 PM
Here's one from 1932, also starring Ivor Novello. Odd, don't you think?
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/175822-the-phantom-fiend