THE LODGER was Alfred Hitchcock’s first big success and set the pattern for many of his future films. It also marks the first of his cameo appearances (there are two). Up until now, at least in the U.S., there have been no decent copies of THE LODGER available to see. It has been lovingly restored for this 2009 MGM edition perhaps TOO lovingly as, in my opinion, this version has a few minor problems even though it was the best version available until the Criterion release of 2017.
Having spent his formative film years in Germany at UFA studios, Hitchcock wanted to use German Expressionistic techniques in his first mystery thriller. The title cards resemble THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI while the look of the film owes much to Fritz Lang especially his DR MABUSE movies. This restoration bathes the film in yellow and blue tints typical of the silent era but they appear a trifle oversaturated. The speed transfer seems unnaturally slow in places giving THE LODGER the look of a fever dream. This may have been Hitch’s intentions but I don’t think so. It looks more as if the film speed has been overcorrected much like Milestone’s release of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA from a few years back.
A key component to silent film enjoyment is the background music score and here this PREMIERE COLLECTION edition got it right. The cheap public domain copies of THE LODGER which have been around for years have cheap public domain music to go along with them. This restored edition gives you two recent scores to choose from, a 1997 one by Paul Zaza and a 1999 one by Ashley Irwin. Both are very good and set the mood nicely. Most reviewers seem to prefer the Irwin score but I like the one by Zaza which incorporates familiar classical and popular tunes better.
FYI: The 2017 Criterion release is available on Blu-Ray and has a new modern score by Neil Brand along with a different set of extras.
The Capsule Critic 