The Lodger

1944
Approved
1h 24m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

George Sanders and Merle Oberon in The Lodger (1944)

A landlady suspects that her new lodger is Jack the Ripper.A landlady suspects that her new lodger is Jack the Ripper.A landlady suspects that her new lodger is Jack the Ripper.

Director
- John Brahm
Writers
- Barré Lyndon
- Marie Belloc Lowndes
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

4.2K

YOUR RATING

Director
- John Brahm
Writers
- Barré Lyndon
- Marie Belloc Lowndes
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win

Top cast89

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Laird Cregar

Mr. Slade

Merle Oberon

Kitty Langley

George Sanders

Inspector John Warwick

Cedric Hardwicke

Robert Bonting
(as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)

Sara Allgood

Ellen Bonting

Aubrey Mather

Superintendent Sutherland

Queenie Leonard

Daisy - the Maid

Doris Lloyd

Jennie

David Clyde

Sergeant Bates

Helena Pickard

Annie Rowley…

Fred Aldrich

Plainclothesman
(uncredited)

Harry Allen

Conductor
(uncredited)

Jimmy Aubrey

Cab Driver
(uncredited)

Joan Bayley

Undetermined Secondary Role
(uncredited)

Wilson Benge

Vigilante
(uncredited)

Billy Bevan

Bartender
(uncredited)

Ted Billings

News Vendor
(uncredited)

Edmund Breon

Manager
(uncredited)

Director
- John Brahm
Writers
- Barré Lyndon
- Marie Belloc Lowndes
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Merle Oberon fell in love with the film's cinematographer, Lucien Ballard, and they married the following year. Because of facial scars Oberon sustained in a car accident, Ballard developed a unique light for her that washed out any signs of her blemishes. The device is known to this day as the Obie (not to be confused with the Off-Broadway award).

Goofs
The police inspector says that a fingerprint was taken from one of the Ripper murder scenes, and the inspector himself carries a vial of fingerprinting powder. However, the Ripper murders took place in 1888; the first criminal identification from fingerprints took place in Argentina in 1892, and the British police did not adopt fingerprinting until 1901.

Quotes
Slade: You wouldn't think that anyone could hate a thing and love it too.
Kitty Langley: You can't love and hate at the same time.
Slade: You can! And it's a problem then...

Connections
Featured in Creature Features: The Lodger/The Black Pit of Dr. M (1971)

Soundtracks
What-cher, 'Ria!
(ca 1885) (uncredited)
Music by Bessie Bellwood
Lyrics by Will Herbert
Sung a cappella by a mob outside a pub

Very good Jack the Ripper story

This is a fictional tale of Jack the Ripper. It takes place in London in 1888. Jack the Ripper (Laird Cregar) is hiding out under the name Mr. Slade. He kills actresses only. He's renting two rooms from an elderly couple. Then he meets their young niece Kitty (Merle Oberon) who happens to be a dance hall girl. Will he kill her or can he be stopped?

VERY atmospheric with excellent direction by John Brahm. He makes great use of light and darkness and shoots this almost like a film noir. It looks great even though it was made on a low budget. The acting is great. Cregar is tall, imposing and menacing as the Ripper...but you also feel sorry for him. Oberon is excellent as Kitty. It's short (84 minutes) and well-done. Only one complaint (and it's minor)--You know Cregar is the Ripper from the very beginning so it robs any sense of mystery the story might have had. Still it's well worth seeing.