While creatively photographed, I strongly disliked The Lodger. I found it unbelievable and adolescent in the approach towards its subject matter. In the words of David Thompson, lead actor Laird Cregar "had a short hour at the feast." Dead of a heart attack at 31, he is much lamented as a talented actor whose burgeoning career seemed so promising. Watching The Lodger, a relatively humourless film, I could see a bit of the young Vincent Price in Cregar - only in that Cregar was also willing to lend nobility to characters that are large and menacing (and more than a bit hammy). Cregar seems the type who could have later turned his image on its head, played it campy and had a few good laughs. The Lodger, however, didn't really add up in my books. Its depiction of women is naive to the point of being insulting. None of these women could sniff out that there was something not quite right about Mr Slate? Why is the most beautiful stage actress in London drawn to a loner misfit? Why does she want to comfort him? The landlady simply offers him accommodations without references? The film does depict Whitechapel as poor and riddled with prostitutes and thieves. But by making the central female character a popular music-hall performer with perfect teeth, the "other" murders just become exotic backdrop rather than part of the story. George Sanders' small role is delightful -- but how could we expect anything less from the adventuresome womanizer who married two Gabor sisters!
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