an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

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.

I suppose that when the screen writers sat down to write this script that they had to make a decision: do we let the audience know who the murderer is right away, or is the mystery where the suspense is? Here they chose the former, which requires the suspense to build as the "good guys" slowly begin to figure out who the murderer is. It's not the easiest task, but here they do it quite well (in that sense it reminded me a bit of Alfred Hitchcock's "I Confess").Sometimes this film gets labeled as a "horror" film, but it should be classed as a "suspense film". Hitchcock directed a silent version of the tale, but not this rendition...although it might remind many viewers of a Hitchcock flick. The director here -- John Brahm -- had a rather checkered career that included some brilliant "Twilight Zone" episodes, but also the horrible Dana Andrews/Jeanne Crain film "Hot Rods From Hell". This film may have been his apex.The casting here is quite good. It's a different kind of role for the lovely Merle Oberon, here as a French-style can-can dancer. She does well and makes a perfect victim, and her hair style is great because it covers her very high forehead. But Laird Cregar -- as Jack The Ripper -- is the real star here...he is "the lodger". Cregar died from an excessive diet that he took for the film following this one; he was only 31. For once, George Sanders is the good guy -- a Scotland Yard inspector, and the love interest for Merle Oberon. Sir Cedric Hardwicke does nicely as the father who at first is sure Cregar is innocent, but slowly comes around to believing his wife (Sara Allgood) that Cregar is Jack The Ripper.The sets are appropriately atmospheric, the acting very good, and the story -- though relatively predictable (but then again, that's true of most movies) -- moves at a nice pace with a nice level of suspense. Highly recommended.

Lame headline aside, this is a good, suspenseful melodrama based loosely on the Jack The Ripper legend. Just between us, I always feel John Brahm's directorial hand is a little uneven, but here he is right on the mark. He came up with a gem of a period piece, and you can look 'til your eyes drop out, you won't find anything out of place - (oh,alright,the anachronism mentioned on the title page) - he even had wick holders at the foot of the staircase, this being the 1880's before electricity. Surprisingly good production values for a movie in this genre.Laird Cregar is genuinely creepy (see humorous headline), as well as big. He puts the show over and is aided by George Sanders in a good guy role for a change and minus his usual smirk. Merle Oberon is lovely and sings, or at least lip-synchs some songs. I think one mark of a good production is often the quality of the supporting cast, and there is nothing lacking here - Cedric Hardwicke, Sarah Allgood, Queenie Leonard all give it their best.Director Brahm created a tense, atmospheric feel that is sustained and the picture is well-paced without dead spots in its 84 minute run. This is a good movie and minus the schlock that usually accompanies pictures of this type. It was on Fox Movie Channel the other morning and it is well worth your time.

Merle Oberon, George Sanders, Sara Allgood, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and Laird Cregar (as the title role) star in what must be the definitive film adaptation of this story, claiming to be based on the Jack the Ripper legend. I remember seeing the Hitchcock silent, and while it was good, it didn't capture the London-at-night atmosphere and the dark shadows, and it didn't have Laird Cregar, and his intense desperation. He was excellent! I can only imagine that he was probably a nice guy in real life, but his disturbing performance is practically the whole show. Merle Oberon is lovely and all, but her role is really a thankless or throw-away role, with very little to do but to just be there.Laird Cregar (and the movie) allows us to enter his mind and understand his motivations and even to sympathize with him. We're allowed to see things through his eyes. Especially at the end, when he's cornered by the crowd, when he looks so demented to the crowd, we see the crowd from his perspective. They must look so frightening to him.One quick note: Sara Allgood also was in "How Green was My Valley," and she deserves some recognition for her great part in "The Lodger" and her prolific career. She was an actress who worked without much fanfare, but always gave great performances.See this version of "The Lodger" and don't be taken in or fooled by imitations. Stay away from the new one, and don't even be curious about "Man in the Attic" with Jack Palance, a vastly inferior rip-off. "The Lodger" can be found on a Fox Horror 3-movie collection, and on TCM from time to time. Discover this version of "The Lodger," and you won't be disappointed, unless you want today's blood and gore. Its less-is-more technique goes a long, shiny way with your imagination.