Good Morning…  Continuing our salute to British actors, our feature attraction in March is THE LODGER… a film starring virtually an all British cast… George Sanders, Merle Oberon, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Sara Allgood, and most importantly… Laird Cregar.  A brilliant actor, Cregar is unknown today because of his early untimely death.

Despite boasting two Oscar winners, Sanders and Allgood, this is Cregar’s film.  His is an almost haunting look into, and portrayal of, a serial killer… in this case Jack The Ripper.  Incredibly, this is done with virtually little or no violence on screen.  It is seen with Cregar’s pained expressions on his face showing his inner torment and mental madness.  Yet, every scene is restrained… this is no Universal Studios monster horror movie.

One other note… though the audience knows Jack The Ripper’s identity almost from the beginning of the film, there is no lack of suspense.  Indeed, the film’s progression is like watching a coiled spring ready to explode.

This film is a remake of an earlier Alfred Hitchcock screen adaptation of a best selling novel.  By virtually everyone’s opinion, this is by far a better film.  THE LODGER will screen at 7 PM on Friday, March 18th, 2016 at Old City Hall.