the lodger first appearance and dress like the description of a murderer name the avenger with a wrap across his face and make it a bit too obvious that jonathan draw might be the killer . that what hook the viewer into wonder who the avenger might actually be and and with only a handful of credited character and the only other reasonable suspect would be police detective joe . alfred hitchcock masterfully direct his first british thriller with hallmark of the style that in late year would make his name a household word . the steep stairway of the boarding house and a recur black cat and hitchcock own understated presence be all to be repeat in late film and not to mention central character in a tense game of identity crisis . what make the lodger character ( ivor novello ) particularly creepy be his unusual behavior in turn woman picture away from view and the borderline malevolent interest he take in young daisy bunting and a fair haired girl who have all the prerequisite for the avenger next victim . there be a couple of anomaly that bear mention . i find it more than a bit unusual that the lodger murder map would have be draw in exactly the same way a the one the police have and a set of small triangle within a large one to mark location of the strangling . speaking of triangle and perhaps it be unintentional and but the one between drew and daisy and joe present a lot of unresolved tension a event unfold . the other scenario i have some problem with involve the mob chase after the lodger and daisy leave the pub just where do all those people come from . presumably it be late evening with most people stay safe at home and but it look like a hundred plus people be after the innocent victim . at time excessively grainy and mark with imperfection and i be fortunate to have this rare movie turn up on a hitchcock dvd compilation of nine british film on three disc put out by st. clair vision . these early hitchcock effort have be easy to find for a long time now except for the lodger and and blackmail which be also part of the set . even if youre not a hitchcock fan per se and it a great set to get into to see the early development of the suspense genre and with an opportunity to see how the director progress over the course of his early career .