The lodger's first appearance, dressed like the description of a murderer named 'The Avenger' with a wrap across his face, makes it a bit too obvious that Jonathan Drew might be the killer. That's what hooks the viewer into wondering who the Avenger might actually be, and with only a handful of credited characters, the only other reasonable suspect would be police detective Joe.<br /><br />Alfred Hitchcock masterfully directs his first British thriller with hallmarks of the style that in later years would make his name a household word. The steep stairways of the boarding house, a recurring black cat and Hitchcock's own understated presence were all to be repeated in later films, not to mention central characters in a tense game of identity crisis. What makes the lodger character (Ivor Novello) particularly creepy is his unusual behavior in turning women's pictures away from view and the borderline malevolent interest he takes in young Daisy Bunting, a fair haired girl who has all the prerequisites for the Avenger's next victim.<br /><br />There are a couple of anomalies that bear mentioning. I found it more than a bit unusual that the lodger's murder map would have been drawn in exactly the same way as the one the police have, a set of smaller triangles within a larger one to mark locations of the stranglings. Speaking of triangles, perhaps it was unintentional, but the one between Drew, Daisy and Joe presents a lot of unresolved tension as events unfold.<br /><br />The other scenario I had some problem with involves the mob chase after the lodger and Daisy leave the pub - just where did ALL those people come from? Presumably it was late evening with most people staying safe at home, but it looked like a hundred plus people were after the innocent victim.<br /><br />At times excessively grainy and marked with imperfections, I was fortunate to have this rare movie turn up on a Hitchcock DVD compilation of nine British films on three discs put out by St. Clair Vision. These early Hitchcock efforts have been easy to find for a long time now except for "The Lodger", and "Blackmail" which is also part of the set. Even if you're not a Hitchcock fan per se, it's a great set to get into to see the early development of the suspense genre, with an opportunity to see how the director progressed over the course of his early career.