_The Lodger_ is a competent thriller that demonstrates that the touch of the master, Alfred Hitchcock, was developing even early in his career. There are narrative and cinematographic elements present here that appear in his later works in much more refined form. <br /><br />Two shots in particular demonstrate a willingness to experiment with special effects. One shows the title character pacing in his room from beneath through a transparent floor. The second shows the memories of a police detective by means of a flashback that takes place within the confines of a footprint in the dirt. Interestingly, during a kissing scene there is a breach of the 180 degree rule; it is difficult to determine if this was intended, or merely a goof.<br /><br />Aside from the major narrative, which concerns the search for the serial killer, the Avenger, there is an interesting subtext that involves the romantic attachments of the daughter of the lodger's landlords, who vacillates between the "safe" but strait-laced police detective and the "dangerous" but exciting lodger.