HIT to play Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Lodger'

By TOM STANKARD

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Ironwood — The Historic Ironwood Theatre will play Alfred Hitchcock’s famed silent movie, “The Lodger,” on Halloween at 7:30 p.m.

Released to the masses in 1927, “The Lodger” is Hitchcock’s last silent movie.

Legend has it Hitchcock once considered this his “true suspense film.”

In the silent film, a serial killer known as the “Avenger” is on the loose, murdering blonde women in London.

A mysterious man arrives at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting, looking for a room to rent.

The Bunting daughter is a blonde model and is seeing one of the detectives assigned to cover the case.

The detective becomes jealous of the lodger and begins to suspect he may be the avenger.

The Alfred Hitchcock film stars Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, June Tripp, Malcolm Keen and Ivor Novello.

During the movie, Andrew Rogers will play the organ for added suspense.

According the HIT, Rogers is a staff organist at both the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor and the Detroit Fox Theatre.

From the beginning of the movie, HIT Managing Director Bruce Greenhill said the movie builds up very slowly and the organ helps build suspense.

While watching the movie, Greenhill said people will travel back in time.

“It takes you back to an earlier time,” he said. “These are the experiences our grandparents had at the theater back in the the day.”

For first-time silent movie watchers, Greenhill said he thinks they will be impressed.

“The effect that the organist will be able to add to the experience will impress them.”

“The Lodger” helped shape the modern-day thriller genre in films.