I don't
believe I've ever seen any of Alfred Hitchcock's work in its' entirety but
after watching The Lodger I'll have
to admit a certain attraction to, if not black and white silent films,
Hitchcock's work. The scene I'll be
considering is a reoccurring scene that takes place throughout about the first
half of the movie. With much of the
first class discussion based around the flashing of the "To-night 'Golden
Curls'" segment, I was rather frustrated with the meaning. The first
thought I had regarding the scene had to do with the mentioning of the
telegraph shortly after the first set of appearances. I wondered if possibly it
was Hitchcock's way of showing the widespread publicity of the murders. But when watching the cleaner version of the
film, it was clear that "Golden Curls" was actually surrounded by a
pair of quotations. A telegram would
most likely not place significance on golden curls in that matter. Although the targeting of "fair"
women is significant, the consistency of murders in itself is probably a more
pressing issue. At this point I gave in
and asked my friend, Google. He didn't
have any definite answers but one site did mention a marquee for a show. Unsatisfied I continued watching the
film. But soon after the scene where the
press began printing papers, it cut to the back stage of what is presumably
some sort of theatrical production. This
is also the scene where Daisy makes her first appearance. We learn later that she models clothes for
what I assume to be wealthy business men or wives of such business men, when
the girls first come into the back stage, they proceed to shed blonde
wigs. Then it occurred to me that the show
"Golden Curls" must have actually been playing that night. Thus, To-night Golden Curls. Of course it doesn't mean that Hitchcock did
not meant it to be a not-so-subtle reference to the Avenger's weekly
deeds. This has been the most pressing
issue watching this film. But in terms
of cinematography and basic terms learned there are few others.
In
reading the short history of Hitchcock in the Britain's Film and TV history
guide, there were two elements there that appeared in The Lodger (although the
film itself was mentioned I won't be referring to these subjects). I may be incorrect in my understanding of the
term but I felt Hitchcock incorporated his famous use of a MacGuffin in the
film. The small bag that the Lodger
carried was identified with careful use of a close up when the lodger first
appears, reappears when the mother attempts to open the cabinet, and then once
more in the final scenes of the film.
Although a MacGruffin is supposed to have no relevance, in the case of
the Lodger, it did play a meaningful part in the plot. But at the same time, the use of the bag
could have been avoided altogether. The bag
merely brought intrigue and suspicion upon the Lodger just as Hitchcock had
wanted.
Throughout
the film Hitchcock also incorporates the use of the Look that the BFI guide so
mentions as Hitchcock's defining elements.
For instance, when the Lodger first gets his real look at Daisy, and
shortly before then when closes the window after seeing the newspaper boy
selling the Avenger front page paper.
There's
also the flashback that occurs when the Lodger retells the story of his
sister's death.
Also as
mentioned in the previous discussion, there was much talk of the framing of the
4th victim's face in the beginning of the film.
Not to mention the arguable point of view situations when the victim was
murdered by the avenger and the entrance of the Lodger at apartment 13. To name a few.
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