I've seen both the 1927 silent film "The Lodger" directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and the 1932 sound remake titled "The Phantom Fiend" for an American audience. Both movies utilized the Jack the Ripper theme without using the name, whereas this version leaves no doubt who and what the story is based on. With the introduction of Laird Cregar's character Slade, one almost instinctively realizes it will be him who's revealed as The Ripper murderer, but coming so early in the picture one remains on guard for a twist in the story.
Like most viewers commenting here, I was quite literally stunned by actor Cregar. This was my first view of him in any film and he managed to maintain a looming menace throughout the picture. There's no doubt he would have left a significant mark in film if he hadn't died tragically at an early age. He reminded me a bit of Orson Welles in size and girth, and if you study him closely, there's a similarity in facial appearance as well. Just take a look at the "Heaven Can Wait" photo of him posted on his character page here on IMDb. He looks more like the devil than the devil himself, if you get my drift, really creepy.
That creepiness factor is used to good advantage throughout the movie, as Slade carries on a surreptitious presence at the Bonting home along with his mysterious forays into the night under the guise of a pathology student. His ideas about 'beauty is evil' and 'evil is beauty' seemed somewhat convoluted to this viewer, but I took that as in keeping with a tormented mind trying to deal with the anguish over his loss of a brother. You have to keep an eye on Slade as he goes into a frenzy over Kitty Langley's (Merle Oberon) Parisian Trot, his manic gaze galvanizes the viewer in a way few actors have the ability to do.
Like most viewers commenting here, I was quite literally stunned by actor Cregar. This was my first view of him in any film and he managed to maintain a looming menace throughout the picture. There's no doubt he would have left a significant mark in film if he hadn't died tragically at an early age. He reminded me a bit of Orson Welles in size and girth, and if you study him closely, there's a similarity in facial appearance as well. Just take a look at the "Heaven Can Wait" photo of him posted on his character page here on IMDb. He looks more like the devil than the devil himself, if you get my drift, really creepy.
That creepiness factor is used to good advantage throughout the movie, as Slade carries on a surreptitious presence at the Bonting home along with his mysterious forays into the night under the guise of a pathology student. His ideas about 'beauty is evil' and 'evil is beauty' seemed somewhat convoluted to this viewer, but I took that as in keeping with a tormented mind trying to deal with the anguish over his loss of a brother. You have to keep an eye on Slade as he goes into a frenzy over Kitty Langley's (Merle Oberon) Parisian Trot, his manic gaze galvanizes the viewer in a way few actors have the ability to do.