South West Silents throws you into the paranoid world of the great Alfred Hitchcock this autumn.

Marking the 100th anniversary of the making of his breakout silent film thriller The Lodger (1927) starring Ivor Novello, June Tripp and Malcolm Keen. The SWS team is pairing this gem of the British silent era (with live music by Neil Brand) with his most profound Hollywood calling card, Vertigo (1958) starring James Stewart and Kim Novak.

The Lodger (1927): With his third feature film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, Alfred Hitchcock took a major step toward greatness and made what he would come to consider his true directorial debut.

This haunting silent thriller tells the tale of a mysterious young man (matinee idol Ivor Novello) who takes up residence at a London boarding house just as a killer known as the Avenger descends upon the city, preying on blonde women. The film is animated by the palpable energy of a young stylist at play, decisively establishing the director’s formal and thematic obsessions.
Live music by writer, broadcaster and composer Neil Brand.

Vertigo (1958): Considered one of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest cinematic achievements, Vertigo is a dreamlike thriller from the Master of Suspense. Set in San Francisco, the film creates a dizzying web of mistaken identity, passion and murder after an acrophobic detective (James Stewart) rescues a mysterious blonde (Kim Novak) from the bay and must unravel the secrets of the past to find the key to his future.

Recognised for excellence in not only the BFI's Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll (which it has appeared five times) and the AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies, Vertigo is a "great motion picture that demands multiple viewings" (Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide).

Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio) — Read more — Read less