EXCLUSIVE: One of the greatest directors of all time is going vertical.
Alfred Hitchcok’s 1927 silent feature The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog has become possibly the first classic movie to be reframed as a microdrama.
The movie is available now in the U.S. on nascent UK microdrama app Tattle TV in vertical form. Tattle said the move is “one of the first known instances of a classic feature film being fully reframed for vertical, mobile-first consumption.”
Deadline understands The Lodger can’t be made available via vertical video in the UK or EU as it is subject to IP licensing restrictions, but in the U.S. the silent version is available for adaptation.
“By repurposing British classics like The Lodger, Tattle TV aims to introduce iconic cinema to a whole new generation of viewers, bridging the gap between film history and contemporary mobile audiences,” said Tattle.
The Lodger was Hitchcock’s first big movie, establishing the icon’s reputation as a director to be taken seriously. The silent film starring Marie Ault and Ivor Novello followed a serial killer who targets young blonde women on Tuesday evenings.
“Tattle TV is an early adopter of cutting-edge AI tools, allowing us to streamline our vertical‑first workflow and bring classic and archival content to mobile audiences faster than ever,” said Tattle co-founder Philip McGoldrick.
Deadline profiled Tattle TV last week in our “Microdramas Go Global” feature, in which we wrote about the next generation of vertical video creators. Tattle’s founders have spoken about a desire to repurpose British classics like Monty Python for vertical. The app features the likes of MMA movie Tramp and reality pilot Dog Dates.
