Huntingtower
After completing the initial edit of The Lodger, the Scottish press reported that Hitchcock was visiting Scotland to scout locations for an adaptation of John Buchan's 1922 novel Huntingtower. Carlyle Blackwell, who had produced The Lodger, was named as the lead actor.
Another notable British picture is being started. This is "Huntingtower," based, of course, on the exciting novel by John Buchan and set in this country. Mr Alfred Hitchcock, the director, has arrived in Scotland to select a suitable castle near the sea for the big fight between Bolsheviks and Boy Scouts which provides so much fun and incident in the story. This "Huntingtower" picture should be one of the most truly Scottish yet produced.
— Dundee Courier (08/Jun/1926)
Alfred J. Hitchcock, a producer who is making great strides here, is about to start on "Hunting Tower," an adaptation of a novel by John Breman [sic]. Boy Scouts have a good deal to do with the action. The leading male part will be played by Carlyle Blackwell. The picture will be made for Gainsborough. George A. Cooper's production of Guy Boothby's "The White Devil" has been indefinitely postponed.
— Variety (30/Jun/1926)
Possibly due to the delays with re-editing The Lodger, coupled with its subsequent critical and commercial success, Hitchcock's next film was Downhill, which also stared Ivor Novello.
In early 1927, newspapers began carrying stories that director George Pearson would be filming Huntingtower for Paramount Pictures. The film, starring Sir Harry Lauder and Vera Voronina, was released in November 1927 and featured scenes set at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland.
