The Lodger (1927) - Hitchcock's cameo

Hitchcock's cameo in The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) occurs about 2 minutes into the film and is the first known cameo appearance by the director.

As news of the murder seen at the start of the film spreads, we see various scenes set inside a newspaper office. With his back to the camera, Hitchcock is sat at a desk and talking on the telephone.

Some sources identify one of the people hearing about the murder over their radio headsets as being Hitchcock's wife, Alma Reville.

A number of sources, including François Truffaut, have stated that Hitchcock has a second cameo during the crowd scenes near the end of the film.

Using the 2012 Blu-ray release of the film, the portly gentleman seems highly unlikely to be the director and has a different profile. Given the technical nature of the scene, which required multiple camera angles, it also seem unlikely Hitchcock would not be behind the camera directing the action.