Frenzy (1972)

A serial murderer is strangling women with a necktie. The London police have a suspect, but he is the wrong man.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Arthur La Bern (novel), Anthony Shaffer (screenplay)

Stars:

Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jon Finch	...	Richard Blaney
Barry Foster	...	Robert Rusk
Barbara Leigh-Hunt	...	Brenda Blaney
Anna Massey	...	Babs Milligan
Alec McCowen	...	Chief Inspector Tim Oxford
Vivien Merchant	...	Mrs. Oxford
Billie Whitelaw	...	Hetty Porter
Clive Swift	...	Johnny Porter
Bernard Cribbins	...	Felix Forsythe
Michael Bates	...	Sergeant Spearman
Jean Marsh	...	Monica Barling
Madge Ryan	...	Mrs. Davison
Elsie Randolph	...	Gladys
Gerald Sim	...	Solicitor in Pub
John Boxer	...	Sir George

Storyline

London is terrorized by a vicious sex killer known as The Necktie Murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | rape | strangulation | murder of a nude woman | on the run | 

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Taglines:

A shattering tale of psychological horror

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 June 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy

Filming Locations:

Coburg Hotel, 129 Bayswater Road, London, England. UK

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,000,000, 31 January 1989

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) (uncredited)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

DIRECTOR CAMEO (Sir Alfred Hitchcock): In the first scene in the crowd. He is the only one not applauding the speaker. He can also be seen in a following scene, after the body in the river has been found, standing next to a couple discussing Jack the Ripper.

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Goofs

When examining the murder scene at the marriage bureau, a police officer brings the victim's handbag out to Inspector Oxford, who correctly holds it with a handkerchief to keep his fingerprints from contaminating the evidence. He then he sticks his un-gloved hand inside and feels around, thus contaminating it with his own fingerprints.

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Quotes

[discussing the tie murders]
Solicitor in Pub: Let's hope he slips up soon.
Doctor in Pub: In one way I rather hope he doesn't. We haven't had a good juicy series of sex murders since Christie. And they're so good for the tourist trade. Foreigners somehow expect the squares of London to be fog-wreathed, full of hansom cabs and *littered* with ripped whores, don't you think?

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Crazy Credits

The Universal Pictures logo does not appear on this film.

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Alternate Versions

The main titles were completely redone for the 2012 Blu-Ray release. This includes a completely different font, and quite a few typos were accidentally left in.

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Connections

Referenced in Psych: Mr. Yin Presents (2010)

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Soundtracks

Poem
(uncredited)
Music by Zdenek Fibich
Arranged by Ron Goodwin

User Reviews

A truly engaging nail-biter!

Hitchcock did one hell of a job! I was planning on watching this movie just for about 30 minutes before going to sleep and was gonna finish watching it the next day, but instead I was so engaged that I couldn't stop watching and stayed awake the whole 2 hours. I loved the irony of the actual rapist having no clues pointing to him and the innocent man having all clues pointing to him. The scene involving the rapist in the back of the truck, rummaging through a sack of potatoes (and that's all I'll reveal) is classic suspense. I also loved how Hitchcock left the rape scenes (excluding the first one) up to the imagination. There is a great shot where one of the victims is being raped and we don't even hear any off-screen yells or screams. The camera simply tracks backwards down a staircase and out the front door, where people walk by minding their own business, ignorant to the evil that's being committed a floor above. Any amateurish director would've went for true shock value and showed all the rape scenes in explicit detail. We don't call Hitchcock the master of suspense for nothing. The scene is still quite haunting. In horror and suspense, what you don't see can be a lot more frightening than what you do see, since the imagination is a powerful thing. The last line of the movie should go down in history. It had me bawling with laughter! Just that one line gave perfect closure to this wonderful film.

My score: 8 (out of 10)