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:

Just an ordinary necktie used with a deadly new twist. [Australia Theatrical]

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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

This movie and its source book, "Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square", were inspired by the real-life unsolved crimes of the serial killer known as "Jack the Ripper". Unlike in the story, the real killings (which terrified London in the early 1960s) mirrored elements of "Jack the Ripper", in that the killer attacked prostitutes, and that the killings mysteriously stopped. In the case of "Jack the Ripper", however, six months after the killings stopped in London, identical murders started happening in New York City. In the archives of "The New York Times", newspapers dated roughly six months after the murders stopped in London, reported on prostitute murders happening in the city, with the headline, "Jack the Ripper in New York". In those days, six months was roughly the time it took for a boat to go from England to New York harbor. All of this was covered on The History Channel documentary series, 'American Ripper'

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Goofs

During a meal scene, Inspector Oxford is offered a food item that he says "looks like a pig's foot." The item is medium sized before he is given it and large in the next shot when he is given it (the size goes back to medium after that).

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Quotes

Monica Barling: Men like this leave no stone unturned in their search for their disgusting gratifications.

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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

Featured in Hitchcock: Shadow of a Genius (1999)

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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)