Frenzy (1972)

A serial killer is murdering London women with a necktie. The police have a suspect... but he's the wrong man.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

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

Stars:

Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, Barry Foster

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

Cast

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

Storyline

London is terrorised by a vicious sex killer known as the neck tie 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 | suspect | police | necktie | secretary | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 June 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frenesí

Filming Locations:

Leicester Square, Soho, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 2,348,248 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of only two films Alfred Hitchcock made during the 1970s. The other was Family Plot.

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Goofs

After Blaney escapes from the hospital and is trying to find Rusk, he starts opening his apartment door and opens it about a foot. In the next shot from the inside, we see him opening the door again.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Bob Rusk: You're my type of woman.

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Crazy Credits

The Universal Pictures logo does not appear on this film.

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Connections

Referenced in Cover Up (1974)

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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)