Frenzy (1972)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Arthur La Bern (novel)
Anthony Shaffer (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 June 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Police | Serial Killer | Necktie | Revenge | Jail

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Jon Finch	...	Richard Blaney
Barry Foster	...	Robert Rusk
Barbara Leigh-Hunt	...	Brenda Blaney
Anna Massey	...	Babs Milligan
Alec McCowen	...	Chief Inspector 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
John Boxer	...	Sir George
Madge Ryan	...	Mrs. Davison
George Tovey	...	Neville Salt
Elsie Randolph	...	Gladys
Jimmy Gardner	...	Hotel Porter
Gerald Sim	...	Solicitor in Pub
Noel Johnson	...	Doctor in Pub
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joby Blanshard	...	Man in Crowd (uncredited)
Gerry Cowper	...	Spectator at Opening Rally (uncredited)
June Ellis	...	Maisie - Barmaid (uncredited)
Harry Fielder	...	Covent Garden Lorry Driver (uncredited)
Drewe Henley	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Spectator at Opening Rally (uncredited)
Robert Keegan	...	Hospital Patient (uncredited)
Bunny May	...	Barman (uncredited)
James Payne	...	Covent Garden - Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Jack Silk	...	Police Driver (uncredited)
Rita Webb	...	Mrs. Rusk (uncredited)
Richard Wyler	...	Truck Driver (uncredited)
Jeremy Young	...	Detective (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Arthur La Bern		(novel "Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square")
Anthony Shaffer		(screenplay)

Produced by
William Hill	....	associate producer
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer (as Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy)

Original Music by
Ron Goodwin		(music composed by)

Cinematography by
Gilbert Taylor		(director of photography) (as Gil Taylor)
Leonard J. South		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
John Jympson

Casting by
Sally Nicholl

Production Design by
Syd Cain

Art Direction by
Robert W. Laing		(as Bob Laing)

Costume Design by
Julie Harris		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Harry Frampton	....	make-up
Patricia McDermott	....	hairdresser (as Pat McDermott)
Peter Frampton	....	makeup assistant (uncredited)

Production Management
Brian Burgess	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Colin M. Brewer	....	assistant director
D. Howard Grigsby	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Ben Harrison	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Simon Wakefield	....	set dresser
Leon Davis	....	construction manager (uncredited)

Sound Department
Rusty Coppleman	....	sound editor
Peter Handford	....	sound mixer
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound recordist
John Hayward	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Michael Hickey	....	sound camera operator (uncredited)
David Stephenson	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Wilson	....	camera operator
Peter Taylor	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dulcie Midwinter	....	wardrobe supervisor
Charles Guerin	....	wardrobe master (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Alan Strachan	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ron Goodwin	....	music conducted by

Other crew
Angela Martelli	....	continuity
Peggy Robertson	....	assistant: Mr. Hitchcock
Ron Allday	....	production accountant (uncredited)
Ian Goddard	....	location manager (uncredited)
Dan Slater	....	publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1972) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• CIC (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1975) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MCA Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• CIC Video (1989) (UK) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• Universal Pictures (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (new 35mm print)
• Argentina Video Home (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (video)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Universal Studios Home Video (DVD)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Finland:K-15 (2001) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1972) | Spain:13 | Iceland:16 | Brazil:12 | USA:R (certificate no. 23143) | USA:TV-14 (edited tv version: AMC print) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Italy:VM14 | Norway:16 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | West Germany:16 | UK:18 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

119 Oxford Street, London, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Several of the cast were unhappy with the lack of authenticity and Britishness of some of the dialogue. Jon Finch used to send notes to Alfred Hitchcock's secretary with suggested improvements. Hitchcock was not always pleased at this: "Jon, I said you could make alterations. I didn't say you could rewrite the whole script." However many of Finch's script amendments were indeed used in the final film.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the start of the movie Blaney is seen finishing the knot on his tie. In the next shot (of him coming down the staircase into the bar), he has the same tie but the colored stripes are different in the knot.

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?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "TCM Underground: Wicked, Wicked/Frenzy (#1.42)" (2008)

One final note

Those who blame Hitchcock for the intensity of the rape/strangulation scene should realize that he wrote neither the screenplay (which was written by playwright Anthony Shaffer, best known for his marvelous comic/mystery "Sleuth") nor the novel upon which it was based ("Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square" by Arthur La Bern)...and that the scene in the film runs exactly the same course, with precisely the same detail as the scene in the book. In fact, now that I think of it, the scene in the film is actually tamer. Hitchcock's film does not, after all, make any reference to the post-mortem insertion of a letter opener. If anything, Hitch showed restraint with his version of the scene. Not as much restraint as is usual for him...but restraint, nonetheless. And he achieved what he set out to do. The scene is absolutely chilling. And not only is it memorable...it's the most unforgettable scene of its kind.