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:

Necktie | London | Police | Serial Killer | Murder

Awards:

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

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Jon Finch	...	Richard Ian 'Dick' Blaney
Barry Foster	...	Robert 'Bob' Rusk
Barbara Leigh-Hunt	...	Brenda Margaret Blaney
Anna Massey	...	Barbara Jane '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	...	Bit Part (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 (uncredited)

Original Music by
Ron Goodwin

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)

Makeup Department
Harry Frampton	....	makeup artist
Patricia McDermott	....	hair stylist (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

Art Department
Simon Wakefield	....	set dresser

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)

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

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Wilson	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dulcie Midwinter	....	wardrobe supervisor

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

Music Department
Ron Goodwin	....	conductor

Other crew
Ian Goddard	....	location manager
Angela Martelli	....	continuity
Peggy Robertson	....	assistant: Mr. Hitchcock

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

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) | 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:

Elsie Randolph (who plays a worker at the hotel) last appeared in a Hitchcock film 40 years earlier as the old maid in Rich and Strange (1931).

Goofs:

Continuity: As Blaney complains about his "large" brandy, the note scrunched up in his hand with the glass disappears between shots.

Quotes:

Solicitor in Pub: We were just talking about the tie murderer, Maisie. You'd better watch out.
Maisie, Barmaid: [salaciously] He *rapes* them first, doesn't he?
Solicitor in Pub: Yes, I believe he does.
Doctor in Pub: Well I suppose it's nice to know that every cloud has a silver lining.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Men Who Made the Movies: Alfred Hitchcock (1973) (TV)

Grim

You should be warned that "Frenzy" has one of the most gruesome rape/murder scenes ever filmed - beautifully filmed, of course, so that you don't look away, but that makes it all the more terrible. It's followed by one of Hitchcock's great signature shots, as the camera draws back, out of the building, into the crowded and noisy streets, where the scene of the crime becomes just one room among many. That's "Frenzy" for you. It's one of Hitchcock's most assured and gripping films; but it's pretty grim. Everyone in London looks surprisingly ugly. Their characters, from hero to villain, are a trifle uglier too. But don't expect a happy ending. Things go just a little bit past the point where a happy ending is possible.