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

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:

Henry Mancini was originally hired to score the film. According to accounts, upon hearing the proposed score, Alfred Hitchcock yelled at Mancini: "If I had wanted Bernard Herrmann, I would have hired him!" Mancini was fired from the project. His recording of his main title to Frenzy is available on one of his compilation of film music excerpts.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

[to publican Felix Forsythe]
Chief Inspector Oxford: I expect she'll turn up sooner or later. These days, ladies abandon their honor far more readily than their clothes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Robot Holocaust (#2.9)" (1990)

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.