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Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Anna Massey, Alec McCowen ... see more see more... , Vivien Merchant , Michael Bates , Bernard Cribbins , June C. Ellis , Jimmy Gardner , Noel Johnson , Robert Keegan , Jean Marsh , Bunny May , Elsie Randolph , Madge Ryan , Gerald Sim , Clive Swift , George Tovey , Rita Webb , Billie Whitelaw , John Boxer

Alfred Hitchcock entered the 1970s with his commercial reputation virtually in tatters, a far cry from his stature at the start of the 1960s. Then, he'd been in the middle of the massively successful ... read more read more...trio of movies, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds, and was a ubiquitous presence on television thanks to his anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents -- but the series ended, and he'd suffered three expensive box-office failures in a row, Marnie, Torn Curtain, and Topaz, in the second half of the 1960s. He redeemed himself with Frenzy, however, which marked his return not only to England for the first time in 20 years but also to the subject matter with which he'd started his career in thrillers back in 1926 -- murder, and a hunt for a serial killer in London. As the latest female victim of the "Necktie Murderer" is found in the Thames, raped and strangled, we meet Richard Blaney (Jon Finch), a bitter, belligerent ex-Royal Air Force officer who can't seem to find his way in life. He drinks too much and holds grudges too easily, and has an explosive temper, which is very near the surface as he's just lost his job. We also meet his girlfriend, a barmaid (Anna Massey); his ex-wife, a professional matchmaker (Barbara Leigh-Hunt); and his best friend, Covent Garden fruit seller Bob Rusk (Barry Foster). Their connection to the necktie murders will be clear to us in the first 30 minutes of the movie and, not coincidentally, completely misinterpreted by the police, as Chief Inspector Oxford (Alec McCowan) and his men tighten a circle around the wrong man, who rapidly runs out of options and allies. The chase and suspense are classic Hitchcock, favorably recalling a dozen of his earlier movies, from The Lodger and The 39 Steps through Saboteur and Spellbound to Dial M for Murder and North by Northwest, with some new twists and the added energy afforded by the extensive use of actual London locations. There's also a good deal more sex and nudity here than Hitchcock was ever allowed to use in his earlier movies, owing to the relaxation of "decency" standards that had taken place in the years leading up to this production. The suspense derives from multiple interlocking and overlapping layers of uncertainty -- when will each of the two men, suspect and murderer, slip? (And which will slip first?) When and how will the police realize their mistake, and will it be in time to save the innocent man? Amid the straightforward storytelling and thriller elements, Hitchcock manages to slip in a few bravura cinematic moments, the best of them a pullback shot down a flight of stairs into a busy street as the killer invites his next victim into his home, as well as a scene aboard a truck, with a murderer desperately wrestling with a corpse hidden in a sack of potatoes. Frenzy was adapted from Arthur La Bern's novel Goodbye Picadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by mystery aficionado Anthony Shaffer, but for all of that and its decidedly modern trappings of sex and violence, it bears the indelible stylistic stamp of Alfred Hitchcock. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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R, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Release Date: June 21, 1972

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DVD Release Date: March 6, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (778)

  • fb1038944442
    May 9, 2012
    fb1038944442
    Frenzy is the most underrated Hitchcock masterpiece, and works on every level of suspense, cinematic brilliance, sparkling British humor and perverse misanthropy. It was the elderly and ailing maestro's return to his home town of London after more than 30 years in Hollywood. Stil... read morel the film feels authentically British, features no major movie stars, but some superb theater actors of the 70's. Frenzy has few sympathetic characters and has been accused of misogyny. The males (including the innocent protagonist) are mostly blind, selfish pigs and its women (with one exception) are far more sympathetic, brave and interesting. On the down side, the film does indeed recycle many of Hitch's favorite themes and techniques, and if you've see a lot of the master's oeuvre, you may feel you're seeing more of the same. To me, this is a pure distillation of everything he does well and wants to say as an artist (he died only a few years later and made only one more unsucessful film, Family Plot). It's not a happy message, since this world is full of selfish self aborbed people who allow evil to happen through their indifference. Plus, this story is much more coherent than some of Hitch's more acclaimed later flicks, like The Birds, probably because his collaborator is the great thriller playwright Anthony Shaffer (Sleuth).It's the story of a 'necktie' rapist serial killer, the fruit broker Rusk (Barry Foster) and his innocent unemplyed loser friend Blaney (Jon Finch aka Polanski's Macbeth) who is set up to take the heat for the crime. The Scotland Yard inspector (Alec McCowan) is led by the nose by the charming and slick Rusk, who has targeted the women in Blaney's life so his trusting mate can take the rap. The targets (among many others) are Blaney's kind and capable ex-wife and his trusting barmaid girlfriend. To defend Hitch of the accusation of misogyny, the rapes and killings are not at all titillating. There is only one crime that is graphically depicted and it is horrifying and respectful of the victim's humanity. Not as virutosic as the Psycho shower scene, though similar, it's an excellent, harrowing piece of cinema. Even more affecting is the second crime, which isn't shown. Just as the victim is lured by Rusk into his pad, the camera pulls away, down two flights of stairs, out into the street on a huge crane, where life goes on indifferently outside. No music. It's perhaps the most tragic and affecting shot in all of Hitchock and makes me want to cry.Another highlight is the potato truck scene, where the killer has dumped a body and is trying to remove from her rigor mortis hands an incriminating piece of evidence, It's done with extreme close ups and hand held shots and is hilarious, gross and tragic.The comedy in the film is mostly delightful It includes Hitch's ultimate rejection of gourmet cooking and pretention, as the Scotland Yard cop's wife tries to spice up their bland marriage with inedible gourmet food, which looks repulsive. The poor man just wants bangers and mash. The misogynist rap can possibly be laid here, though the wife seems much more perceptive than her husband about the actual murderer. The film shows a grungy and desaturated colored London full of rotting fruit and depressing locations. Though much of it is set in Covent Garden, it's the Covent Garden of the early 70's, not the tourist trap of today, a crowded place of rotting produce and sweaty Londoners. In any case, I would rate this in the top 10 of Hitchcock, and if you're a fan and haven't seen it, do so.
  • bbcfloridabound
    April 4, 2012
    bbcfloridabound
    One of the great Hitchcock films, and it doesn't take long for him to make his guess appearance in this one. A innocent man is being blamed for the necktie murders in London, and his friend is the real killer. Film comes with many a twist and turns that will even now after all th... read moreese years keep you on the edge of your seat. 5 stars 3-10-12
  • fb1664868775
    December 2, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Hitchcock's most brutal and explicit film, this is his late masterpiece.
  • SirPant
    May 16, 2011
    SirPant
    An odd choice of film to make if you ask me and he'd already directed similar films to a much higher standard. The humour in some scenes does make up for a lot of the bad but for me this doesn't resemble anything of the director who's films I adore. The story is weak and the scri... read morept is pretty awful too. One of the awful lines in the film that shocked me the most went along the lines of this: A Lawyer says to a barmaid while discussing the serial killer - 'He rapes his victims before murdering them, so every cloud has a silver lining eh love' - to which she is seen to go coy and giggles a lot. I suppose it is quite reminiscent of the awful TV from back then (although it wasn't all awful, it just dated very quickly). Best forgotten in my opinion.
  • FilmFanatik
    May 12, 2011
    FilmFanatik
    Brilliantly-crafted, dark, and morbid thriller. It's one of those great classic thrillers where all of the information is given right up front and making us wait to see how it all plays out. Superb performances across the board, as well as some obvious fantastic direction. Not... read more only is it shocking and often violent (especially for Hitchcock), but it's also ironic and extremely funny. That doesn't always work, but in this case, it works incredibly well. A fantastic piece of work by one of the great masters.
  • ajv2688
    December 29, 2010
    ajv2688
    HItchcock's most horrific movie of all. It's no Psyho, but it's still a good movie, it's very updated and 70s. I enjoyed it, and if you're a Hitchcock fan you should check it out.
  • ceWEBrity
    June 17, 2010
    ceWEBrity
    Frenzy is notable in Hitchcock's oeuvre solely because it's his only movie where you see titty. The sexual violence on display here is pretty shocking; though rape is something that Hitchcock has often implied in his work, nothing he's done has compared to the visual reality of i... read moret. That said, the mystery isn't all that compelling, there's nothing special about his composition, and it's difficult to get behind the characters. The performances are solid, and it's refreshing to see him cast people who aren't the epitome of Hollywood beauty. His villain just doesn't seem up to snuff here and you never see much of a reason to care about the angry, dull protagonist.

    Definitely worth watching as a turn for the different in HItch's filmography - though it is surprisingly long for such a shallow film, it remains captivating on a basic human level. This might make an interesting exploration into cinema's role as a moral guardian or cathartic outlet (seeing dark, evil things perpetrated on screen assuages our own need to approach them in real life), especially since this was exceptionally racy for 1972. Even as one of his weaker movies, it still acquits itself pretty well.
  • ythelastman89
    April 29, 2010
    ythelastman89
    I think itâ??s actually a step back for Hitchcock. Instead of doing something close to his style, it seems like he was trying to replicate his admirers. A lot of it just comes off as silly because itâ??s just too gory for what youâ??re used to seeing from him and honestly itâ??s ... read morekind of low. What Hitchcock always does well is psychological horror/thrillers, this wouldâ??ve been a far better film if he had just stuck with that. Itâ??s also highly predictable, which is really a blow to Hitchcockâ??s storytelling.
  • arashxak
    November 12, 2009
    arashxak
    More convincing & less stupid than some of Hitch's other movies but still nothing special
  • cosmo313
    October 4, 2008
    cosmo313
    This is a fairly gruesome, explicit latter-day Hitchcock film that's definitely worth watching. It comes off as a welcome surprise in terms of content compared to previous works, and I really liked that. The blacker than black(and British) humor makes it all the more better on to... read morep of that.

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Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

This is the kind of thriller Hitchcock was making in the 1940s, filled with macabre details, incongruous humor, and the desperation of a man convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Full Review

Vincent Canby
January 1, 2000
Vincent Canby, New York Times

You can never be quite sure when you're going to start a terrifying new descent or take a sudden turn to the left or right. The agony is exquisite. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
January 22, 2012
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Frenzy marked 3 kinds of return for Hitchcock: return to England after 20 years, return to form after some flops, and return to the kind of commercial film he's most clearly associated with. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
October 18, 2008
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

This is one of Hitchcock's best and least appreciated films, with the Master getting a creative boost after a minor slump. Full Review

Lori Hoffman
April 20, 2007
Lori Hoffman, Atlantic City Weekly

Middle of the road Hitch but still terrific.

Mark Bourne
June 27, 2006
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com

Rather than classic Hitchcock, Frenzy feels more like a lesser director's cookie-cutter 'Hitchcockian' knock-off. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
June 19, 2006
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine

Frenzy is easily the strongest of the master's final works. Full Review

Cole Smithey
December 5, 2005
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

Even in his waning days Hitchcock created a unique brand of suspense.

Christopher Null
August 1, 2004
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

One of Hitchcock's final movies is also one of his goriest -- his first R-rated feature -- and most dryly funny. Full Review

Josh Bell
June 10, 2004
Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly

Far from Hitch's best, but not without its moments of suspense.

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  • In the movie Frenzy, what does the killer use to strangle his victims?  Answer »
  • Jingle All The Way was based on the 1980's shopping frenzy over the Cabbage Patch Dolls ?  Answer »
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  • In which city does Hitchcock's thriller Frenzy (1972) take place?  Answer »
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