FRENZY (1972, UK, 116m, 18) ****
Thriller
dist. Universal Pictures (USA), Universal Pictures / Rank Film Distributors (UK); pr co. Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions; d. Alfred Hitchcock; w. Anthony Shaffer (based on the novel “Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square” by Arthur La Bern); pr. Alfred Hitchcock (uncredited); ph. Gilbert Taylor (Technicolor | 1.85:1); m. Ron Goodwin; ed. John Jympson; pd. Syd Cain; ad. Robert W. Laing.
cast: Jon Finch (Richard Blaney), Barry Foster (Robert Rusk), Barbara Leigh-Hunt (Brenda Blaney), Anna Massey (Babs Milligan), Alec McCowen (Chief Inspector Tim 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), Madge Ryan (Mrs. Davison), Elsie Randolph (Gladys), Gerald Sim (Solicitor in Pub), John Boxer (Sir George), George Tovey (Neville Salt), Jimmy Gardner (Hotel Porter), Noel Johnson (Doctor in Pub).
This macabre mix of grim killings and dark humour proved Hitchcock was not yet a spent force. A serial killer, who murders his victims by strangling them with a necktie, is at large in London. When the bitter and short-tempered ex-Royal Air Force officer Richard Blaney (Finch) discovers his ex-wife (Leigh-Hunt) murdered, Blaney becomes the prime suspect and goes on the run. Blaney later attempts to hide out with his best friend, fruit merchant Bob Rusk (Foster), who may be the necktie murderer himself. Shaffer’s playful adaptation of the source material is enhanced by Hitchcock’s sense of quirkiness, his inventive camera set-ups, and a good cast of British pros. Hilarious digs at French cuisine and frequent character asides add colour, with McCowen delightfully droll as the police detective out to trap the killer.
