Hitchcock's first British film in almost two decades marked a smashing return to his earlier form after the dull TORN CURTAIN and TOPAZ. Although not a mystery (we know the killer's identity early on), the film is intensely suspenseful, at times forcing the audience to identify with the
murderer. Richard Blaney (Finch) is accused of murdering his ex-wife Brenda (Leigh-Hunt) and his girlfriend (Massey), both of whom have been strangled with neckties. The real "Necktie Murderer," however, remains at large.
There's more explicit sex and violence in this movie than is usual for Hitchcock. His famous touches still abound, however, juxtaposing some screamingly funny bits involving Scotland Yard Inspector Oxford (McCowen) with brutal rape-strangulation scenes. The first murder is particularly well done,
and expect a jolt when a body falls off a truck. FRENZY also contains perhaps the most wicked of Hitchcock's scenes--the killer searching through a stack of potato sacks in order to find his missing monogrammed tie pin, which a nude corpse clutches in her death grip. leave a comment
