Frenzy (1972)

The career of British director Alfred Hitchcock stretched from the 1920s through the 1970s. He made many great films during these decades, the last of which was Psycho. Subsequent Hitchcock films were less well received. The Birds (1963) was profitable, but overrated. Marnie (1964), Torn Curtain (1966), and Topaz (1969) were flat, and Hitchcock's best years seemed behind him.

Frenzy was an attempt by Hitchcock to return to his roots, to reinvigorate his career. It was his first film made in England since the 1950s. The title and story evoked Psycho. Frenzy also had the theme of the wrong man accused, a Hitchcock favorite used in more of his films that can be counted on both hands.

In another Hitchcock trademark, Frenzy had plenty of black gallows humor. For example, a woman's body appears in the river just after a smug politician proclaims it to be free of pollution. This scene is remarkably similar to the beginning of Hitchcock's Young and Innocent (1937), which also opens with the floating body of a strangled woman.

But there were differences between Frenzy and previous Hitchcock films. He makes little attempt to create sympathy for the 'wrong man' hero, a hotheaded loser with a disagreeable chip on his shoulder. As with the other roles, he isn't played by a famous Hollywood face. Previous 'wrong man' films had the character cast by the likes of Cary Grant, James Stewart and Gregory Peck.

In a more surprising departure from Hitchcock's classic films, Frenzy had an unseemly, graphic rape scene, and an extended sequence with a naked female corpse. Gratuitous nudity and cold blooded violence had become commonplace in films, with the production code broken in the late 1960s. While Hitchcock needed to spice up his films to remain current, it may have worked against him. The Exorcist made Frenzy look tame. The film did not do well at the box office, despite receiving the critical praise denied his other recent films.

The story takes place in London. Richard Blaney (Jon Finch) is a bartender caught drinking on the job by his hateful employer, who seems jealous of Blaney's romantic success with the waitress (Anna Massey). Now unemployed and broke, Blaney bums a meal and money from his ex-wife (Barbara Leigh-Hunt).

He has to sleep at a flophouse, but his luck gets even worse. A serial killer has been strangling women with neckties, then dumping their naked bodies. Blaney becomes the prime suspect, while the real killer (Barry Foster) continues his crime spree, framing Blaney.

The detective on the case is played by Alec McCowen, while his more intuitive wife is played by Vivien Merchant. There is much comic relief surrounding their scenes of married life. Merchant is a dreadful cook, and forces McCowen to eat her inedible gourmet cuisine.

Frenzy is most famous in film circles for its tracking shot up the staircase of an apartment building, to the door of a room, then back down the stairs and into the street. The camera follows the killer and his unknowning victim as the enter the room. Instead of showing the inevitable and grisly murder, which would have been repetitive following the earlier rape scene, the camera simply (and silently) walks back down the stairs.

Frenzy is a good if unpleasant film, with much suspense. However, there are many unlikely plot events. Although Blaney spends much of the film hiding from police, it never occurs to him to shave his mustache. He nearly kills himself falling down a flight of stairs, in order to 'escape' to a hospital. The patients there seem surprisingly eager to help his cause. He then catches the real killer in the act, just in time for the inspector to arrive. The pub owner is an incredible jerk. Hetty (Billie Whitelaw) harshly accuses Blaney to be the killer when they are alone together. Wouldn't she instead avoid him completely, if she thought he was the killer? Foster also makes an incriminating, disheveled appearance at a diner.

Frenzy received four Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay (Anthony Shaffer). However, it failed to receive any Academy Award nominations. (60/100)