On This Day: Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy Premiered in Theaters – June 21, 1972

On June 21, 1972, legendary director Alfred Hitchcock released his penultimate feature film, Frenzy, in theaters. A return to his British roots both in setting and tone, the film marked a late-career resurgence for the “Master of Suspense” and stands out as one of his darkest and most unflinching thrillers.

Frenzy was adapted for the screen by Anthony Shaffer, based on the 1966 novel Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Arthur La Bern. Set in London, the story follows a chilling serial killer who strangles his female victims with a necktie, plunging the city—and one wrongfully accused man—into a terrifying search for justice.

The film stars Jon Finch as the protagonist wrongly suspected of the murders, alongside Alec McCowen and Barry Foster, who delivers a disturbingly charismatic performance as the killer. The ensemble cast also includes Billie Whitelaw, Anna Massey, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Bernard Cribbins, and Vivien Merchant.

Notably, Frenzy was Hitchcock’s first film to receive an R rating and featured a more explicit approach to violence and sexuality than his earlier works, reflecting the changing cinematic landscape of the 1970s. Its mix of dark humor, suspense, and psychological complexity has earned it a respected place in Hitchcock’s canon and continues to intrigue fans and film scholars alike.

As the second-to-last film of Hitchcock’s illustrious career, Frenzy stands as a haunting late-era masterpiece from one of cinema’s greatest directors.