The Starter

This chapter presents a synopsis and overview of Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972), which is perhaps his most nakedly autobiographical film. The director wanted to make a film told from the point of view of a psycho killer. Hitchcock's fascination with murder is well-documented but he had a distinct preference for a certain kind of English murder. He certainly seems to have had little time for the savagery of American murderers, possibly due to the fact that they lack that all-important veneer of respectability. Hitchcock's preferred killers were unassuming ‘little men’ whose carefully cultivated aura of normality masked a murderous dark side. Thus, he was particularly drawn to an unholy trinity of genteel, polite yet brutal killers, John Reginald Halliday Christie, John George Haigh, and Neville Heath. Hitchcock would go on to consider a number of writers for his cherished serial killer project. The chapter also looks at Hitchcock's Torn Curtain (1966) and Topaz (1969). It also considers his interest in Arthur La Bern's novel about a sex killer, Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square, which was published in 1966 and forwarded to the director by his UK agent.

Last Supper

This chapter looks at Alfred Hitchcock's last finished film, Family Plot (1976). Family Plot is an amusing light-hearted mystery which saw the Master return to sunnier climes (Northern California). But the notion that Hitchcock was mellowing is a false one. The last film he worked on, abandoned due to his failing health, was to be The Short Night. Based on the story of the escaped spy George Blake, starring Sean Connery, Clint Eastwood, or Walter Matthau playing opposite Liv Ullmann or Catherine Deneuve and set in London and Finland, the script was to be written by Ernest Lehman, the screenwriter of North by Northwest (1959). However, Lehman left the project over Hitchcock's desire to include a graphic rape scene. This is history repeating itself, as a similar row about sexual violence had led The Birds (1963) screenwriter Evan Hunter to walk out on Marnie (1964).

Amuse-Bouche

This chapter provides a background of Alfred Hitchcock, whose remarkable achievements as a film-maker may be unmatched. As well as the numerous accolades, a number of Hitchcock films have proved unusually influential. Consider the chase thrillers such as The 39 Steps (1935) and North by Northwest (1959), the claustrophobic chamber pieces Rope (1948) and Rear Window (1954), the hallucinogenic romance of Vertigo (1958), the American Gothic of Psycho (1960), and the apocalyptic science fiction of The Birds (1963). While Hitchcock's status as one of the great film artists is unassailable and his reputation increases, there have always been dissenters. Traditionally, the case against Hitchcock is that he is little more than a popular entertainer, an observation he did little to counter, what with his use of genre and big stars as well as his eager adoption of the role of clownish showman. This book focuses on Hitchcock's penultimate film Frenzy (1972).