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.