Weirdly humorous in places, for Hitchcock at the same time meant to engage a story of a serious subject about a London serial killer, dubbed naturally by the media as 'The Necktie Killer' - it says it all about the sex killing to boot! A plot involving a disgraced former RAF officer, Blaney (Jon Finch, sadly not seen enough in film)implicated for the murders. After losing his job to the 'bastard' Bernard Cribbins at the pub he'd worked at, his erstwhile pal, 'ladies' man, wide-boy, Bob Rusk (Barry Foster) tries to help him out but, too proud to accept his help for a job, cash and a tip on a horse (that comes in and he failed to back) he then goes to see his ex, played by Barbara Leigh-Hunt. They do get on a little, but Blaney's the 'angry man' who always lets that get the better of him. Helped also by 'Babs' at the pub, the late Anna Massey ... let's just say that the latter two ladies end up wearing a tie, implicating Blaney further - what is it they say, victims are always victims to someone they know!!!
So... in comes Alec McCowen, as the police officer investigating, with a neat touch of a horrible wife who likes to kill too ... by serving McCowen with awful 'experimental exotic recipes'. Whilst lapping up fry-ups when he's away from her, he's hunting for Blaney. But... however it looks, with tip-off after tip-off about Blaney's whereabouts and help from his posh mate Clive Swift, this guy's just so unlucky. Right up until the police finally get somewhere other than promotion in locating ... should I say who? I 'have' got SPOILERS up, so read no further if you don't want to know... yep, it was his chum, right along, Bob Rusk ... some friend!
The end is a nice piece as it looks as if Blaney has caught up with Rusk ... only for the police to finally nab him. This thriller had some good acting from 'angry' Finch as Blaney with a good supporting British cast. Some nice lines ... when a barmaid says to a 'regular' lawyer, 'He rapes them FIRST' ... 'Well, every cloud has a silver lining' replies the lawyer!!! 'We haven't had a good murderer since Christie, it's so good for the tourist trade ... they all think our streets are full of Hansom Cabs and whores with ripped throats!' he goes on! A nice little niche especially as it was Hitchcock's last, set in his own home town, with some neatly played touches of humour as I say. Foster is palatable as the murderer and people who don't like Blaney (the word 'bastard' is often used by him and others about him!) made this watchable. It's probably not lasted the test of time but still is worth your time if you like a thriller.
So... in comes Alec McCowen, as the police officer investigating, with a neat touch of a horrible wife who likes to kill too ... by serving McCowen with awful 'experimental exotic recipes'. Whilst lapping up fry-ups when he's away from her, he's hunting for Blaney. But... however it looks, with tip-off after tip-off about Blaney's whereabouts and help from his posh mate Clive Swift, this guy's just so unlucky. Right up until the police finally get somewhere other than promotion in locating ... should I say who? I 'have' got SPOILERS up, so read no further if you don't want to know... yep, it was his chum, right along, Bob Rusk ... some friend!
The end is a nice piece as it looks as if Blaney has caught up with Rusk ... only for the police to finally nab him. This thriller had some good acting from 'angry' Finch as Blaney with a good supporting British cast. Some nice lines ... when a barmaid says to a 'regular' lawyer, 'He rapes them FIRST' ... 'Well, every cloud has a silver lining' replies the lawyer!!! 'We haven't had a good murderer since Christie, it's so good for the tourist trade ... they all think our streets are full of Hansom Cabs and whores with ripped throats!' he goes on! A nice little niche especially as it was Hitchcock's last, set in his own home town, with some neatly played touches of humour as I say. Foster is palatable as the murderer and people who don't like Blaney (the word 'bastard' is often used by him and others about him!) made this watchable. It's probably not lasted the test of time but still is worth your time if you like a thriller.