That poor, foolish man:

Though the National Organization of Women(NOW) protested against Frenzy for its "treatment of women" (but it IS about an evil man who rapes and kills women -- hardly on his side)....the movie start to finish actually shows us a series of relationships in which the woman is more successful or smarter or...dominating than the man.

This little bitty moment early on in Frenzy -- with the domineering woman about to run the life of her milquetoast husband -- is but one small taste of it.

As for the rest:

Brenda Blaney has divorced Richard -- much as she loved him, she couldn't take his temper and his failures. Now, SHE runs a successful business and HE has been fired from his job at a pub, facing homelessness.

Mrs. Oxford keeps telling her husband Inspector Oxford(over those horrible dinners she serves him) that Richard Blaney CANNOT be the killer -- what man would rape his ex-wife ("Look at us, we've only been married 8 years and I can hardly get you to look at me.") Inspector Oxford keeps putting Mrs. Oxford down on her "woman's intuition" , but she's RIGHT -- Blaney isn't the killer, its Rusk. Late in the film when Oxford says "It looks like we put the wrong man away," Mrs. Oxford corrects him: "What do you mean WE? YOU put him away."

When Blaney seeks the aid of his old RAF buddy Porter -- the husband wants to help Blaney but his shrewish(or perhaps smart) wife does NOT want to help. And look at them -- he's a rather soft, goofy looking guy, SHE is pretty hot looking -- though severe and older now. The way I figure it, Hetty Porter was probably a barmaid in one of Porter's pubs , and he had money and she had looks and she got him to marry her and...resents him. But she wears the pants -- Mr. Porter has to withdraw his offer to help.

Add those couples to the couple at Brenda's agency, and you have a tale of how 1972 women are already starting to outpace their men. NOW picketed the wrong movie.

CONT