Top SFX shots No. 23: Frenzy

Poor Anna Massey unwittingly follows the 'necktie killer' (Barry Foster) back to his flat in Hitchcock's hard-hitting London-based thriller. Hitch follows the couple up the stairs but then backs away from the scene as they enter, as if sickened by the previous rape and murder of Barbara Leigh-Hunt, and not wanting to see any more. The huge camera seems to make an impossibly adroit and smooth retreat down the stairwell before backing out of the house entirely and out into the environs of Covent Garden. Except that by the time the camera has backed out completely, it is looking at a totally different house. Even though the shot is uninterrupted, the descent down the stairs takes place in the studio and the wider retreat into Covent Garden takes place on location. Can you see the join?

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