Psycho (1960)

A Phoenix secretary steals $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Joseph Stefano (screenplay), Robert Bloch (novel)

Stars:

Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles

Top Rated Movies #34 | Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anthony Perkins	...	Norman Bates
Vera Miles	...	Lila Crane
John Gavin	...	Sam Loomis
Janet Leigh	...	Marion Crane
Martin Balsam	...	Det. Milton Arbogast
John McIntire	...	Sheriff Al Chambers
Simon Oakland	...	Dr. Fred Richman
Frank Albertson	...	Tom Cassidy
Patricia Hitchcock	...	Caroline (as Pat Hitchcock)
Vaughn Taylor	...	George Lowery
Lurene Tuttle	...	Mrs. Chambers
John Anderson	...	California Charlie
Mort Mills	...	Highway Patrol Officer

Storyline

Phoenix officeworker Marion Crane is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam in lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam's California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into The Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man called Norman who seems to be dominated by his mother.

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Plot Keywords:

motel | money | shower | theft | rain | 

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Taglines:

Don't give away the ending - it's the only one we have!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

Filming Locations:

Title and Trust Building, 114 West Adams Street, downtown Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$806,947 (estimated)

Gross:

$32,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shamley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min 108 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Considered for the role of Marion were Eva Marie Saint, Lee Remick, Angie Dickinson, Piper Laurie, Martha Hyer, Hope Lange, Shirley Jones, and Lana Turner. Coincidentally, Angie Dickinson would go on to play a Marion Crane-type character in Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill (1980), a film heavily influenced by Psycho (1960)_.

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Goofs

When Lila finally meets Mrs. Bates, she recoils in horror, hitting the hanging ceiling light, sending it swinging back and forth. The bulb is clearly frosted which was invented to soften the shadows it cast. But in the rest of the scene, the shadows are stark, as from an unfrosted bulb. Of course, the stark shadows play very well in a Hitchcock horror scene.

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Quotes

Lila Crane: Look, that old woman, whoever she is, she told Arbogast something. I want her to tell us the same thing.
Sam Loomis: Hold it, you can't go up there.
Lila Crane: Why not?
Sam Loomis: Bates.
Lila Crane: Then, let's find him. One of us can keep him occupied while the other gets to the old woman.
Sam Loomis: You'll never be able to hold him still even if he doesn't want to be held. And, I don't like you going into that house alone.
Lila Crane: I can handle a sick old woman!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: PHOENIX, ARIZONA

FRIDAY, DECEMBER THE ELEVENTH

TWO FORTY-THREE P.M.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Unearthly (1991)

User Reviews

The Greatest Horror Film Ever

When you look up the phrase "Horror Film" in the dictionary .. a picture of Janet Leigh screaming in a shower should appear next to it. Undoubtedly, Psycho is the greatest horror film ever made, bar-none. The story is incredible. The acting is near perfection. The cinematography is godly. The soundtrack is perfect. It's hard to find anything wrong with Psycho. Perhaps the only imperfection I can find with Psycho is the inability to stand the test of time. One of the reasons the shower scene has become so notorious is that it's not only filmed to perfection, but because the elements of sexuality and murder are so surreal. In 1960, seeing a nude women being murdered in a shower was something that no-one had experienced yet, and was quite shocking. Nowadays, seeing Jason double-spearing two lovers having sex is nothing uncommon. I envy those who experienced Psycho in 1960 in the theaters .. those experienced the full terror of Psycho.

Aside from this though, the movie is flawless. I won't even go into to how incredible the cinematography is. One thing I think people seem to forget about the movie is the incredible soundtrack. Sound is such an important element in movies and Psycho is undaunted when it comes to sound. The only other horror movie that even comes close to using sound with such perfection is Halloween (1978).

The movie is perfectly casted as well. Janet Leigh as the beautiful Marion Crane, Vera Miles as the concerned sister, Lila Crane, and of course the unforgettable performance from Anthony Perkins as the eerie yet charismatic Norman Bates.

I would recommend this movie to any horror movie film fanatic. I would especially recommend this movie to any horror movie fan not desensitized by Friday The 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street, or Scream .. if such a fan exists.