Psycho (1960)

A Phoenix secretary embezzles $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 by), Robert Bloch (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles

Top Rated Movies #41 | Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 10 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 office worker 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 forty thousand dollars 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 | shower | money | maniac | theft | 

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Taglines:

Electrifying shocker! (Australia Release)

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The look of the tall vertical mansion on the hill contrasted with the low, long motel was a deliberate composition choice. Yet Sir Alfred Hitchcock said it wasn't his intention to create a mysterious atmosphere with the big Gothic house, but to re-create the kind of older architecture that existed in the Northern California setting of the story.

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Goofs

The calendar belonging to the Chief of Police reads '17' on December 20th.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sam Loomis: You never did eat your lunch, did you?
Marion Crane: [on the bed in her underwear] I better get back to the office. These extended lunch hours give my boss excess acid.
Sam Loomis: Why don't you call your boss and tell him you're taking the rest of the afternoon off? It's Friday anyway - and hot.
Marion Crane: What do I do with my free afternoon? Walk you to the airport?
Sam Loomis: Well, we could laze around here a while longer.
Marion Crane: Checking out time is 3 P.M. Hotels of this sort are interested in you when you come in, but when your time is ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: PHOENIX, ARIZONA

FRIDAY, DECEMBER THE ELEVENTH

TWO FORTY-THREE P.M.

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Alternate Versions

Hitchcock hesitated in editing a superimposition of Norman and Mother's skull in the closing shot. Eventually only some copies featured the trick by then.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Mouth 3 (2018)

User Reviews

Perkins Is Remarkable

Most modern-day horror films make the killer to be an absolutely inhuman, grotesque, unimaginable monster in order to scare the audience out of its wits. Most of the time, however, these stereotypes create a generic murderer a raving, ranting, clearly demented psychopath. One of the few memorable cinematic killers that does not adhere to these restraints and cliches is, of course, Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter, whom manages to effectively cause the audience to recoil without such drek as the aforementioned devices.

Anthony Perkins' skillfully crafts his performance as Norman Bates, avoiding a ranting, raving, drooling, murder-happy, manic characterization; instead his performance as Norman is subtle, creepy, cool, and unsettling. He is brilliant; from his quiet conversations with Marion Crane amidst the stuffed birds, to his weasling wimpiness when confronted by Arbogast, his performance is so exact that it chills the viewer, all without the unnecessary disturbing images prevalent in more modern films (read The Cell, Henry: Portrait of A Serial Killer).

Perkin's fine performance, a tight script, and Bernstein's classic score make Psycho a film that is now and will always be remembered as one of the pinnacles of the horror genre.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wimpy

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$806,947 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$32,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$32,040,242

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shamley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min 108 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) Dolby Digital DTS (DTS: X)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1