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IMDbPro

Psycho

  • 19601960
  • RR
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
677K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
719
82
Anthony Perkins, John Gavin, Janet Leigh, and Heather Dawn May in Psycho (1960)
Blu-Ray Trailer for Psycho
Play trailer1:21
5 Videos
99+ Photos
HorrorMysteryThriller
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
677K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
719
82
    • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Joseph Stefano(screenplay by)
    • Robert Bloch(based on the novel by)
  • Stars
    • Anthony Perkins
    • Janet Leigh
    • Vera Miles
    • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Joseph Stefano(screenplay by)
    • Robert Bloch(based on the novel by)
  • Stars
    • Anthony Perkins
    • Janet Leigh
    • Vera Miles
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1.5KUser reviews
    • 236Critic reviews
    • 97Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #33
    • Nominated for 4 Oscars

    Videos5

    Psycho
    Trailer 1:21
    Watch Psycho
    'Psycho' | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:16
    Watch 'Psycho' | Anniversary Mashup
    Bloody Beginnings of the Summer Camp Slasher
    Clip 7:00
    Watch Bloody Beginnings of the Summer Camp Slasher
    A Guide to the Films of Alfred Hitchcock
    Clip 2:27
    Watch A Guide to the Films of Alfred Hitchcock
    'The New Mutants' Cast Reveal Characters & Film Inspirations
    Interview 3:25
    Watch 'The New Mutants' Cast Reveal Characters & Film Inspirations

    Photos318

    Anthony Perkins in Psycho (1960)
    Anthony Perkins in Psycho (1960)
    Anthony Perkins in Psycho (1960)
    John Gavin and Vera Miles in Psycho (1960)
    Janet Leigh and Mort Mills in Psycho (1960)
    Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh in Psycho (1960)
    Janet Leigh in Psycho (1960)
    Anthony Perkins in Psycho (1960)
    John Gavin and Vera Miles in Psycho (1960)
    John Gavin and Janet Leigh in Psycho (1960)
    Janet Leigh in Psycho (1960)
    Anthony Perkins in Psycho (1960)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anthony Perkins
    Anthony Perkins
    • Norman Bates
    Janet Leigh
    Janet Leigh
    • Marion Crane
    Vera Miles
    Vera Miles
    • Lila Crane
    John Gavin
    John Gavin
    • Sam Loomis
    Martin Balsam
    Martin Balsam
    • Det. Milton Arbogast
    John McIntire
    John McIntire
    • Sheriff Al Chambers
    Simon Oakland
    Simon Oakland
    • Dr. Fred Richman
    Frank Albertson
    Frank Albertson
    • Tom Cassidy
    Patricia Hitchcock
    Patricia Hitchcock
    • Caroline
    • (as Pat Hitchcock)
    Vaughn Taylor
    Vaughn Taylor
    • George Lowery
    Lurene Tuttle
    Lurene Tuttle
    • Mrs. Chambers
    John Anderson
    John Anderson
    • California Charlie
    Mort Mills
    Mort Mills
    • Highway Patrol Officer
    Fletcher Allen
    • Policeman on Steps
    • (uncredited)
    Walter Bacon
    • Church Member
    • (uncredited)
    Prudence Beers
    • Extra
    • (uncredited)
    Kit Carson
    • Extra
    • (uncredited)
    Francis De Sales
    Francis De Sales
    • Deputy District Attorney Alan Deats
    • (uncredited)
      • Alfred Hitchcock
      • Joseph Stefano(screenplay by)
      • Robert Bloch(based on the novel by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    'Psycho' Scenes: Watch the Mashup

    'Psycho' Scenes: Watch the Mashup

    Take a look iconic moments from Alfred Hitchcock's film with Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, and Vera Miles.
    Watch the video
    Image caption not available
    1:16

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Sir Alfred Hitchcock was so pleased with the score written by Bernard Herrmann that he doubled the composer's salary to $34,501. Hitchcock later said, "Thirty-three percent of the effect of Psycho was due to the music." Ironically, he was originally adamant that there should be no music in the shower scene but he was persuaded by his wife to give it a try. The screeching violins and dire strings (which would inspire the music for Jaws (1975) ) ending up selling the scene and driving theatrical audiences beyond anything they had ever experienced.
    • Goofs
      When Lila approaches Mother in the fruit cellar, Mrs. Bates is seated in a four-legged chair. After Lila touches the corpse, it slowly spins around as if it's sitting on a swiveling chair. The effect was achieved by a prop man lying on his back rotating a camera head with wheels underneath Mother.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Norma Bates: [voiceover in police custody, as Norman is thinking] It's sad, when a mother has to speak the words that condemn her own son. But I couldn't allow them to believe that I would commit murder. They'll put him away now, as I should have years ago. He was always bad, and in the end he intended to tell them I killed those girls and that man... as if I could do anything but just sit and stare, like one of his stuffed birds. They know I can't move a finger, and I won't. I'll just sit here and be quiet, just in case they do... suspect me. They're probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I'm not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching... they'll see. They'll see and they'll know, and they'll say, "Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly..."

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits appear in a montage of horizontal/vertical bars moving across the screen.
    • Alternate versions
      On the Universal DVD, Norman can be heard (not seen) screaming "I'm Norma Bates!" as Sam Loomis rushes in to stop him from murdering Lila. The scream is not present in at least some release prints.
    • Connections
      Edited into Psycho II (1983)

    User reviews1.5K

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Movie At The Crossroads Of Time
    What can you say about a film that's been talked about to death? Just this: If you've never seen it, you owe it to yourself to do so, not because it's a way of paying homage to the one true master of modern film, but because it's so fun to watch.

    Janet Leigh plays a bored office drone who decides to steal some loot from her boss's obnoxious client and parlay it into a new life with her all-too-distant boyfriend. All is going more or less according to plan until she stops in at the wrong motel, where she befriends a friendly if somewhat nerdy desk clerk only to find it causes problems with that clerk's possessive mother, who as her boy explains, "is not herself today." I'll say she isn't, and so would Leigh's Marion Crane, who maybe should have put up that "Do-Not-Disturb" sign before taking a shower.

    You can feel the decade literally shifting out of '50s and into '60s with this one. Even the opening shot, where the camera looks over a Western U.S. city in the middle of the afternoon and zooms in on what looks exactly like the Texas School Book Depository overlooking Dealey Plaza. Norman Rockwell touches abound, like the decor of the motel, but look at what's going on around it. People dress well, they still wear fedoras and jackets, but in their tense conversations and hooded gazes you can feel the culture just ticking away like a time bomb waiting to explode.

    Most especially, there's Anthony Perkins, who plays motel clerk Norman Bates in a very oddly naturalistic way, complete with facial tics and half-swallowed words, not the polished image one expected to see then. Just compare him with John Gavin, who plays Marion's boyfriend in the standard-actor-of-the-day way. Perkins manages to be so weirdly magnetizing, even in small moments like the way he stumbles on the word "falsity" or notes how creepy he finds dampness to be.

    He shines in bigger scenes, too, like his tense chat with Martin Balsam's boorish but diligent private detective character, Arbogast, who along with Perkins and Leigh delivers a landmark performance. The way both actors play out the awkwardness in their conversation makes you literally sweat. Then again, you're always uneasy around Norman. You definitely feel wary of him right away, but you find yourself liking him, too, even when he's busy covering up "Mother's" misdeeds. Not since Bela Legosi played Dracula did you get a horror movie with such a compelling central figure.

    If you are sampling the many other comments here, be sure to look up Merwyn Grote's. He makes an interesting, compelling case for how director Alfred Hitchcock used his television series as a template for "Psycho." Certainly "Psycho" looks more like early 1960s television than any of the more sumptuous fare Hitchcock had been bringing to screen at the time. Not only is it in black-and-white, not color, but the sets; a ramshackle motel, a mothbally old house, a couple of cheap looking bedrooms, a bathroom in a used-car dealership, are deliberately low class.

    It's thrilling to see Hitchcock move so effectively outside his normal element, and move things along with such clinical detachment and low-key technical finesse. Thrilling, too, to realize this is one of his most accomplished products; made by a man who was experienced enough to know how the game was played, and daring enough still to break the rules; indeed, start a whole new ballgame.

    Is it the best Hitchcock movie? It's definitely one of his best, right up there with "The 39 Steps" and "Strangers On A Train" and "Sabotage" and "Shadow Of A Doubt." He only once again came close to making as good a film, with "The Birds," while Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins never escaped the greatness they helped create here. Poor John Gavin had to quit the biz entirely, and became an ambassador.

    Often imitated, parodied, referenced, and analyzed to death, "Psycho" still isn't played out nearly 45 years after it came out. You owe it to yourself to pay a visit to the Bates Motel; Norman has a room ready.
    helpful•224
    41
    • slokes
    • Aug 10, 2004

    Horror Villains Through the Years

    Horror Villains Through the Years

    Even bad guys have to change their look from time to time. Check out the evolution of Hollywood's biggest villains through the years.
    See the gallery
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    FAQ18

    • What is 'Psycho' about?
    • Is "Psycho" based on a book?
    • Why does Marion steal the money?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 8, 1960 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Psycho House, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Shamley Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 49 minutes
      • Black and White
      • Dolby Digital
      • (original & negative ratio, open matte)

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