40) Psycho

Psycho (1960)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire

This week in Introduction to Cinema we were talking about two completely unrelated themes, film sound and authorship. We watched Alfred Hitchcock's famous horror film Psycho as it fits the bill perfectly for both topics.

When Phoenix office worker Marion Crane (Leigh) is entrusted with the job of taking $40,000 cash to the bank for safe keeping over the weekend, she sees an opportunity to change her life. She steals the money and heads for California to be with her lover Sam (Gavin). Driving late in the evening she is hit by heavy rain so decides to stop for the evening at the Bates Motel. With the moving of the main highway, the Bates Motel does little to no business, but is diligently maintained Norman Bates (Perkins) who lives there with his feeble mother. When Norman becomes friendly with Marion, his mother gets jealous and murders her, leaving Norman to dutifully cover up her crime, but it is not long before people come asking questions.

The key ingredient in what made what could have been a run of the mill, B grade horror film into one of the all time classics of cinema is Alfred Hitchcock, a master of suspense and the psychological thriller. The importance of Hitchcock is made apparent by the failed sequels Psycho II (1983) and Psycho III (1986), which were directed by Richard Franklin and Anthony Perkins respectively, and the made for TV prequel Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990), directed by Mick Garris. This fact was again reinforced with Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake. In one of the great "what were they thinking" moments in film history, Van Sant directed a near shot-for-shot remake of Hitchcock's film. Starring Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates and a cast including Anne Heche, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen and William H. Macy, Van Sant's Psycho was widely panned, and despite being practically an exact replica, possessed none of the magic which made the original so effective. Hitchcock is a masterful director. Even if you don't really like old movies, you will still get a kick out of Hitchcock's films. They really stand up, even 40 and 50 years after they were made.

Psycho is a truly iconic movie. Even if you have not seen it before, you will be familiar with aspects of it; the famous shower scene, perhaps the name Norman Bates, definitely the music. The shrill strings of Bernard Hermann's score really brings this film to life, creating tension, suspense, unease and horror. Hitchcock has been quoted as saying that a third of the credit for the success of the film has to go to Hermann. Initially, Hitchcock intended to take a very minimal approach to music in the film, specifically in the famous shower scene, but upon a viewing of the completed film Hitchcock was so disillusioned with what he saw that he intended to cut it down for television. Luckily Hermann convinced him to wait, let him add a score and see what he thought then. When Hitchcock saw the film again with the addition of Hermann's score he was blown away, prompting his famous acknowledgement that his initial plan was "an improper suggestion".

Another thing that was notable about this film is the fact that when it was initially released in cinemas Hitchcock personally insisted that people where not to be admitted to the cinema once the film had commenced (see below poster). At that time it was still common place for people to arrive fashionable late to films. But given that Marion Crane dies so early in the film (only about 2/5ths of the way through) he was adament that people should be there from the beginning.


Psycho is an absolute classic, a must see, and a great introduction to the world of Alfred Hitchcock. If you haven't seen it, give it a look and then move on to Vertigo, North by Northwest, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Birds...