Psycho (1960)

Review by Bret Walker

The first of its kind, the best of its kind. Alfred Hitchcock was the absolute master of suspense, and this offering proves that beyond the shadow of a doubt. It doesn't matter that we all know what happens in the shower. It doesn't matter that we all know about Norman's twisted psyche. It doesn't matter that Hitchcock had to severely tone the movie down to get it past the censors in 1960. No matter how many times you see Psycho, it still gets you.

Marion Crane is a woman with a secret. She takes a large sum of cash that she was supposed to deposit for her employer and instead leaves town with it. On her way to see her boyfriend she meets by chance Norman Bates, a lonely man who runs a lonely little motel by the side of the road. While talking with Bates she discovers that she is very remorseful over what she has done, and becomes determined to take the money back no matter what the consequences may be. But she never gets that chance.

Hey, who am I kidding? You already know what happens, and if you don't, if you've never seen this film, then it has got to be the very next film you rent. Lovers of this genre will delight in it's little intricacies, the way Hitchcock loved to drag out a scene moments before its chilling conclusion. The deep psychological analysis of Norman's dementia is thorough, making the audience connect with him in a way that should not be possible. We sit and stare and cannot bring ourselves to condemn this poor wretched creature who once was merely Norman. The book was terrific, but Psycho is the rarest of all films: a film that is better than the book could ever hope to be.

As much as I love this film, I have to recognize the power of the recent remake as well. I was skeptical, thinking that there was no way to remake the original. However, Gus Van Sant somehow managed to bring it off exactly like the original, only in color and with a modern cast. I was astounded. But that's a review for another time...

Rating:

Trivia:

How did Hitchcock get that stabbing sound in the shower scene? He stabbed over 40 pieces of fruit before he found just the right sound: stabbing a casaba melon. The blood in the shower scene was nothing more than chocolate syrup (which Hitchcock could get away with in a black-and-white film!).

There has been some speculation that Janet Leigh's scream was so good because Hitchcock turned the hot water off. According to Leigh in a 1998 interview at WIP in Philadelphia, this is untrue. Apparently Leigh's blood-curdling scream is the real deal, and one which has gained legendary status in film.

There are numerous references in the film to Birds (a prelude to 1963's The Birds?). Of course, there are stuffed birds in Bates' office, and Bates says that Marion eats like a bird. Also: Marion's last name is Crane, the film starts in Phoenix AZ, there are pictures of birds outside Marion's motel bathroom, Norman knocks a picture of a bird off the bathroom wall, and Norman's middle name is Francis - the patron saint of Birds.

Links:

Psycho... Check Right In! (fan page)

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