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Aug 28, 2019 · Was the 1960 horror film, Psycho, based on a true story? The movie was notably directed by the legendary Alfred Hitchcock, garnering him an Academy Award nomination for his work. The film itself was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by author Robert Bloch. Psycho has often been considered one of the first installments in the slasher ...
- Leigh's Shower Scene
The original Psycho was controversially remade almost shot...
- Bates Motel
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- Alfred Hitchcock
Psycho (1960) Probably Hitchcock’s best known thriller,...
- Leigh's Shower Scene
Psycho is a 1960 American horror film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The screenplay, written by Joseph Stefano, was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The film stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, and Martin Balsam.
- Overview
- Production notes and credits
- Cast
- Academy Award nominations
Psycho, American suspense film and psychological thriller, released in 1960, that was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and is loosely based on the real-life killings of Wisconsin serial murderer Ed Gein.
(Read Alfred Hitchcock’s 1965 Britannica essay on film production.)
Britannica Quiz
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After secretary Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh) impulsively absconds from her job with $40,000, she checks into the eerie Bates Motel, which is run by shy, awkward Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and his domineering elderly mother. While taking a shower, Crane is fatally stabbed by Norman’s mother, and Norman disposes of the body. Meanwhile, Crane’s boyfriend (John Gavin) and her sister (Vera Miles) launch a frantic search that eventually takes them to the Bates home. There they fend off an attack by Norman’s mother, who, dressed as the long-deceased Mrs. Bates, in reality is Norman. A psychiatrist later determines that Norman suffers from a split personality that led him to commit murder.
In 1960, the same year that director Michael Powell’s career was nearly ruined for releasing the sexually oriented murder film Peeping Tom, Hitchcock found his greatest success with this equally disturbing film along similarly shocking plotlines. Hitchcock made Psycho on a limited budget by shooting in black and white and using the crew from his television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The director financed much of the film himself in return for a large percentage of the profits, which earned him millions. The murder in the shower, one of the most famous scenes in cinematic history, was a textbook example of brilliant film editing, but the scene is probably best remembered for Bernard Herrmann’s masterful score, in which violins, cellos, and violas screech in unison with each slash of Norman’s knife. The production design of the old house on the hill where the eccentric Norman Bates lived is famous for its nightmarish effect.
•Studio: Paramount Pictures
•Director and Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
•Writer: Joseph Stefano
•Music: Bernard Herrmann
•Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates)
•Janet Leigh (Marion Crane)
•Vera Miles (Lila Crane)
•John Gavin (Sam Loomis)
•Supporting Actress (Janet Leigh)
•Art Direction
•Cinematography
•Director
- Lee Pfeiffer
Psycho is a 1959 horror novel by American writer Robert Bloch. The novel tells the story of Norman Bates , a caretaker at an isolated motel who struggles under his domineering mother and becomes embroiled in a series of murders.
Apr 1, 2010 · Psycho is considered the first modern horror film and credited with launching the "slasher" sub-genre. But Paul Duncan, author of The Pocket Essential Alfred Hitchcock, argues its greatest legacy...
Jun 16, 2020 · Alfred Hitchcock ’s “ Psycho ” was released 60 years ago today, and though it is considered by many, including me, to be the greatest horror movie ever made, it’s one that achieves the singular...
Bianca delves into the true story of Ed Gein that inspired a number of Halloween boogey-men, including Norman Bates in Hitchcock's classic Psycho.
