Psycho (1960) tells the story of an office woman who steals $40,000 from her boss so she can be with her boyfriend in California and start a new life. Along the way, she stays the night at the Bates Motel, run by Norman Bates and his dominating mother. However, from this visiting this motel comes a chain of disturbing and unfortunate events.
Cast and Crew:
Alfred Hitchcock:- The director of many horror and thriller movies, e.g. The Birds, Psycho, North by North West. Also known as "The Master of Suspense".
Joseph Stefano:- The screenplay writer of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". Born Joseph William Stefano, he was good friends with Alfred Hitchcock and was deeply saddened by his death. However, he personally thought that writing the screenplay of "Psycho" has "done him more harm than good" as, afterward, he started to lack inspiration and originality for any of his other works. His most famous works are the original and the 1988 remake of Psycho, the fourth Psycho TV movie, "Psycho IV: The Beginning", in 1990, Two Bits, etc. He was born on 5th May, 1922, in Philadelphia, USA. He died 25th August, 2006, in California, USA of a heart attack.
Robert Bloch:- The author of the novelization of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". Born Robert Albert Bloch, he was the character writer of 10 episodes of the 2013 TV series based on Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, "Bates Motel". His work bares similarities to legendary horror writer, H. P. Lovecraft, though the two never met. He wrote a few stories within the Cthulhu Mythos (a string of stories based on Lovecraft's work) and invented the infamous "De Vermis Mysteriis", which is similar to Lovecraft's "Necronomicon". He is mostly known for his work on the novels of the original and 1988 remake of Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III, etc. He was born on 5th April, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois. He died 23rd September, 1994, in Los Angeles, California from a terminal cancer.
Anthony Perkins:- A famous actor known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", Psycho II, The Trail, The Black Hole, etc. His performance in Psycho made Norman Bates No. 4 in Premium Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. He was a fan of Elvis Presley and so he named his second son, Elvis Perkins, after him. He was portrayed by James D'Arcy in the 2012 movie, "Hitchcock". He was born on 4th April, 1932, in New York City, USA. He died 12th September, 1992, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, from pneumonia as a result of the AIDS virus. In Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", he played the main antagonist and deuteragonist, Norman Bates.
Janet Leigh:- A famous actress known for her work in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", Touch of Evil, The Manchurian Candidate (1962), The Fog, etc. Born Jeanette Helen Morrison, she was "discovered" by actress Norma Shearer from a photo on Janet's father's desk. Her daughter is Jamie Lee Curtis, who followed in her footsteps in acting. She received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on February 8th, 1960. She was portrayed by Scarlett Johansson in the 2012 movie, "Hitchcock". She was born 6th July, 1927, in Merced, California. She died 3rd October, 2004, in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, from vasculitis. In Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", she played the first protagonist to fall at the hands of Norman Bates, Marion Crane.
Vera Miles:- A famous actress known for her work in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Wrong Man, etc. Born Vera June Ralston, her Trademark is playing an unaffected icy, mid-period "Hitchcock blond". She was one of Hitchcock's favourite actresses after Grace Kelly retired. She, like Janet Leigh, received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on February 8th, 1960. She was portrayed by Jessica Biel in the 2012 movie, "Hitchcock". She was born on 23rd August, 1929, in Boise City, Oklahoma. In Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", she played the sister of the murdered Marion Crane, Lila Crane, who, with Marion's boyfriend, Sam Loomis, brought Norman Bates to justice.
Hitchcock's Thoughts
Originally, the audience thinks that Psycho is about the $40,000 Marion stole, and so her murder in the infamous shower scene comes across as a huge shock to them, as well as completely terrifying them. This also shows that, from there-on-out, anyone could die at any moment because the audience knows now that the killing won't stop there.
From this moment onwards in the movie, the audience now knows that someone in the house near the Bates Motel is a murderer, they just don't know who it is and they don't know when he/she will strike again but they do know that it can happen at any time. This is what portrays suspense in the movie. Also, to create more apprehension in between each murder scene, there is much less violence.
In what ways is this an archetypal thriller?
In this movie, the external threat is a mad man with a twisted and deranged mind called Norman Bates.
Thrillers can be identified through its fast-paced and frequent action. Psycho has very few of these, but when there are action scenes, they are usually brief but have a slow build-up (tension) and come across as a surprise and scare to the audience. The three best examples are the infamous Shower scene, the scenes showing Marion in her car and the scene where Detective Milton Arbogast slowly climbs the stairs in the Bates' Residence before he is murdered by Norman Bates.
Thriller tend to feature a resourceful hero that has to thwart the evil plans of an even more resourceful and more powerful villain. In Psycho, there is an unpredictable villain who needs to be defeated, even though the antagonist's identity is a mystery at first. However, there is more than one hero in the movie; each one coming into play after and if the previous hero fails to defeat and is murdered by the antagonist. The first hero/heroine is Marion Crane. After she is murdered, Detective Milton Arbogast follows her trail to try to find the antagonist; her murderer. However, when he is murdered, two more heroes, Lila Crane and Sam Loomis, Marion's sister and boyfriend, try to track down the villain. This time, they catch the villain and bring him to justice together.
Thrillers tend to use plot devices like suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers. In Psycho, the plot isn't that original, however, the construction of the plot is what makes this film so famous.
Norman Bates
Alfred Hitchcock believed it important to avoid clichés and repetition, particularly in the case of a certain character; in this case, Norman Bates. Normally, the villain is charming and the hero is flawed. In Psycho, Norman Bates passes off as a shy but friendly person, but is actually incredibly unstable and dangerous, and the heroes, particularly Marion and Detective Arbogast, are rendered helpless by his unpredictability. Hitchcock was known for placing evil in the most boring and unoriginal of places and the most bland of characters' hearts.
In hindsight
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