Photo: IMDB
VICTIM: Janet Leigh, the star of the film, exits dramatically at the 45-minute mark.
Ben McCann
Psycho turns 60 Alfred Hitchcockâs famous fright film broke all the rules as it started Hollywoodâs fascination with serial killers and slasher movies
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tâs November 1959. Film director Alfred Hitchcock is at his commercial and critical peak after the successes of Vertigo (1958) and North by Northwest (1959). So what does he do next? A black-and-white made-for-TV movie hastily shot, with no big-name actors and a leading actress who takes a shower, and ⊠well, weâll come to that. Psycho (1960) remains Hitch-
cockâs most celebrated film. But it is really two films, glued together by the most iconic scene in cinema history. Part one is a run-of-the-mill morality tale. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) steals $40,000 from her Phoenix employee, and goes on the run. Guilt-stricken, she pulls into a deserted motel and chats with the owner, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins).
He seems friendly enough â he makes her sandwiches and talks fondly about his mother â and Marion resolves to return the money. Part two is a whodunnit. Marionâs sister (Vera Miles) and her lover (John Gavin) investigate her disappearance, and trace her steps back to the motel. Soon, they begin to have suspicions about Norman. A few years earlier, Hitchcock had watched Henri-Georges
ColdType | Mid-July 2020 | www.coldtype.net
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