The Silver Screen Oasis

Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Psycho, released– 06/16/1960.

Personally, I never liked it.

G.C.

It's a gem of a film, IMO, made on a very modest budget. 63 years old and it retains much the same shock value today for the first-time viewer. The acting performance of Anthony Perkins was one for the ages and I loved the way Hitchcock manipulated the audience at every turn; first sympathy for Marion and then, suddenly, sympathy for Norman. A master-stroke. The murder of Arbo-gast (!) was stunning in its violence and shock value as much as the shower scene, IMO.

Belle wrote: ↑June 16th, 2023, 9:07 am It's a gem of a film, IMO, made on a very modest budget. 63 years old and it retains much the same shock value today for the first-time viewer. The acting performance of Anthony Perkins was one for the ages and I loved the way Hitchcock manipulated the audience at every turn; first sympathy for Marion and then, suddenly, sympathy for Norman. A master-stroke. The murder of Arbo-gast (!) was stunning in its violence and shock value as much as the shower scene, IMO.

I agree fully. The casting of nice boy teen idol of the time Perkins was absolutely brilliant.

Possibly Hitchcock's most memorable film - and certainly one of his top 3.

Belle wrote: ↑June 16th, 2023, 9:07 am It's a gem of a film, IMO, made on a very modest budget. 63 years old and it retains much the same shock value today for the first-time viewer. The acting performance of Anthony Perkins was one for the ages and I loved the way Hitchcock manipulated the audience at every turn; first sympathy for Marion and then, suddenly, sympathy for Norman. A master-stroke. The murder of Arbo-gast (!) was stunning in its violence and shock value as much as the shower scene, IMO.

The Norman Bates in Robert Bloch's source novel was an overweight, middle-aged man prone to bouts of heavy drinking, but Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriter Joseph Stefano made a Norman an attractive younger man inspired by HItchcock's suggestion of casting Anthony Perkins. The novel's Norman was also fascinated with the Marquis de Sade and Satanism. None of these interests were seen in Hitchcock's movie adaptation.

Hitchcock also felt that Robert Bloch cheated by depicting conversations between Norman and his mother in the novel, with the mother introduced as a character. In the Hitchcock movie, we only hear Mother's voice.

HEY! All I know is that after watching this movie at age 9 and about a year after its initial release and in what was then termed a "second run theater", I didn't sleep a WINK that night!

Nope, every time the house walls creaked, I freaked!

(...ya think this flick might've been a little too intense for a 9 y/o back then?!)

Of course, being a seasoned TCMer, you realize that was the idea.
Janet, so they say, stopped taking showers and only took baths.
Mom saw The Man Who Knew Too Much in a theater.
She screamed too.

Dargo wrote: ↑June 17th, 2023, 2:13 pm HEY! All I know is that after watching this movie at age 9 and about a year after its initial release and in what was then termed a "second run theater", I didn't sleep a WINK that night!

Nope, every time the house walls creaked, I freaked!

(...ya think this flick might've been a little too intense for a 9 y/o back then?!)

I do find Psycho to be the shiveriest of Hitchcock's films. I saw it at age 12 and it affected me so.

Intrepid37 wrote: ↑June 17th, 2023, 2:49 pm

Dargo wrote: ↑June 17th, 2023, 2:13 pm HEY! All I know is that after watching this movie at age 9 and about a year after its initial release and in what was then termed a "second run theater", I didn't sleep a WINK that night!

Nope, every time the house walls creaked, I freaked!

(...ya think this flick might've been a little too intense for a 9 y/o back then?!)

I do find Psycho to be the shiveriest of Hitchcock's films. I saw it at age 12 and it affected me so.

Yeah, I know, huh!

Say, and come to think of it, ya know what other actress could've made a great Marion Crane as well?

Uh-huh! No one but Salo.....

OOPS, sorry! I promised I wouldn't anymore, huh!

(...c'mon now, you GOTTA laugh at THIS one here, RIGHT?!)

LOL

Dargo wrote: ↑June 17th, 2023, 4:10 pm Say, and come to think of it, ya know what other actress could've made a great Marion Crane as w...c'mon now, you GOTTA laugh at THIS one here, RIGHT?!

Okay. Ha ha ha hee hee hee.

BagelOnAPlate wrote: ↑June 17th, 2023, 1:56 pm

Belle wrote: ↑June 16th, 2023, 9:07 am It's a gem of a film, IMO, made on a very modest budget. 63 years old and it retains much the same shock value today for the first-time viewer. The acting performance of Anthony Perkins was one for the ages and I loved the way Hitchcock manipulated the audience at every turn; first sympathy for Marion and then, suddenly, sympathy for Norman. A master-stroke. The murder of Arbo-gast (!) was stunning in its violence and shock value as much as the shower scene, IMO.

The Norman Bates in Robert Bloch's source novel was an overweight, middle-aged man prone to bouts of heavy drinking, but Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriter Joseph Stefano made a Norman an attractive younger man inspired by HItchcock's suggestion of casting Anthony Perkins. The novel's Norman was also fascinated with the Marquis de Sade and Satanism. None of these interests were seen in Hitchcock's movie adaptation.

Hitchcock also felt that Robert Bloch cheated by depicting conversations between Norman and his mother in the novel, with the mother introduced as a character. In the Hitchcock movie, we only hear Mother's voice.

Very interesting to compare novel and film and I've never read the former. Hitchcock's Norman had a bird fetish which I think works very well because it develops tropes of predatory behaviour and hiding, watching, waiting.

My spouse asked me yesterday whether I liked all of Hitch's films and why he was so famous. I told him I didn't like them all, particularly the last ones and "Rope" but I believe he found fame because he never wasted a shot in his films; they were tight as a drum and he knew all the basic elements of the suspense formula - as opposed to just horror - and virtually provided a 'grammar' for that genre which was followed by others.

Belle wrote: ↑June 17th, 2023, 5:48 pm

BagelOnAPlate wrote: ↑June 17th, 2023, 1:56 pm

Belle wrote: ↑June 16th, 2023, 9:07 am It's a gem of a film, IMO, made on a very modest budget. 63 years old and it retains much the same shock value today for the first-time viewer. The acting performance of Anthony Perkins was one for the ages and I loved the way Hitchcock manipulated the audience at every turn; first sympathy for Marion and then, suddenly, sympathy for Norman. A master-stroke. The murder of Arbo-gast (!) was stunning in its violence and shock value as much as the shower scene, IMO.

The Norman Bates in Robert Bloch's source novel was an overweight, middle-aged man prone to bouts of heavy drinking, but Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriter Joseph Stefano made a Norman an attractive younger man inspired by HItchcock's suggestion of casting Anthony Perkins. The novel's Norman was also fascinated with the Marquis de Sade and Satanism. None of these interests were seen in Hitchcock's movie adaptation.

Hitchcock also felt that Robert Bloch cheated by depicting conversations between Norman and his mother in the novel, with the mother introduced as a character. In the Hitchcock movie, we only hear Mother's voice.

Very interesting to compare novel and film and I've never read the former. Hitchcock's Norman had a bird fetish which I think works very well because it develops tropes of predatory behaviour and hiding, watching, waiting.

My spouse asked me yesterday whether I liked all of Hitch's films and why he was so famous. I told him I didn't like them all, particularly the last ones and "Rope" but I believe he found fame because he never wasted a shot in his films; they were tight as a drum and he knew all the basic elements of the suspense formula - as opposed to just horror - and virtually provided a 'grammar' for that genre which was followed by others.

Alfred Hitchcock is one of my favorite directors. You've summed up very well why his movies are so satisfying.

I like Rope as well as his final feature Family Plot.
It's difficult to choose an absolute favorite Hitchcock movie, but the ones I enjoy the most are Strangers On A Train, North By Northwest, Vertigo and Psycho. I also find that Marnie is becoming a favorite the more that I watch it.
Rear Window is a good movie, but I admit that the ending was disappointing to me: I was expecting a twist. Maybe the twist was that there was no twist.

BagelOnAPlate wrote: ↑June 18th, 2023, 12:28 pm
Rear Window is a good movie, but I admit that the ending was disappointing to me: I was expecting a twist. Maybe the twist was that there was no twist.

As I'm not quite sure what you're suggesting here Bagel, could you elaborate upon this here? Sounds like an intriguing thought.

Would you be suggesting the idea that Raymond Burr's character hadn't actually murdered his wife in it, or something other than this?

The thing I most enjoy about Rear Window is watching the beautiful, gorgeous, delectable Grace Kelly move around.

Other than that, the movie is kind of boring for me.

"Rear Window" is, like "Rope" and "Dial M for Murder", inherently a stage play. It's a psychological drama with strong elements of voyeurism and in trying to convince Lisa that Thorwald has murdered his wife, Lisa has to convince Jeff that she's the ideal spouse!! Both convictions are satisfied by film's end, and the latter done very elegantly at that!! "Careful Tom!" That injunction was probably also directed at audiences because film in 1954 was still subject to the capricious hand of censorship!!

Hitchcock drew on many influences for his films and when I recently watched Lean's "This Happy Breed" from 1944 I could see the opening of "Psycho" and scenes from "Rear Window".