Marion Crane’s life is going nowhere and that includes her love life with Sam. One Friday afternoon, her boss entrusts her with $40,000 to bank but she decides to steal it and drive out to California to see Sam. Tired and caught in a storm, she pulls off the highway into Bates Motel. Norman, a nervous young man, checks her into her room and a little later, Marion hears him having an argument with his mother. And that’s when things start to go very wrong.
Whether a person has actually seen Psycho or not, they will know about the ‘shower scene’ and be able to mimic the sound and plunging action of ‘that knife’. That is testament to Alfred Hitchcock’s superb creation based upon Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel. Hitchcock always prided himself in providing, not horror, but suspense, preferring the audience’s imagination to do some of the work for him. This is a true classic and everyone should see it. It should be said that there isn’t anything particularly gory.
Anthony Perkins plays Norman Bates. Perkins (1932-1992) made a career portraying quiet, sensitive, suffering and vulnerable men. Roles that other leading male film stars were afraid to take on in the 50s and 60s. Some say that this was his natural persona (having received a backlash from Paramount Studios over his sexuality) but others close to him, believe it was manufactured guise. Either way, he was a great actor and this is one of the films that will ensure his talent is never forgotten.
Certificate: 15
1 hour 49 min
BBC (free), Youtube (£2.49), Prime (£3.09)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
