Sixty years ago, on June 16, 1960, the US premiered the cult psycho detective thriller Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The picture became a film adaptation of the Robert Bloch’s eponymous novel (the book, in turn, was based on the story of the American maniac and necrophile Ed Geen). The roles in the tape were played by Anthony Perkins, John Gavin, Vera Miles and Janet Lee.
According to the plot, the heroine of Janet Lee, Marion, steals a large amount of money and leaves the city in the hope of starting a new life. After a long drive, she stops at Norman Bates Motel (Anthony Perkins). A man likes a guest, but he, according to the hero himself, an unhealthy mother is opposed to this relationship. In the evening she comes to Marion’s room and kills her. A private detective, lover and sister of the deceased will investigate the crime.
Hitchcock Book, Film, and Tricks
The main character of the film visually differs from the character of the book. Robert Bloch describes Norman as an overweight, unattractive middle-aged man. At Hitchcock, he is young and handsome. The director was sure that the final of the picture would make a more vivid impression if you make the main character a simple guy who is initially difficult to suspect of something terrible.
By the way, the film does not show many details of the killings (too disgusting for the image on the screen). Hitchcock noted that in such cases freedom should be left for the imagination.
Hitchcock fueled interest in the film, constantly spreading rumors about who will play Norman's mother, Mrs. Bates. Among the candidates for this role were allegedly Judith Anderson (Rebecca) and Helen Hayes (Airport). Many elderly actresses wrote letters to the director asking them to choose them.
Hitchcock also insisted that no one be allowed into the cinema after the start of the session (in those years, viewers could come to the cinema at any time and start watching the movie from the middle, and then stay at the next session and see what they missed). The director did not want the audience who entered the second half of the session to wonder where Janet Lee was, because she was the most famous of the cast.
It is known that Hitchcock did not show the script to the producers of Paramount: firstly, to avoid spoilers, and secondly, so that no one could influence the plot. The producers reluctantly agreed to allot $ 800 thousand and not ask questions. In addition, in order to keep the denouement of the film a secret, after acquiring the rights to the film adaptation of the novel, the director bought as many copies of Bloch's book as he could.
Naturally, flirting Hitchcock with the audience was not limited to organizational issues. The film "Psycho" is built on a very interesting scheme, which first helps to tune the audience to certain expectations, and then completely destroy them. The director noted that he directed the audience, played them like an organ, and this game was very exciting.
- © Shot from the film "Psycho" (1960)
Syrup instead of blood
Although Psycho was filmed when technical capabilities made it possible to work with color, Alfred Hitchcock decided to make the film black and white. Firstly, the director believed that the color in the picture would be too bloody. Secondly, he wanted to make a high-quality and inexpensive picture.
In addition to low cost, black-and-white shooting turned out to be more convenient, because Hitchcock was able to use chocolate syrup as blood.
The director’s attention to unobvious details can be noted in many scenes. So in one of the episodes, Norman realizes that a murder happened, and shouts hysterically at his mother. To make the hero seem even younger and more innocent, it was in this scene that Hitchcock forced the sound engineers to remove the bass from Anthony Perkins's voice so that he screamed like a frightened teenager.
The scene with Janet Lee at heart became one of the most iconic and memorable not only in Psycho, but throughout the history of cinema. While working on this episode, the creators encountered a number of difficulties. For example, Janet Lee’s nudity had to be shown so as not to anger the censorship committee.
It took seven days to shoot a scene lasting 45 seconds, recording from 70 cameras at the same time. As a result, the episode turned out to be extremely convincing and scary. And, notably, not only for the viewer: after this experiment Janet Lee herself was afraid to take a shower.
“I stopped taking a shower - now I only take a bath. And if I stop somewhere where there is only a shower room, I check that the windows and doors are locked. I also leave the bathroom door and curtain open. I follow the door all the time, no matter where the shower is directed, ”the woman’s Internet portal quoted the actress as saying.
- © Shot from the film "Psycho" (1960)
Speaking of "Psycho", one cannot help but mention the musical accompaniment. Composer Bernard Herrmann preferred string music, and Hitchcock was very pleased with the result. The director admitted that the film owes its success to a third to the composer.
Filming "Psycho" mainly took place in California at the walls of Revue Studios, known today as Universal Television. There, Paramount Pictures rented a site for the production of Hitchcock paintings.
Today, the famous Norman Bates mansion can be seen at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. The building was built in the style of the so-called California Gothic, widespread in the north of the state, where the events of the picture unfold.
The opening scene of the film was filmed in Phoenix, Arizona.
“Painting in the spirit of the Gran Guignol Theater”
The first reaction to Psycho in 1960 was mixed. Some critics called Hitchcock’s tricks not serious, and the film was pathetic.
“Hitchcock’s so slow alarming to a sudden shock is old-fashioned melodramatism, which, by the way, is certain, but only until a couple of people are brutally slaughtered and the secret of the house with a terrible inhabitant is revealed,” wrote Bosley Krauser for New York Times.
“Worse than the most miserable striptease I've ever seen,” said Evening Standard Jimpson Harmon.
- © Shot from the film "Psycho" (1960)
Hitchcock himself believed that his picture was misunderstood, since he conceived it as a comedy.
“It was assumed that people would shout at Psycho, scream, and so on. But no more than on a roller coaster ... so the main thing is not to overdo it, because they need to go out, giggling with pleasure, ”the director emphasized.
Be that as it may, over time, the opinions of reviewers have changed for the better.
“Undoubtedly, Hitchcock’s best film doesn’t need to be presented - a beautifully executed painting in the spirit of the Gran Guignol Theater (horror theater in Paris. Closed in 1963. - RT ). The pseudo-Freudian clue at the end of the film is complete rubbish, but the real signs of a split personality are conveyed by spectacular and complex visual images. A real masterpiece, anyway, ”wrote Jeff Andrew for the TimeOut Film Guide.
“Probably his most spectacular and cinematic film,” said director, screenwriter and film critic Peter Bogdanovich.
Even before all the disputes had subsided, the sensational box office became an indicator of the success of the picture. With a budget of $ 800 thousand, she earned about $ 14 million for the first rental, and so far the total tape fees are at least $ 50 million. Alfred Hitchcock’s income from this picture also turned out to be unprecedentedly high - about 5 million.
At the same time, the author of the novel Robert Bloch sold the rights to the film adaptation of the book for only $ 9 thousand. After deducting taxes, as well as the interest of the publisher and agent, the writer received about $ 5 thousand. Later, the author found out that his contract did not include a percentage of the profit in case of sale of rights to Hollywood .
The painting "Psycho" was awarded a number of awards. Among them are Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Janet Lee), Edgar Allan Poe Prize, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Award and others. Also, the tape was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, director, work of the cameraman and artist.
It is impossible to overestimate the contribution that Alfred Hitchcock’s film “Psycho” made to cinema. As Andrew Sarris, a Village Voice columnist, wrote, any discerning movie-goer should watch Psycho at least three times: for the first time — to feel all the emotions that Hitchcock was trying to convey; the second time - to enjoy the dark comedy; thirdly, consider all hidden characters.
In Psycho, Hitchcock not only demonstrated innovative techniques that helped to manipulate the viewer at that time, and showed things that the directors tried to avoid, but was one of the first to talk about psychology, thereby completely changing the audience’s ideas about thrillers and films horrors. Now Hitchcock is considered a master of suspense, and almost any psychological thriller is called "Hitchcock."
The director brought the genre to a fundamentally new level: he demonstrated on the screen not only complex scenes and subtle black humor, but also a high-quality production, possible thanks to complex technical solutions, picturesque locations and the participation of stars.
Bates Old Mansion today is a popular Hollywood attraction. After the release of the picture, stationery, t-shirts, shower curtains with the image of the silhouette of a killer and other souvenirs with references to the film appeared in stores. The tape received several sequels, remakes and spin-offs, and some modern directors are still inspired by Hitchcock's art and do homage to scenes from Psycho. The episode in the shower, for example, was recreated in one of the episodes of the animated series The Simpsons. This scene, in principle, is often called one of the worst in the history of cinema, and Psycho itself regularly gets into the ratings of the best films according to various publications.