To celebrate the 50th anniversary Blu-ray release of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterful horror Psycho (out Aug 9th in the U.K.), Obsessed With Film newcomer Stuart Cummins has given us 50 reasons why he think it’s the greatest film of all time.

That’s fittingly one reason per year since it first entertained, shocked, terrified and disturbed audiences way back in 1960….

1. The Title

It’s short, snappy and intriguing without giving away the plot. Essentially the film lets you know what you’re in for, but leaves enough to the imagination to be intimidating.

2. The Opening Credits

Saul Bass’s opening title sequence is fresh, vibrant (despite being B&W!) and quintessentially 60s chic!

The jagged, moving lines successfully mimic the fragmented mind of Norman Bates, which matched with Bernard Hermann’s frantic score is disturbing and suspenseful in it’s own way for the tragedy about to befall us.

3. The Shower Scene

Probably the most obvious reason for Psycho’s claim to the top spot is that it contains one of the most iconic, most discussed and most memorable scenes in cinema history.

The scene took an entire week to shoot (1/3rd of Janet Leigh’s time spent on the production) and is simultaneously horrific and tantalising, without any actual penetration of the knife or any visible lady parts. Janet Leigh wore a moleskin suit to give the impression of nudity, but Hitchcock continued to roll camera after the warm water had washed the suit off. Needless to say the fully nude shot was used in the final cut of the film.

The pace and tempo of the scene perfectly build suspense, only for the audience to be given the surprise of their life as Marion Crane is robbed of hers. The scene is perfect in achieving it’s purpose and is the ultimate mid-movie twist.

4. Bye Bye Big Star…

Hitchcock killed off Janet Leigh’s Marian within the first 45mins, yanking the carpet from the foot of his audience and leaving them no star to follow. This took guts and Hitchcock took a gamble that must have been hard to convince Paramount to go along with it back in the day.

Nowadays Marian’s murder – and the exit of Leigh from Psycho – is one of cinemas biggest surprises and thus Hitchcock’s big gamble paid off!

5. Small Budget = BIG Profit!

Psycho was made for a meagre $800,000. Ok, maybe its not such a meagre sum to us, but it was for Hitchcock!

His previous films had had budgets of $4,000,000 (North By Northwest, 1959), $2,479,000 (Vertigo, 1958) and $2,500,000 (The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1956), but at Hitchcock’s request, Psycho was a much smaller affair. A

pparently fed up with the pressures of delivering an audience on a large budget, and working with big name actors – Hitchcock used his television production team and made Psycho on the cheap!

However, it subsequently made Paramount (and later Universal) a rather nice $40million – not a bad return on $800,000 then! It actually attracted a bigger audience than any other Hitch movie.

6. Mrs Bates’ House

Standing atop a hill behind the motel cabins, the Gothic, Victorian style mansion is definitely the scariest house in cinema history – even more so than that one with a face in The Amityville Horror and the dilapidated ruin that houses horror’s ugliest villain, in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

7. The Soundtrack

Bernard Herrmann’s string score is simultaneously rich and sensual, and horrific and harsh. It immediately exemplifies the terror on screen and portrays as much emotion as the characters. A host of imitations have been produced in the wake of it’s success, and it’s become the signature tune for shocking horror in pop culture/parody.

8. The Performance of Anthony Perkins’ Career

Before Psycho, the young Anthony Perkins was something of a teen idol – a handsome actor whose awkward shyness made him a hit with young girls audiences. Immediately before Psycho, he had starred alongside Jane Fonda in Tall Story, a sporting college rom-com. Perkins was gifted with the boyishness of Tom Hanks but without the confidence.

Alfred Hitchcock cast him as the sexually disturbed serial killer Norman Bates as something of a novelty, very much hiring against type and using the familiar Perkins persona, to create something even more menacing than if he had hired Robert Mitchum, or any other vet screen villains. Perkins manages to make the audience feel sympathetic towards him before slowly revealing to us that even the innocent, charming boy next door could be as murderous as anyone.

The performance made his career, and in a way also ended it as he was unable to convince Hollywood directors that he could be seen as anything but Norman Bates ever again. He was to play the character for three further sequels, even writing and directing Psycho III.

9. The Flushing Toilet!

Psycho was the first film to break the censor’s taboo of showing a flushing toilet!

It hardly seems an unmentionable (and ‘un-showable’) piece of equipment these days, but Hitchcock’s display of this was used to distract the censors from his important risqué moments (i.e. the murder, Norman in drag etc). There’s been no looking back since and the toilet has become a regular feature in motion pictures (just remember the constant flow of teen movies in the 90s, where drunk kids puking in the bowl was the sign of a good party!).

10. The New Face of Horror

Hitchcock’s film changed the face of the horror genre forever. It’s widely cited as being the first movie to feature the conventions of the slasher film sub-genre, whilst also kicking off a slew of successful psychological horrors during the 60s and beyond.

Without Psycho, it’s difficult to believe Leatherface, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees would ever have existed.

11. No More Showers Please!

Janet Leigh famously said that her role in Psycho scared her enough to never have a shower again, as she realised how vulnerable you can be in it. A whole generation undoubtedly agreed.

12. Vera Miles Makes A Comeback

Vera Miles was Hitchcock’s biggest discovery in the late 1950s. After starring in The Wrong Man in 1957, she was billed to star as the dual female lead in Vertigo, but her pregnancy forced her to pull out and the role subsequently went to Kim Novak.

Upon her return to acting, Hitchcock was unable to salvage the close working relationship that they had once shared and he relegated Miles to the supporting role of Lila Crane in Psycho.

Despite being a form of penance for her pregnancy, Miles’ role in Psycho ensured that her career momentum returned and she continued to have a steady career (albeit prdominantly in television) right up to her retirement in 1995. She is effective as our entry point to the true nature of Noman Bates.

13. “I’ll get it back, and if any of it’s missin’ I’ll replace it with her fine, soft flesh!”

As Marion imagines the above being said by Tom Cassidy (the owner of the stolen $40000) a brief smile forms across her face. Her apparent pleasure at relieving the perverted old man of his money – and subsequently letting her imagination run away with her when thinking of his reaction – adds a sassy element to her character that had not been revealed so far in the plot, or many female protagonists in movies pre-1960.

14. The Use of Drag

Before Hitchcock, drag was predominantly used for comedic value (for example, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in Some Like it Hot) or to characterise an actress as a sultry, sexy European (such as Marlene Dietrich in Morocco). The use of drag as a horror device was a clever idea, as contemporary audiences had most likely never seen it used in such a way.

Although Mrs. Bates being revealed as Norman in a dress and wig may be comical to modern day audiences, the silhouette behind the shower curtain is possibly one of the most menacing images in the history of cinema.

15. The Enigmatic Mrs. Bates

Hitchcock went to great pains to keep people guessing who would play Norman’s overbearing mother during production, and when speaking to the press. He even went as far as having a canvas directors chair made with her name written on the back.

This remained on set throughout the shoot. Hitchcock even told Paramount that he would audition veteran actress Helen Hayes for the role! The fact that Mrs. Bates was actually a corpse was one of Hollywood’s best kept secrets, making the shock ending even more of a surprise!

16. The Location

Norman Bates just happens to live in the perfect place to be a murderer!

He has a motel in the middle of nowhere, that is practically never discovered by anyone, complete with his own swamp to dispose of the evidence – it’s almost as if his purpose in life was to be a psychopathic killer!

The most iconic horror setting of all time.

17. “A boy’s best friend is his mother…”

Never has the mother/son relationship been so close…or scary! As someone who does love their mum, the Oedipal undertones of Norman and Mrs. Bates relationship makes me appreciate that she isn’t, however, my best friend!

18. Arbogast’s Death

Hitchcock built suspense in Detective Abrogast’s death much the same way as he did with the shower scene. However, the audience knew what was coming this time and thus rather than attempting to surprise them in the same way he did in the earlier scene, he opted instead for a technically creative approach.

He shot the scene in a beautiful high angle that not only disguised Mrs. Bates’ true identity, but added a uniquely artistic way of shooting it.

19. Loomis origin

In a rather small part, John Gavin plays Sam Loomis, the adulterer who is cheating on his wife with Janet Leigh’s Marion Crane. Loomis is in one scene, the opening, but filmmaker and Psycho admirer John Carpenter stole the name for his world-weary detective Dr. Sam Loomis – famously played by Donald Pleasance in Halloween some eight years later.

Halloween admirer Wes Craven then used the Loomis surname for the character of Billy Loomis in the mid 90′s hit Scream. For whatever reason, the Loomis name just stuck for this genre.

20. Faith In The Little Known

As previously mentioned, Hitchcock took a huge gamble by killing off his top billed star so early in the film. However, he took an even greater risk in allowing the rest of the film to be carried by little known actors/actresses.

Although Vera Miles had previously starred as a Hitchcock lead she had mainly been part of the supporting cast in her other films (for example in Autumn Leaves, a vehicle for Hollywood’s perennial star, Joan Crawford). John Gavin had only featured in a few films before Hitchcock cast him as Sam Loomis, Marion’s hard-up lover. The director famously took a disliking to him and his performance, referring to him as ‘The Stiff’ throughout production!

Martin Balsam – who played private detective Milton Arbogast – had really only been present on television screens before Psycho. Even Anthony Perkins had only become a star in the late 1950s. Hitchcock put his faith in this less well-known cannon of talent in the main roles – and they don’t disappoint, all of them etching out performances here based on this movie alone.

21. The McGuffin

This is the device Hitchcock coined, and used to drive a films narrative forward, but was ultimately not the most important aspect of the plot. Here it’s the stolen $40000, which initially appears to be important to the plot. However, by the second act of the film you realise that it is merely an aside, as the murder of Marion subtly shifts the focus of the narrative.

The fact that Norman doesn’t murder Marion for the $40000 makes it that bit more sinister, deeper and disturbing.

22. Bates Motel Accessories!

For those with a really macabre sense of humour (certainly myself!), a very special range of products is available. Yes, you guessed it – you can buy Bates Motel stationary, towels, ceramics etc!

Perfect for scaring your guests…whilst you have a giggle in the shower!

23. The Motorcycle Cop

The policeman who wakes Marian at the roadside is about as unnerving as Norman himself!

The scene is certainly tense, an exercise in guilt and paranoia, as we wonder whether Marian will give herself away.

24. The Original Ad Campaign

Hitchcock adopted a clever strategy to entice audiences into the theatre whilst also ensuring his twist ending was kept as secret as possible. In the days when films ran on a loop all day, allowing audiences to walk in at any moment, posters in cinema lobbies told them that they would not be permitted to enter Psycho if the film had already started – even though nothing paritcularly critical to the plot happens in the opening scene.

Hitchcock even went as far as getting theatre managers to give him their word that they would enforce this! This method of advertisement was extremely successful, as Psycho was a hit at the box office, instigating a ‘must-see buzz’ despite poor critical reception.

25. A Good Novel Made A Great Film

Hitchcock made a number of changes to Robert Bloch’s pulp novel of the same name. The most obvious is the characterisation of Norman Bates. Bloch penned the character as an overweight, nasty, middle-aged man.

Hitchcock redefined him as a young, attractive, shy boyish man, thus disguising his true psychotic identity in a haze of normality. Having read the book twice I can say that it is a good read, but Hitchcock’s re-working of certain elements certainly makes the film even more entertaining and successful.

26. The Scariest Film of All Time?

Psycho is effective on the 3rd, 4th, 5th time you re-visit because it’s not the jump-boo scares that keep drawing you back, but instead the underlining essence of fear that stays with you.

In that sense, Psycho is the most terrifying movie of all time.

27. Patricia Hitchcock

Hitchcock’s use of his own daughter in a supporting role in a number of his films is a signature to itself but in Psycho he uses her to a particularly great effect. As Caroline she injects some much welcomed comic relief, particularly when she insists that Tom Cassidy is flirting with Marion because he has seen her wedding ring.

The characterisation of Caroline sets one of the tonal elements of the film, which is rifled with black comedy throughout.

28. The References

Since its release in 1960, Psycho has literally been referenced by hundreds of other productions, way too many to mention. Most of the horror movies churned out by the studios in the 60s were influenced in part by Psycho, it was impossible not to be.

Most of Hammer Studios psychological thrillers – like Taste of Fear and Maniac – reference Hitchcock’s film explicitly, as did Brian De Palma’s Dressed To Kill, which included it’s own effective shower scene. However, it was low-budget horror stalwart William Castle’s I Saw What You Did that was most obvious in it’s referencing.

Here, John Ireland brutally murders his wife in…you guessed it, the shower.!

29. The Symbolic Underwear!

Hitchcock justified shots of Janet Leigh in her underwear to the censors [highly risque in 1960] by claiming their symbolic meaning. Marion is wearing white underwear in the opening scene, but changes to a black set after she has stolen the $40000.

It’s nice that Hitchcock put so much thought into the symbolic use of underwear…however, we really know it was just an excuse to see Janet Leigh in her bra and panties, and to show her ‘not so innocent’ morality.

30. Who’d Have Thunk It!?

Norman Bates really is one of the most unsuspecting villains of cinema history. Because of this it also makes him one of the most terrifying – as exemplified by the fact that he was voted 2nd in the AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Heroes & Villains poll.

If Norman had also eaten his victims, he certainly would have beaten Anthony Hopkins’ Dr. Hannibal Lecter to the top spot…

31. The Set Still Exits!

Both the iconic house and motel still exist on the Universal back lot and is certainly the highlight of the tour – even better than the Jaws and King Kong attacks! The ominous look that Hitchcock achieved on film is just as strong in real life – testament to both the power of the film and of the set builders.

32. The Swamp Scene

In this scene Hitchcock creates a perfect balance of conflicting emotion within the audience. It’s an extremely taut scene and when the car seems like it won’t sink, the audience kind of wants it to for Norman’s sake (as we think that it’s Mrs. Bates who is the psycho at this point).

However, the audience also knows that this is wrong. These clashing emotions make this scene one of the most tense in the film and showcases both the power of Hitchcock’s direction and Perkins’ performance.

33. The Controversies

Since its release, the film has caused a variety of controversies. From Saul Bass’s self-aggrandising and ultimately unproven claims that he planned and directed the shower scene, to the hilarious letter Hitchcock received from an irate father whose daughter had refused to bathe after seeing Les Diaboliques in 1955 and now refused to shower after seeing Psycho!

34. Hitchcock In A Cowboy Hat!

The director’s cameo is close to the beginning of the film, where he is seen leaning against Marion’s office wearing a cowboy hat. Something I’m sure nobody ever thought they would see!

35. “No! I tell you no! I won’t have you bringing some young girl in for supper! By candlelight I suppose, in the cheap, erotic fashion of young men with cheap erotic minds!”

Norman is certainly a man who cannot deal with his sexual urges – Psycho stands as a fantastic example of how NOT to react to them!

36. The Spoofs

Psycho is so iconic it has been spoofed on numerous occasions. From Mel Brooks’ hilarious High Anxiety (which spoofs a variety of Hitch’s films – the shower scene gets the Brooks treatment here, when he is attacked in the shower by a hotel lobby man with a newspaper!) to the umpteen Simpsons episodes (Maggie’s attack on Homer is by far the best spoof – spilt tin of red paint and all!).

The fact that so many productions have spoofed Psycho not only proves it’s popularity, but also how synonymous with popular culture it has become. You can check out the many Psycho references (and Hitchcock’s filmography in general) on this special WIKI Page.

37. The Corpse

When the deceased Mrs. Bates is finally revealed, it’s not only Lila Crane who gets a shock! The body of Mrs. Bates is possibly the most grotesque corpse in cinema history. She’s not particularly gory, or even that realistic, but she certainly scares the bejesus out of you!

Hitchcock reportedly had a number of different corpses made, putting each of them in Janet Leigh’s trailer at some point during her time on the shoot. He judged which would be the one to use in the film by the volume of her scream! He chose the right one… Looking a lot like an ancient Egyptian mummy, it is probably the knowledge that Norman has stuffed and embalmed his mother that makes her so terrifying!

38. The Bosco Chocolate Syrup!

Hitchcock successfully used chocolate syrup as blood in the shower scene. Apart from just being quite simply genius, I bet from now on it makes you look differently at your ice cream when it’s drenched in the stuff!

39. The Sequels

Anthony Perkins loved the role of Norman so much that he made a further three sequels, none of them good but we was always worthy of admission…

40. “A son is a poor substitute for a lover.”

The implied incestuousness of Norman and his mother’s relationship was certainly very shocking in 1960 – it continues to be unnerving and down right sickening today.

41. The Original Poster Artwork

The poster was sexy and risqué in 1960 and suggests that the film is entirely adult in its content.

It’s fragmented design perfectly imitates the split personality of Norman and the fact that the central image is of Janet Leigh heightens the deception that she is the star. It’s chic, quintessentially 60s design makes it one of the most sought after amongst collectors today.

42. The Remake

OK, albeit a terrible, travesty of cinema, director Gus Van Sant figured the original Psycho was so amazing it needed to be re-envisioned for a new generation in the late 90′s.

The fact it was a misguided, terrible exercise in experimental cinema proves the sheer awesomeness of the original! Van Sant’s movie is a shot-for-shot remake of Hitch’s classic but doesn’t hold 1/10th of the power of the original, showing it wasn’t just one thing Hitchcock did to make his classics work but a combination of all the talents in his arsenal.

Plus, the very definite miss-casting of Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates is surely the biggest hiring related mistake in cinema history!?

43. The Theatrical Trailer

Hitchcock’s tour of the Psycho set for the film’s theatrical trailer is a little movie in itself! The director successfully entices the audience without revealing the plot – he toys with us in a tongue-in-cheek way, a masterful storyteller heightening expectation beautifully. By Psycho, Hitchcock was a brand and he new exactly how to exploit his image for the good of a movie.

And when he draws back the shower curtain to reveal a screaming woman – actually Vera Miles in a Janet Leigh style wig (as the trailer was shot after the latter had completed her time on the production) – it’s about as shocking as the shower scene in the film!

44. It’s Definitely Number One!

Psycho has been ranked number one on the AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills poll.

45. Hitchcock’s Legacy

Psycho is often the first film people think of when asked about Hitchcock and his legacy. It has become so iconic and embedded in popular culture that it is usually cited as Hitchcock’s finest hour among the public.

46. The Remastered DVD

Psycho has been remastered for a brand new Blu-ray DVD in both the U.K. and U.S. to mark it’s 50th anniversary – testament to the longevity of its popularity, and indeed the first Blu-ray transfer of any film Hitchcock made.

47. Hitch shot in Black-and-White As Artistic Choice

After dazzling us with the colour landscapes in North By Northwest and Vertigo – Hitchcock made the conscious decision to shoot his claustrophobic horror movie in classical black-and-white.

The reason (except to lower costs, and give it a B-movie feel) was so the blood of the shower scene would be more effective, as in colour it would look fake so excessively used.

48. Cinema Billboards

49.

“It’s sad, when a mother has to speak the words that condemn her own son. But I couldn’t allow them to believe that I would commit murder. They’ll put him away now, as I should have years ago. He was always bad, and in the end he intended to tell them I killed those girls and that man… as if I could do anything but just sit and stare, like one of his stuffed birds. They know I can’t move a finger, and I won’t. I’ll just sit here and be quiet, just in case they do… suspect me. They’re probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I’m not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching… they’ll see. They’ll see and they’ll know, and they’ll say, “Why, she wouldn’t even harm a fly…”

50. Wait…And You Can Still See It At The Cinema!?

Yes – that’s right…50 years after it was originally released, Psycho is still shown in cinemas around the world. Most recently at Brighton’s Duke of York’s cinema in March.

If the fact that people still go to see it on the big screen doesn’t convince you that Psycho is the greatest film of all time…well, you better be careful next time you take a shower!