Released Year: 1960Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Casted by:
Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates
Janet Leigh as Marion Crane
Vera Miles as Lila Crane
John Gavin as Sam Loomis
Martin Balsam as Det. Milton Arbogast
Story:In need of money to marry her lover Sam Loomis, Marion Crane steals $40,000 from her employer and flees Phoenix by car. En route to Sam's California home, she parks along the road to sleep. A highway patrol officer awakens her and, suspicious of her agitated state, he begins to follow her. When she trades her car for another one at a dealership, he notes the new vehicle's details. Marion returns to the road but decides to spend the night at the Bates Motel rather than drive in a heavy storm.
Owner Norman Bates tells Marion he rarely has customers because of a new highway nearby and mentions he lives with his mother in the house overlooking the motel. He invites Marion to have supper with him. She overhears Norman arguing with his mother about his and Marion's sexual intentions, and during the meal she angers him by suggesting he institutionalize his mother. He admits he would like to do so but does not want to abandon her.
Marion resolves to return to Phoenix to return the money. As she undresses in her room, Norman watches through a peephole in his office wall. After calculating how she can repay the money she has spent, Marion flushes her notes down the toilet and begins to shower. An anonymous figure, presumably Norman's mother, enters the bathroom and stabs her to death. Finding the corpse, Norman is horrified by his mother's actions. He cleans the bathroom and places Marion's body, wrapped in the shower curtain, and all her possessions – including the money – in the trunk of her car and sinks it in a swamp.
Shortly afterward, Sam is contacted by both Marion's sister Lila and private detective Milton Arbogast, who has been hired by Marion's employer to find her and recover the money. Arbogast traces Marion to the motel and questions Norman, whose lies cause him to begin to stutter. He refuses to let Arbogast talk to his mother, claiming she is ill. Arbogast calls Lila to update her and tells her he will contact her again after hopefully questioning Norman's mother. Arbogast enters Norman's house and at the top of the stairs is attacked by a figure who slashes his face with a knife, pushes him down the stairs, then stabs him to death. Norman confronts his mother and urges her to hide in the cellar. She rejects the idea and orders him out of her room, but against her will Norman carries her to the cellar.
When Arbogast does not call Lila, she and Sam contact the local police. Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers is perplexed to learn Arbogast saw a woman in a window, since Norman's mother died ten years earlier. Posing as a married couple, Sam and Lila check into the motel and search Marion's room, where they find a scrap of paper with "$40,000" written on it. While Sam distracts Norman, Lila sneaks into the house to search for his mother. Sam suggests Norman killed Marion for the money so he could buy a new hotel. Realizing Lila is not around, Norman knocks Sam unconscious and rushes to the house. Lila sees him and hides in the cellar where she discovers the semi-preserved and hideously mummified body of Mrs. Bates. Wearing his mother's clothes and a wig, and carrying a knife, Norman enters and tries to attack Lila, who is rescued by Sam.
After Norman's arrest, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Fred Richmond tells Sam and Lila Mrs. Bates is living in Norman's psyche. After the death of Norman's father, the pair lived as if they were the only people in the world. When his mother found a lover, Norman murdered both of them. Consumed with guilt, he tried to "erase the crime" by bringing his mother to life in his mind. He stole her corpse and preserved the body. When he is "Mother", he acts, talks, and dresses as she would. Norman imagined his mother would be as jealous of a woman to whom he might be attracted just as he was of his mother's lover. His psychosis protects him from knowing about other crimes committed after his mother's death. The sheriff also mentions the unsolved disappearances of two other young girls.
In the final scene, Norman sits in a cell, his mind dominated by the Mother persona. In voiceover, she explains she plans to prove to the authorities she is incapable of violence by refusing to swat a fly that has landed on her hand. The final shot shows Marion's car being recovered from the swamp.
Owner Norman Bates tells Marion he rarely has customers because of a new highway nearby and mentions he lives with his mother in the house overlooking the motel. He invites Marion to have supper with him. She overhears Norman arguing with his mother about his and Marion's sexual intentions, and during the meal she angers him by suggesting he institutionalize his mother. He admits he would like to do so but does not want to abandon her.
Marion resolves to return to Phoenix to return the money. As she undresses in her room, Norman watches through a peephole in his office wall. After calculating how she can repay the money she has spent, Marion flushes her notes down the toilet and begins to shower. An anonymous figure, presumably Norman's mother, enters the bathroom and stabs her to death. Finding the corpse, Norman is horrified by his mother's actions. He cleans the bathroom and places Marion's body, wrapped in the shower curtain, and all her possessions – including the money – in the trunk of her car and sinks it in a swamp.
Shortly afterward, Sam is contacted by both Marion's sister Lila and private detective Milton Arbogast, who has been hired by Marion's employer to find her and recover the money. Arbogast traces Marion to the motel and questions Norman, whose lies cause him to begin to stutter. He refuses to let Arbogast talk to his mother, claiming she is ill. Arbogast calls Lila to update her and tells her he will contact her again after hopefully questioning Norman's mother. Arbogast enters Norman's house and at the top of the stairs is attacked by a figure who slashes his face with a knife, pushes him down the stairs, then stabs him to death. Norman confronts his mother and urges her to hide in the cellar. She rejects the idea and orders him out of her room, but against her will Norman carries her to the cellar.
When Arbogast does not call Lila, she and Sam contact the local police. Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers is perplexed to learn Arbogast saw a woman in a window, since Norman's mother died ten years earlier. Posing as a married couple, Sam and Lila check into the motel and search Marion's room, where they find a scrap of paper with "$40,000" written on it. While Sam distracts Norman, Lila sneaks into the house to search for his mother. Sam suggests Norman killed Marion for the money so he could buy a new hotel. Realizing Lila is not around, Norman knocks Sam unconscious and rushes to the house. Lila sees him and hides in the cellar where she discovers the semi-preserved and hideously mummified body of Mrs. Bates. Wearing his mother's clothes and a wig, and carrying a knife, Norman enters and tries to attack Lila, who is rescued by Sam.
After Norman's arrest, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Fred Richmond tells Sam and Lila Mrs. Bates is living in Norman's psyche. After the death of Norman's father, the pair lived as if they were the only people in the world. When his mother found a lover, Norman murdered both of them. Consumed with guilt, he tried to "erase the crime" by bringing his mother to life in his mind. He stole her corpse and preserved the body. When he is "Mother", he acts, talks, and dresses as she would. Norman imagined his mother would be as jealous of a woman to whom he might be attracted just as he was of his mother's lover. His psychosis protects him from knowing about other crimes committed after his mother's death. The sheriff also mentions the unsolved disappearances of two other young girls.
In the final scene, Norman sits in a cell, his mind dominated by the Mother persona. In voiceover, she explains she plans to prove to the authorities she is incapable of violence by refusing to swat a fly that has landed on her hand. The final shot shows Marion's car being recovered from the swamp.
L² Scored: 7/10 L² Comment:
I love horror film, especially the Black & White period, it always give u the spookiness... don't u think so? Rated as one of the most horrifying film in the history, Psycho has won a few awards. But i find the beat is a bit slow and Janet Leigh is not really having a lot of scene coz she was killed in beginning half of the movie. And i found Anthony Perkins is kinda cute when he is young :)
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