ACTRESS REACTS to PSYCHO (1960) *FIRST TIME WATCHING REACTION* HITCHCOCK IS THE MASTER OF SUSPENSE

PSYCHO MOVIE REACTION! FULL LENGTH REACTIONS, EARLY-ACCESS TO NEXT VIDEOS: / callmeclariss
Phoenix secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), on the lam after stealing $40,000 from her employer in order to run away with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis (John Gavin), is overcome by exhaustion during a heavy rainstorm. Traveling on the back roads to avoid the police, she stops for the night at the ramshackle Bates Motel and meets the polite but highly strung proprietor Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), a young man with an interest in taxidermy and a difficult relationship with his mother.
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My name is Clariss and welcome to my channel! I'm an actress, makeup artist, and aspiring filmmaker. I wanted to create a variety channel that allows me to explore and showcase my art. I hope you enjoy the video, I know I've had fun making it. Have a blessed day!ll

[@callmeclariss]

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[@JoeSchwartz-yx3jg]

I believe they used chocolate syrup for the blood

[@JoeSchwartz-yx3jg]

Norman Bates is based off of a real person, Ed Gein. If you want react to how they caught Ed Gein. Buffalo Bill Silence of The Lambs and Leather Face Texas Chainsaw massacre was also.

[@GenX7119]

Alfred Hitchcock used chocolate syrup for the shower scene😂

[@GenX7119]

Also watch The Man that Knew Too Much; Shadow of A Doubt, Strangers on A Train

[@Ginza92]

I'm just wondering how old are you and when did you start acting? I saw your IMDb profile if that's you, and it said 2016 for your earliest work. You explaining what colors transition to black and white was very interesting thank you.

[@noirgatherer]

I’m sure others will tell you but the blood used in the shower was Hersey’s chocolate syrup.

[@GrosvnerMcaffrey]

I read that trivia in a book during the infancy of KZbin so....probably

[@markdenio4537]

Bosco's

[@kellygilbert736]

I just remembered chocolate syrup. Not the brand. But yeah.

[@ericpeterson6766]

@@GrosvnerMcaffrey so possibly untrue..

[@hebneh]

The technical people on the film chose to use Hershey's because it had just started being marketed in a plastic squeeze bottle; before that it was sold in cans. The squeeze bottle was very convenient to mimic blood being splattered.

[@zedwpd]

The girl taking the tranquilizers is Hitchcock's real life daughter. $40k back then is worth $403,800 today. 18 year old daughter was getting quite the house. And Marion stole much more than people think. Marion wanted to switch cars because back then the tags were tied to the vehicle and not the owner. Once the cop showed up there was no reason to go on with the transaction. Sandwiches and milk wasn't really for company. He said he was fixing himself dinner and she could have some. Everyone younger is weirded out by the "you eat like a bird". It means you eat little or daintily. It was quite a common saying and said as a compliment. Opposite of you eat like a pig. The first cinematic toilet flush in history was in this movie. They used the word "friend" in the 50-60s like we use the word "Bro". The studio made Hitchcock add the psychiatrist monologue because they didnt think they would understand why Norman killed. He didnt want to and said audiences are smarter than that. Most people dont get it until the monologue, so I think the studio was right on this one. Anthony Perkins was selected for this part because all of his previous movies he play the sweet boy next door and Hitchcock would use the audiences prior knowledge to his advantage. Plus Hitchcock somehow gets us to root for Norman. When the car stops in the swampy, everyone thinks, "oh no" but then when it continues to sink, the audience gives a sigh, not realizing that is sympathy for the bad guy. Anthony Perkins wife died on the plane that struck the Twin Towers on 9/11. They have two boys, Elvis and Oz. Arbogast is actually a real name with Germanic origins. The name means "bright guest" or "glorious guest," and it's derived from the Old High German words "ar" and "gast." Hitchcock liked the bird theme. From the movie, The Birds, to Norman's hobby, to Marion's last name. Hershey's syrup was used for Marion's blood. They tried other things, but it stood out the most on black and white.

[@dggydddy59]

People really don't know the phrase "Eat like a bird" anymore?? That surprises me but at the same time I suppose it doesn't surprise me. It actually is kind of interesting seeing the many things KZbinrs don't know. I saw one ask if drunk driving was illegal in the 90's a few weeks ago. I just thought, come on!! Sheesh!

[@ButtonDiet95]

@zedwpd thanks for the fun read! I love all the Psycho movies, but you just taught me a lot of new trivia!

[@zedwpd]

Here is some more for you. Leigh said the Hitchcock was controlling and ruined her career and that she had to endure weeks of being attacked by live birds. The movie was shot in 16 weeks. Leigh was only there for 5 of those weeks. Live birds were only on set for 5 days and they built in enclosure around the set to keep the birds in. If you went into the enclosure you knew you were filming with live birds. This nonsense about Hitchcock releasing birds on Leigh unexpectedly is just that, nonsense. Leigh was paid $500 per week for her 5 weeks of work. All totalled comes out to $25,400 today. She was an unknown before this and after this got plenty of work and also got to attach her name to a masterpiece we are talking about 50 years later. @@ButtonDiet95

[@dggydddy59]

@zedwpd It appears you're referring to Tippi Hedren, from Hitchcock's The Birds, and not Psycho's Janet Leigh. Tippi Hedren starred in two Hitchcock films and is the mother of actress Melanie Griffiths, who is the mother of actress Dakota Johnson.

[@MsAppassionata]

You forgot that she works in Phoenix, Arizona.

[@LockeDemosthenes2]

If anyone's curious, $40k in 1960 would be roughly $415k in 2023 money. So yeah, that's a ridiculous amount of money to have in cash.

[@manueldeabreu1980]

That means when Hitchcock paid the composer $17 K and then doubled it to $34 K after he heard the score he got a deal and a half even in today's money.

[@walterpanovs]

Notice how Marion's lingerie goes from white to black after she goes bad. BTW, Hitch shot this in B&W and on a low budget on the fly with some of the crew from his TV series. Turned out to be his most iconic film.

[@ink-cow]

The real scare is when you learn that Norman Bates is loosely based on real-life ghoul Ed Gein. Gein was an older, paunchy rural grave robber implicated in at least two murders. His hobby was indeed taxidermy, and more. He made lamp shades out of his victims. He kept one woman's skull in a box. He didn't become his mother by wearing her dresses, he wore her skin. Gein was also the inspiration for later, more gory slasher films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

[@free..to..air..]

Janet Leigh gets all the kudos in this film for her performance as Marion Crane..and quite rightly...but Vera Miles as her sister is every bit as good..and deserves to be credited more than she does...

[@bobmessier5215]

Vera Miles returns in "Psycho II", 20 or so years later.

[@theevilplaguedoctor6464]

to get killed :T@@bobmessier5215

[@bobmessier5215]

Anthony Perkins had been a leading romance actor in the 50's, until this film. It stereotyped him to become a horror star for the rest of his film career. He did several sequels to "Psycho" and directed "Psycho III". "Crimes of Passion" was perhaps, his most over-the-top performance. Vincent Price had a similar Hollywood career playing nice leading roles, until "House of Wax" in 1956. He too, became a horror film legend.

[@user-qj6fk9px8l]

the irony of Perkins being gay but being a leading romantic male actor in the 50s-60s. But becoming more straight in HIS late-50s, marrying & having kids. Love his great performances in _"Fear Strikes Out"_ & _"On the Beach"_ in his early movies. He did a weird one with Jane Fonda, that I only saw part of BECAUSE I CAN'T STAND JANE FONDA.

[@Greenwood4727]

Antony Perkins was in the only sci fi that disney made at that time the Black Hole. a criminally under rated movie

[@user-qj6fk9px8l]

@@Greenwood4727 THAT WAS A GREAT MOVIE. I liked Maximilian Schell in that movie.

[@Greenwood4727]

it was scary i mean wont spoil it but you know the parts i still remember it to this day. and its been years since i saw it @@user-qj6fk9px8l

[@anthonyleecollins9319]

He was indeed typecast. I felt sorry for him in Murder on the Orient Express, for one example. Terrific movie, and he's good in it, but his character is full of echoes of Norman Bates. On the other hand, I was lucky enough to see him on Broadway, in the play Equus, and he was amazing (and nothing like Norman).

[@DanGamingFan2846]

The iconic shower scene is one of the most shocking moments in horror history, with one of the most iconic scores ever. And the twist at the end is brilliant. This movie is a masterpiece.

[@ianrastall]

It was such a cool trick to kill off the main character one-third of the way in, and strand us with this new, sketchy character we'd just decided we didn't trust. That took real guts. The sense of loss in that moment is amazing.

[@brom00]

It's so interesting that in the film's most iconic scene, Anthony Perkins wasn't even involved. It was a stand-in that pulled the curtain back and welded the knife. Perkin's was away in New York working in a play at the time this was filmed. One has to feel for Perkins that his most famous role typecast him for life. He had to go out of the country to get a role that wasn't a mentally disturbed character. Thankfully he was able to enjoy spoofing that role after some time passed. My favorite one is when he hosted SNL in 1976. I was a skit of him promoting "The Norman Bates School of Motel Management", Seek it out.

[@toastnjam7384]

A lot of women became afraid of taking showers after this. Janet Leigh said in a 1984 interview "I stopped taking showers and I only take baths." "And I make sure the doors and windows of the house are locked". My girlfriend wouldn't' move in with me unless I change the shower curtain to transparent and this was 1988. And like Janet all doors and windows of the house had to be locked if I wasn't home. If I was home, I couldn't enter the bathroom while she was taking a shower. Enjoyed your reaction BTW.

[@Steve-gx9ot]

Lmao Wuy not just use a wooden wedge to block ylthe door from being opened while shiwerjng = muchbeasier Solutionplease use your " brain"!.....

[@stonecoldku4161]

The blood in shower was chocolate syrup. They would use chocolate syrup for blood in black and white movies because it would show up better on black and white film than other substances. "This murder was brought to you by Hershey's."

[@Artman1991]

You’ll wanna watch HITCHCOCK, the 2012 movie about the making of PSYCHO, starring Anthony Hopkins as the Master of Suspense himself. It also stars Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Toni Collette and Jessica Biel.

[@markdenio4537]

Excellent recommendation. That's a great movie. Love the end where he decides what his next movie will be.

[@michaelt6218]

There were three things that Hitchcock aimed for when casting actors. First, obviously, they had to be talented. Second, their natural personality should fit perfectly with the character they were playing so they wouldn't actually need to act much, just be themselves. And third, they had to say their lines on time, and most importantly HIT THEIR MARKS. Hitch was brilliant at telling a story with film -- carefully crafting all the shots, the lighting, the blocking, the editing -- and so he wanted actors who would follow his guidance and not rebel against it. What's interesting is how many players ended up giving the very best performances of their careers in movies directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Not only Anthony Perkins, but also Kim Novak, Doris Day, Robert Walker, and many others. While Hitch may not have been known as an actor's director, all you have to do is look at the results.

[@MsAppassionata]

I think that James Stewart also did some of his best work in Hitchcock films. He got Stewart to act against his usual type characters in films like “Vertigo”, and “Rope”.

[@thewiseoldherper7047]

Hitchcock also had a thing for blondes. If you notice most of the lead women in his movies are blonde.

[@davidstevenson1933]

@@thewiseoldherper7047 Definitely the 4th thing he was looking for - probably the 1st.

[@jimmybee4768]

Great reaction. I saw this movie shortly after it came out at the drive-in with my father, mother and 2 younger sister's. The shower scene was phenomenally shocking as was the main character killed so early in the scene. Probably not the best movie to take young kids to. I asked my father "is she dead?" He had a bit of a sense of humor and replied "I hope so". The psychiatrist explanation was necessary because people didn't know much about mental illness then. It was always caused by something that happened to you.

[@grifirnyc]

I got to see this back in the mi-80s, when the Intro to Film course would show films every other week that anyone could attend, and I went only having heard of, but never having seen, the shower scene. I was wrecked for the whole night afterward. Of course the twist at the end was great, but the thing I remember creeping me out the most was the final shot of Anthony Perkins with that quick, easy to miss fade into Mother. Two other films I remember from that class are the French film Diva and the Coen Brothers' debut film, Blood Simple. That last one had just recently come out and was a big deal at the school, because Frances McDormand had gone there (as has William H. Macy).

[@glennwisniewski9536]

Hey Clariss, you caught on to the birds right away. Good catch. There's more: Marion Crane (a bird), "you eat like a bird" line, "we scratch and claw" line, "she's as harmless as one of those stuffed birds" line, "they cluck their tongues" line, Norman unintentially "grounding" the bird portrait upon seeing Marion dead, there's Lila Crane (one more bird), rakes form tail feathers behind Lila in the hardware store. Hitchcock is teasing us, hinting at what's to come. People equate to birds in Norman's world and both can end up dead.

[@brandonflorida1092]

Hitchcock was a genius and he has many, many absolutely brilliant movies. Some have been reacted to on KZbin and some have not. A few I liked were: "North by Northwest" "Rear Window" "Vertigo" "Strangers on a Train" "Marnie" "Suspicion" "The Lady Vanishes" "Lifeboat" "Rope"

[@MsAppassionata]

“Rebecca”, “The Birds”, “Notorious”, “The 39 Steps”, “To Catch A Thief”, and “Shadow Of A Doubt”, to name a few more.

[@brandonflorida1092]

@@MsAppassionata Never cared much for “Notorious” of “To Catch A Thief,” but I'll go along with the others.

[@christopherb501]

A pity that HE himself was...not great...

[@brandonflorida1092]

@@christopherb501 Of course, you give zero explanation.

[@brandonflorida1092]

The blood was chocolate syrup and Hitchcock made the movie in black and white just to make this scene less gory. The style of Norman's home is often called California Gothic.

[@eblackwell]

Chocolate syrup for the blood. A Casaba melon for the stabbing sound effect. A black mesh mask was put over mother's face in the shower scene to make sure you could see no features. You probably learned that they built a special box to get all the different camera angles he wanted. And that this could have been done in color, but he chose to do black and white for effect. And very interesting is that he decided to use his TV crew instead of his movie crew to make the film. Since Marion dies halfway through the film and that's completely unexpected since she's the main character, they would lock the doors as soon as the movie would start so people couldn't come in late and then start talking about what happened. You also had to vow so to speak not to tell any of the secrets .it all served to make great marketing on top of it.I want around then and unfortunately knew all the secrets of this film because My family told me about it and how it terrified them. I saw it for the first time at a drive-in theater we have here a few years ago which was a wonderful place to see it. It was part of their Hitchcock Halloween special event. I also went through the universal studios Alfred Hitchcock experience which was wonderful. Even so as soon as the music started on the credit, I buried myself in a pillow fort and stayed there for the whole movie.😂 You might want to look up the Alfred Hitchcock experience here on KZbin because it is a wonderful way to learn different things about Hitchcock in general and about this movie.

[@conureron3792]

Also fabricated a special shower head to spray around the camera.

[@eblackwell]

They built the house and motel: "The Bates Mansion in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho was based on the 1925 painting House by the Railroad by Edward Hopper. Hitchcock was inspired by the painting. The Bates house is darker and surrounded by trees."

[@WJC981]

I can't stop laughing at Clariss telling Norman how to clean up a crime screen lol

[@carolpurcell4666]

Anthony Perkins did such a great job as Norman Bates that he was type cast and found it hard to find acting jobs in the US. He did some theater but….Norman made such an impression!

[@eblackwell]

21:20 Another great detail: Sam is writing a letter to Marion saying she was right. They can get through this rough time together of the money problems from his dad and ex-wife. He wants to get married right away. If he had just called her a couple days ago, none of this would have happened.

[@chalupa5777]

You are correct! They used chocolate syrup for the blood because the consistency is very similar.

[@michaelbastraw1493]

"I really think the hiding in the paper is a bad idea."" Edgar Allan Poe thought it was a good idea in his "The Purloined Letter." Best. Mike.

[@gordonhaire9206]

I was 17 years old when I saw "Psycho" in the Texas Theater in Texas City Texas. The scene I remember most is when the "mother" rushed out of her bedroom and stabbed Arbogast. Everyone screamed. The opening scene in the hotel room and the shower scene were risque for the time.

[@ryanfeit1420]

Anthony Perkins reprised his role as Norman Bates in two "Psycho" sequels in the 80's which were quite decent films and Perkins was the highlight in both of them. He has never been able to shake the Norman Bates role though and will forever be known for it. In 1992 unfortunately Anthony Perkins died of AIDS at the age of 60.

[@metalmugen]

The Psycho sequels are super underrated imo

[@Dylan_Platt]

Just recently saw a quote that Tarantino thinks Psycho II is a better film than the original. I don't necessarily agree, but I get it.

[@blindlemonpledge2556]

For more Anthiny Hopkind On the Beach, post nuclear war Australia, with Anthony Hopkins

[@dustinriddle7449]

Don’t forget about Psycho 4 1990.

[@garytiptin6479]

​@@blindlemonpledge2556PERKINS!!! The actor's surname was Perkins. Hopkins was the actor who portrayed another serial killer, Hannibal Lector, so your error was an understandable one.

[@atomikpunk6038]

Janet leigh, mother of Jamie Leigh Curtis who starred in the original Halloween movie as well as several of the sequels. The boyfriends name in Psycho is Sam Loomis. The doctor that tracks Michael Meyers in the Halloween movies is also named Sam Loomis.

[@Travis_D_Travesty]

Mother and daughter, where in H20.

[@christopherb501]

And boyfriend in Scream is named Loomis.

[@Ceractucus]

$40,000 in 1960 would be worth $400,000 today. When I first saw this, the only thing I knew about it is that my mom watched it with friend and the friend refused to shower for a month, sticking only to her tub. I saw it alone, at night with no idea what I was getting into. And I am the type that refuses to watch scary movies. It scared the crap out of me for sure. And still does.

[@laurakali6522]

Dial M for Murder is another great one.

[@yasser3268]

Fun fact: Janet Leigh is the real life mother of Jamie Lee Curtis They were theories saying that halloween and psycho are in the same world which explains both films have the same character named, Dr Samuel Loomis

[@DevlinDomini]

Saw this on cable in the early 80’s, so definitely pre-internet. Had the advantage of not expecting the seemingly lead character to get killed so early in the picture , so that was a genuine surprise for me. Was watching it with older people who had seen it and were watching me for my reaction. IRL “first time watching” . It seemed like such an old movie at the time, but suppose it was the equivalent of a 13yr old today watching something from 2001.

[@justindenney-hall5875]

My father introduced me to this movie, when he was a teenager he worked as a drive-in theater usher when it first came out.

[@GarthKlein]

You should watch the original trailers for Psycho. They contain a surprising number of what today would be called "spoilers." It has always been necessary to tell audiences something about the movie in order to entice them to see it. Additionally, movies toured from theatre to theatre for a long time to build word of mouth. Thought the publicity for Psycho insisted on audiences not giving the details away, I can assure you that every kid in my public school playground knew the story intimately, including the revelation of Mother. Great movies, like Psycho, do not depend on surprise but on great acting, great dialogue, and great directing. This means that you can see these films over and over again and appreciate it more each time. The next time you see Psycho, you might notice that every major character, and many minor ones, appear first through windows. Do windows represent picture frames? Is Hitchcock contrasting appearances with reality?

[@petercofrancesco9812]

Nice touch doing your reaction in B/W. You killed it. 😉

[@davidstone9624]

Knowing Norman Bates is the villain ....really gives away a lot.

[@johnnehrich9601]

"Gothic" in terms of many things is spooky but in terms of architecture, it is the architecture of the great cathedrals of Europe (with the pointed-arch windows), and a source of inspiration for Victorian versions - carpenter gothic, high-Victorian gothic, and so on. The name was given it in 1666 after the Great Fire of London burned all the medieval buildings. One the architects, Christopher Wren, wanted to insult the previous stuff because he wanted to introduce new styles from Italy - what he designed we now call Georgian (during the reign of the King Georgians) or colonial. In popular culture, it was three Germanic tribes which sacked Rome after its fall - the Goths, the Visagoths, and the Vandals. You can see where the term "vandal" comes from. In other words, Wren was trying to call the previous style as barbaric. The style of the house in this film is "Second Empire" or sometimes called "in the French mode" or vernacular, as "mansard," from the design of the roof. It was extremely popular for a decade or two after the Civil War and is considered one of the most Victorian of the many styles that flourished during this time. (Love historical architecture.) The roof actually allowed a full-height extra floor while still looking like a roof. Hitchcock designed the house (which I just found out is only quarter scale and only the front is there) from a famous 1925 painting by Edward Hopper, House by the Railroad. (Most people know of Hopper's famous scene of a night cafe with just one patron sitting at the counter.) Hopper based his painting on a house in Havestraw, NY, which I understand still stands. Charles Addams also used the Hopper painting as inspiration for the house in his Addams family cartoons, which via the tv and movie series, stuck with the family. The Psycho house still stands on the Universal backlot, and is seen in many Hollywood productions, often with trees and bushes arranged around it to mask its heritage. This house and the Munster family house was used in just about every Murder She Wrote episode, all depicting different murder scenes.

[@seank.9764]

Thanks for the architecture lesson. It was interesting!

[@Uncle_T]

The "blood" was indeed watered down chocolate syrup; some sources claim it was Bosco but most reliable sources seem to agree it was Hershey's.

[@112sje]

Glad you enjoyed it and it made you smile in places. I was only 13 when I first saw it. My Mum let me stay up on a Friday evening. I found it amusing at first but when Marion stepped into the shower she said we were about to reach the point where I wished I had gone to bed, and she was right ! At first I thought it was Norman trying to stop his real mother from killing Leila as I thought Sam wouldn't have regained his consciousness. I hope you review Psycho II one day as that has a few interesting twists. I seem to remember that Anthony Perkins also had a part in "Murder On The Orient Express" when Albert Finney played Hercule Poirot. You mentioned the "39 Steps". I enjoyed the remake of that when Kenneth More played Richard Hannay.❤❤

[@MsAppassionata]

The original 39 Steps with Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll was, in my opinion, the best version.

[@112sje]

@@MsAppassionata You might be right but the Kenneth More version was the first one I saw. There was one with Robert Powell as well where he was hanging off Big Ben.

[@anthonyflinn3305]

You are correct they used Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. Bt-dubs the clumping that you see is because they use the powder kind to achieve a thicker clotting effect

[@rama30]

For the stabbing sound Hitch took a seat and had people behind him stab melons, pumpkins and gourds. In the end he chose to use Honeydew Melons.

[@raymeedc]

Much of his “habit” of putting the composition of the framed scene above the dialogue likely comes from the fact that he began his career directing silent films.

[@gordonhaire9206]

If Norman had cut the page out of the registration book, he would have gotten away with it.

[@oliviawolcott8351]

$40,000 in 1960 is equal to 420,000 today.

[@eblackwell]

Thank you for showing what you needed to do for black and white films with your makeup. I had heard this but never saw it and didn't know you would still have to do it in modern times. It's amazing!

[@TheMarcHicks]

I always loved the description of "Suspense"-I believe by Hitchcock himself-as being the difference between showing people sitting around a table talking for 5 minutes before a bomb explodes and showing the bomb with its timer first, then cutting to those people sitting at the table talking. I've probably mangled the explanation, but hopefully that makes sense.

[@r.j.powers381]

The blood was chocolate syrup. Janet Leigh filmed for 3 weeks and spent one of those weeks in the shower. She spoke very highly of both John Gavin and Anthony Perkins. People were screaming loudly when the only major star in the film, Janet Leigh, died. This caused a near riot. And from then on people were talking abd warning the actors on screen. It shocked audiences. Critics first gave it bad reviews until the money started rolling in, then it was re-reviewed and received excellent write-ups.

[@sandbagger57]

Hitchcock paid Robert Bloch six thousand dollars for the rights of his book Psycho. That was based on Ed Gein the killer of Plainfield, Wisconsin. His story was made into many movies. Hitchcock was grooming Vera Miles to be his leading lady, but she became pregnant and couldn't do a movie for him. Then he dropped her. The movie was a sensation when it came out with people not admitted after it began.

[@Andrew_Thannen]

Fun fact: This movie is the reason theaters have scheduled showtimes. Before, you would by the ticket, watch the movie wherever it was in the story, and wait for the movie to start again to see the rest. Because Janet Leigh dies so early in the movie (despite getting top billing), Alfred Hitchcock gave the theaters specific instructions to the theaters not to admit anyone after it starts, so they wouldn't be potentially confused about where Janet Leigh was.

[@a3gill]

I heard Hitchcock talking about the money, but never actually acknowledge it as money. The only part that mattered to him was that she had a secret and would behave accordingly. It was interesting.

[@johnniekight1879]

Perkins got this role after playing Jimmy Piersall in "Fear Strikes Out" about a Red Sox who snapped under pressure from his dad. Jimmy was from my city. Waterbury Ct.

[@oliviawolcott8351]

the problem with a black light or luminol is that even if you used bleach or peroxide, the cleaning chemical will show so people will know if something was cleaned up.

[@TTM9691]

By the way, thanks for the great lesson in how different colors translate better to black & white! When you went to color and we saw your blue eye shadow and shirt.....that was priceless! It's often a little surprising to see the original color versions of clothing we only know from black & white films, and you demonstrated the reason why perfectly!

[@royalhighnessbirb]

If I don't misremember, I watched this for the first time in my teens. I was generally skeptical of older movies at the time, but I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. I remember getting invested in the story and feeling the tension. I even think I got jumpscared by the stair scene 🙈 Nowadays I don't care for stories about serial killers, but I still appreciate this movie.

[@MLJ7956]

Great reaction Clariss....Sir Alfred Hitchcock, as a director, was know by many audiences as the master of suspense (and for good reason). He has directed over 53 movie in long career and numerous episodes of his TV show 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'...my own personal top 20 Hitchcock films are - Vertigo,Psycho, North By Northwest, Rear Window, The Birds, Dial M For Murder, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The 39 Steps, Rope, The Lady Vanishes, Strangers On A Train, To Catch A Thief, Shadow Of Doubt, Lifeboat, Notorious, Saboteur, Rebecca, Marnie, Suspicion & Frenzy. By all means feel free to add them to your movie watch lists, they are all good ones. Psycho movie fun facts: That's my momma & what's in a name? - Janet Leigh (who played the ill-fated Marion in Psycho) is the real life mother of 'Halloween' franchise actress Jamie Lee Curtis and she even did a cameo in Halloween H20 (1998) with her daughter and drove the same color, make & model car that she drove in Psycho. Also the character of Dr. Sam Loomis (played by Donald Pleasence) in 'Halloween' (1978) is named after the boyfriend in Psycho (that was director John Carpenter's homage & tip of the hat to Sir Alfred Hitchcock). Good catch! - After the infamous shower scene, during the close up on Janet Leigh face, it was Alfred Hitchcock's wife who was the only one who saw, during an editing test screening before the film's national release, that Janet Leigh actually took in a breath of air when her character was supposed to be dead. None of the editors or Hitchcock himself saw that at first. He later took his wife out to dinner as a thank you for catching that almost film flub error. Bird vibes! - There are several references to birds throughout in this movie: the opening shot of the film after the starting credits the camera swoops down into the window, just like a bird. The city is set in Phoenix - the bird of legend. Marion's surname is Crane, which is a type of bird. Norman's hobby is mostly stuffing birds, because he says that they look most likelife stuffed and Norman even states that Marion eats like a bird. After the infamous shower scene, when Norman runs into cabin 1, he knocks over a picture of a bird off of the wall. Ironically, Alfred Hitchcock's next movie was, in fact, The Birds (1963). How low can you go? - Psycho was mostly made on a low budget (due to a dare that one of the studio heads said to Hitchcock, that he couldn't make an entertaining film on a low budget - because at the time most low budget movies/B-movies weren't very good) on the Universal studio backlot with the TV show crew (because Hitchcock need a film crew who could work fast & cheep as well as not have that glamorized Hollywood look that big studio films & professionals used). It was filmed in black & white (not just due to the overall cost of the film itself even though it was cheaper to film in black & white over color at the time. It is just the opposite nowadays), it was because Hitchcock also felt that the movie might look very gory in color and might get banned by the studio for such, so black & white it was. Only the exterior and a partial facade of the Bates house was actually built on the backlot (all the interiors were shot in a studio soundstage) and it still remain there today (and is still part of the Universal Studios Hollywood California tram tour). If you're late, you can't come in! - Every theater that showed this movie had a cardboard cut-out installed in the lobby of Sir Alfred Hitchcock pointing to his wristwatch with a note saying "The manager of this theatre has been instructed at the risk of his life, not to admit to the theatre any persons after the picture starts. Any spurious attempts to enter by side doors, fire escapes or ventilating shafts will be met by force. The entire objective of this extraordinary policy, of course, is to help you enjoy PSYCHO more. Alfred Hitchcock" & other cutouts even had the extra lines "PS - It is of the upmost importance that you not revealed many of the shocking points of interest within the movie of PSYCHO or of the ending to anyone and we mean anyone. Not to your family, to your friends, to your co-workers, even to the pope, the president of the United States or the queen of England. God bless her!". Thus creating one of the first 'spoiler alerts'. (Of course it was done in humorous jest to help preserve the audience's enjoyment of the movie and to not give away the fact that Janet Leigh, who was a huge movie star at that time, wasn't going to be in the entire picture and for anyone wondering 'where is Janet?' if they somehow missed the infamous shower scene). An angry letter! - After this movie's release, Hitchcock received an angry letter from the father of a girl who refused to have a bath after seeing Diabolique (1955), and refused to shower after seeing his movie. Hitchcock, sent a humorous note back simply saying, "Well send her to the dry cleaners then." What about the sequels? - After fears of being typecasted, it took Anthony Perkins (Norman) 22 years to agree make the (underrated) sequel Psycho II in 1983 (which was directed by Hitchcock student Richard Franklin & written by horror writer/producer/director Tom Holland - of Fright Night, Child's Play and Stephen King's Thinner & The Langoliers fame). It was Perkins who also convinced Vera Miles (who was retired from acting at that time) to reprise her role as Lila (Marion's sister from the first movie). Pat Hitchcock (who had a cameo in the original Psycho as Marion's co-worker) and real life daughter of Alfred Hitchcock, said her father would have enjoyed the sequel very much. Perkins would play Norman again in Psycho III (which he also directed in 1986) and one last time in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990), before his death in 1992. Psycho IV - was a both a sequel and a prequel made for the Showtime cable network (written by the original Psycho screenplay writer Joseph Stefano. It also featured Henry Thomas, Elliot from ET as a young Norman Bates, Olivia Hussey from the original Black Christmas as Norma 'Mother' Bates and it was directed by Mick Garris - Director/writer/producer of Critters 2, Batteries Not Included, Hocus Pocus, Unbroken, Stephen King's: Sleepwalkers, The Stand, Desperation & Riding The Bullet). Psycho IV sadly didn't get a theatrical release because Psycho III underperformed at the theatrical box office but for Psycho/Norman Bates fans, Psycho IV does bring closure/finality to the series and it is always enjoyable to see Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates one last time. The sequel movies are also worth checking out in my opinion. Ugh, Remake! - Director Gus Van Sant did make a shot-for-shot remake of the original Psycho in 1998 and in color instead of black & white. It uses the exact same shooting script with hardly any changes and much of the same exact dialogue is used too. It flopped big time and was a pointless gash grab said by many, including myself (beside since it is an almost exact shot-for-shot remake, you really don't need to see that one, since you already seen the original anyway, and although I like Vince Vaughn as an actor & I like him in other movies, I just couldn't see him as Norman Bates. That certainly didn't work for me at all). Best to avoid that one. An almost TV series! - A made-for-TV movie called 'Bates Motel' (no relation to the actual TV series later on), which was originally conceived as a pilot for a possible anthology TV series premiered on TV in 1987 and would have an alternate timeline, ignoring the events of both Psycho II & III (as it also did not feature Anthony Perkins at all as well). The basic plot is that Norman passed away in the mental hospital leaving in his will to his best friend Alex (played by Bud Cort), that he met in hospital, he left him his hotel and house, which may or may not be haunted by the ghost of mother Bates. And the location of the Bates Motel would also be the focal point of other spooky goings on (which might been the set up for 'Twilight Zone/Tales From The Crypt'/Amazing Stories' style anthology TV show but NBC decided not to make it a series). The film premiered as part of NBC Monday Night at the Movies on July 5, 1987 to mixed reviews from both critics and audiences (and I personally call it an 'Eh' movie. Not great but not awful. It's ok for a lazy rainy Saturday afternoon viewing if nothing else in on TV in my opinion. Up to y'all if you ever want to check that one out). It can still be viewed on various TV/cable network stations from time to time, it pops up on various streaming services periodically and the TV movie was also included in the Universal 'Psycho Collection' DVD/Blu-Ray box set. The other 'Bates Motel' was a hit - And of course there was a 5 season & People Choice Award winning 'Bates Motel' reboot prequel TV series which ran from 2013-2017 on the A&E network. Alfred Hitchcock cameo (in case you were wondering where Hitch was) - He's the man on the street corner wearing the cowboy hat just before Marion (Janet Leigh) walks into the real estate loan office.

[@Jeflar70]

It took Hitchcock and his crew a week to film Marion’s murder. The scene contains 70 different camera angles. When Paramount cut drastically Hitchcock’s budget to make the film, he made the decision to film it in black and white, using the crew of his tv show Alfred Hitchcock Presents to make the movie. These decisions meant he could produce the movie as he’d envisaged it turning out. So impressed was Hitchcock with Bernard Herrmann’s score (Herrmann had to persuade him to use the famous violin-screeches in the shower scene, as Hitchcock wanted it to be silent, bar Janet Leigh’s screams), that he got the composer’s pay doubled. Unsure as to whether or not the Mrs Bates’ corpse model was frightening enough, Hitchcock had it smuggled into Janet Leigh’s dressing room while she was absent. When he heard the terror in Leigh’s screams as she found it sitting at her dressing table, he knew it was fine. Simon Oakland, as the psychiatrist in the epilogue, refused to rehearse his monologue and nailed it in a single take in front of the cameras.

[@DZShark]

Hershey's cholocate syrup was indeed used for blood in this movie. Another interesting fact: the sound of the knife entering Janet Leigh's body was created by stabbing a casaba melon.

[@DR-mq1vn]

My Mom (89) saw it in 1960 with my Dad (he has passed away). My Mom said she was scared to take a shower after seeing this movie. Everyone was scared about taking showers after seeing it back then, she says.

[@Progger11]

I'm only in my 30s, so I wasn't alive when this was new. But I did watch it when I was very young (I think my parents finally let me see it when I was 10). So, a lot of it was still a surprise to me since I hadn't had time to really get the cultural priming prior to viewing it. For whatever reason my parents felt like they needed to tell me the twist ahead of time (perhaps not to disturb me--I was very impressionable as a kid), but I still felt a thrill anticipating what was to come. I just shared this movie with my own son for the first time this past summer, and for him I decided to make it interactive by having him guess after each act of the film who he thought the titular psycho could be and why he thought that. He didn't guess the twist! Haha. He loved it! His favorite Hitchcock so far is Rear Window. He loves James Stewart!

[@ibnteos]

With black and white film, a way to modify the density of the gray for certain colors, you can use color filters in front of the lens. For instance, if you want to darken the gray of a blue sky then you use a red filter. The thing to consider is that the color filter will darken oposite colors but lighten similar colors. Another example is to use a green filter to lighten foliage but it will darken reds and oranges. Filters also reduce light intensity so you need to open up the f/ stop. In movie film it can cause problems, so that's why the use of selected colors on the stage for the gray you want... like the Addams Family house, I believe the walls were done in pink.

[@donbrown1284]

Janet Leigh was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance, but Hitchcock called Anthony Perkins personally to say he was robbed for being overlooked. It is a stunning performance. He was most famously in FRIENDLY PERSUASION with Gary Cooper before this.

[@mothermayhem3255]

Approximately 64 yrs ago my parents saw this at the Big D Drive-in, Dallas Texas. I was "sleeping" in the backseat. The only part of the movie, I got to see was when Lila found Mother. Bit back the scream that was coming, would have gotten a good whoopin'. The 1st and best jump scare of the times.😊

[@TheBackLibrary]

William Castle (the master of schlock) tried to capitalize on "Psycho" with a movie called "Homicidal" around the same time. It's an interesting picture, which would probably be taken more seriously if it did not include the "Fright Break" gimmick at the end to allow audiences time to escape before the conclusion.

[@encrypter46]

Don't miss "The Bad Seed" , the original from 1956. Hardly anyone is reacting to it. I doubt that anyone who's seen it has ever forgotten it.

[@kinokind293]

Tony Perkins' performance when talking to Marion in the parlor should be required viewing for aspiring actors.

[@dchaz3.0dacan18]

Regarding the toilet. This was not the first movie to hear a toilet flush but to see one. The fist film to hear one flush was The Grapes of Wrath (1940) Enjoyed your reaction.

[@Theomite]

The "ghoulish" look of the house is a style called Second Empire Victorian (or Napoleon III style) from the 19th century and was a style heavily associated with the rich. It died out in the early 20th century after the Great Depression obliterated a lot of intergenerational wealth. The remaining houses fell into disrepair and became abandoned or ruinous and so their appearance, usually with angular roofing and gables, created an ominous look.

[@kinokind293]

A brief correction: the blood was "Bosco" chocolate syrup, a brand that was more popular then than now, although it is still available. Bosco was also used for blood in "Night of the Living Dead". Also in glorious B&W.

[@andrewschreiber112]

Love your reaction to this. One of the things that people don't talk about enough with regard to this film is the LIGHTING, which is incredible, all the way through, especially that incredible moment when Lila is confronted with Mrs. Bates' corpse, and hits the hanging bare lightbulb, creating that fantastic effect from the swinging light.

[@sifumagoo1776]

I appreciate the explanation of how different colours appear on a black and white film. I only became aware of this, because, as a guitar player, I kept seeing colours like TV Yellow, which is yellow, but looks WHITE on an old B&W film. I have no idea what other colours are affected. It's a forgotten art form.

[@bryanalexander7571]

I'm sure someone has pointed this out but it was Hershey's syrup in the shower water

[@bigbow62]

I love it when reactors ask chat / viewers to find out how much that money is worth today or a question about an actor when they could just Google it and we'd all know in five seconds ! Just found it funny 😊

[@christopherb501]

Literally everyone does that; too banal to have any novelty to me.

[@benjauron5873]

If you want to learn more about the behind-the-scenes story of "Psycho," you need to watch "Hitchcock," which is the biopic about Alfred Hitchcock, starring Anthony Hopkins, set mostly against the backdrop of the filming of "Psycho." Absolutely masterful movie, especially for film production wonks. Right up your alley.

[@weshaworth619]

The Bates Motel and Norman's house are both on the Universal lot. They are both part of the Universal Studios tour.

[@floretionguru2977]

I remember back when Psycho 2 came out in the 80s I was a boy of about 10 and was friends with the neighbor's girl who was my age- we were always getting into trouble. Once other neighbors went on vacation and we took all their garden furniture and put it in their pool and tried to have a tea party underwater. On another occasion we told our parents we wanted to watch Land Before Time or some other similar kids movie but had secretly hatched a plan to get up at the beginning of the movie and then go sit down in Psycho 2 that had started simultaneously. We actually succeeded and had a wonderful time as far as I can remember.

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

Anthomy Perkims did a GREAT job playimg another troubled character in the cult classic "Pretty Poison" with the beautiful Tuesday Weld. Well worth watching!

[@riel4553]

The Bates Motel show kind of dissolved any Mrs. Bates spoiler for this movie. Because she's alive on the show you never even think that there's no Mrs. Bates in the movie

[@tarzapopohead]

The Bats Motel series is one of the best origin stories I have ever seen.

[@theshakyproject2971]

When I was a kid in the 80s, I saw this film for the first time. I was (and still am) a big Horror fan and my parents would rent all kinds of movies for me to watch and provide me with a rich cinematic palette. Most kids would turn their nose up at anything in black and white, but I was already comfortable with the aesthetic, thanks to 12 Angry Men, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Night of the Living Dead, DOA, The Twilight Zone and I Love Lucy. This is my favorite Hitchcock film. It's wild that he used a TV crew and could have shot in color, yet the film's suspense and camera work feels so contemporary, like it was made yesterday.

[@erikagholston6610]

The house from the movie is at Universal Studios Hollywood. During Halloween Horror Nights you can visit it and take a picture with Norman on the porch.

[@william_santiago]

For a frame of reference, $40,000 back then was like half a million now. The "blood" is chocolate syrup. 🤣

[@richardbezila6495]

The blood was chocolate syrup according to the Universal Studios Tour… Also Janet Lee is Jamie Lee Curtis’s mother.

[@krisbrown6692]

$40,000 back in 1960 had the purchase power of a little over $400,000 today.

[@jollyrodgers7272]

Janet Leigh was so unnerved by the shower scene when she saw the finished product, she avoided showers, unless absolutely necessary, for the rest of her life - and when she did, locked all the doors and windows and kept the shower and bathroom doors wide open. That's Hershey's chocolate syrup utilized for the blood. It was shot at Revue Studios, where his TV show (Alfred Hitchcock Presents) was also being filmed, as it was independently produced and funded by Alfred. Probably my favorite Hitchcock film is TO CATCH A THIEF (Paramount Pictures, 1955), with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly (not long before she became Princess Grace of Monaco).

[@phdonnell]

Hershey's chocolate syrup for the blood! Universal Studios Hollywood used to have a whole Hitchcock show and the shower scene was one of its focuses.

[@MrGpschmidt]

Hitchcock's masterpiece and game-changer in horror films - killing off your main character 1/2 way thru the movie was unheard of and truly unsettled audiences (Janet Leigh, who was Jamie Lee Curtis' mom IRL, was a credited and famous actress at the time and it was a huge shock to see her die; while Anthony Perkins was a novice and it was unassuming to see him as the titular villain - this was his iconic turn (sadly typecasting him for his career but he wore this badge of honor with grace). Hitchcock was able to produce this on a low-budget by employing his crew and staff from his TV anthology showcase ALFRED HITCOCK PRESENTS and the notorious shower scene was shot in 6 days (I believe; he joked he and God had the same work load) and Leigh is not in the shower (they got a nude model to sub for her) but it had her to the point of never using a shower IRL ever again (!) Yep, they used Hershey's chocolate sauce for the blood (like you alluded to re: b&w verisimilitude) and the toilet flushing onscreen was a first too. Based on Robert Bloch's novel (who got inspiration from real-life serial killer Ed Gein whose story would inspire THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE & SILENCE OF THE LAMBS for their cannibalistic themes. Hitch's signature cameo is in a cowboy hat outside Crane's office. I also recommend THE BIRDS & VERTIGO, the latter is my fave film of his, starring James Stewart & Kim Novak. Fun personal fact: my dad saw this as a teen when it was 1st released and went w/his buddies from NJ to NYC to see it at a late-night screening (back-in-the-day they ran 24/7!) and when the shower scene played they got so shook that they knocked their collective Cokes and popcorn from their balcony seatings all over some dude far below :D LOL!

[@rama30]

I LOVE THE 39 STEPS!!! So many people have never seen it and that's a crime.

[@katiepooh2137]

Love this movie!! Me and my former preacher's wife of a grandma love watching it together!! Also, janet leigh is jamie lee curtis's mom!! ❤

[@emmashainheit]

anthony perkins is my favorite actor! one of my favorite movies of his is goodbye again (1961) with ingrid bergman ☺️

[@Fast_Eddy_Magic]

The way Norman cleaned up the crime scene was good enough for back then. Black light and DNA wasn't used until much later, so all you needed to do was a cosmetic clean up.

[@glen1ster]

32:54--as Norman's face fades out, you see a moment of a skull.

[@Webwyrm]

The blood was Hersheys chocolate syrup.

[@kenmercer8112]

didn't know about the toilet scene. 1960 didn't have CSI. as long as it looked clean, it was clean.

[@isabelsilva62023]

The score is from Bernard Herrmann, his final work was Martin Scorcese's "Taxi Driver".

[@TTM9691]

Although I didn't see "Psycho' when it originally came out, I saw it on TV in the late 70s. I knew there was the shower scene, that's all I knew. I remember my little brother figured it all out (but did not spoil it for me, his older brother! He went and told my mom. lol.) I love that you did a production of "The 39 Steps"! That's a good movie too! My favorite Hitchcocks (other than Psycho and Rear Window) are definitely "Strangers On A Train" (fantastic, textbook Hitchcock) and "Shadow Of A Doubt" (ditto). "Rope" is very impressive also, especially from an acting and filming point of view (he did ten minute takes with no cuts, I think there are like 7 or 8 cuts the entire film). Anyways, congratulations! You finally have this one completely under your belt! No one can say you don't! Let's see 'em try! 🤣

[@PhlintheartGloomgold]

I saw it when it came out in 1960. The most jolting scene was Martin Balsam getting stabbed. I've known a lot of women who don't like taking showers at night when they are alone.

[@mikeduplessis8069]

I looked it up, 40K in 1960 was worth about 10x what it is now.

[@rabbitandcrow]

Great reaction!Thanks! And so cool that you mentioned eyes. One of the things this movie is about is eyes - looking, coveting, spying, being blinded (Oedipus). And you can even go deeper with eye = "I" and themes of identity, etc etc. That's why it's a masterpiece!