Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO!!

PSYCHO; 1960;  Studio:  Paramount;  Director:  Alfred Hitchcock;  Cast:  Anthony Perkins,  Janet Leigh,  John Gavin, Vera Miles, Martin Balsam.

The Master of Suspense helped to inspire a new era in horror film making with this economically produced thriller,  based on a 1959 novel by Robert Bloch partly inspired by the real-life story of murderer Ed Gein.  Hitchcock saved money by shooting the film in black and white with his television series’ crew.  The result made pop culture history with the magnetic madness of Norman Bates (Perkins),  an iconic house that still stands on the Universal Studios lot,  a shocking twist ending,  and an unforgettable shower scene with Janet Leigh that remained with her for the rest of her life;  in interviews, she claimed that she took baths from that point on.

The film also spawned a franchise that includes three sequels (all starring Perkins, who also directed the second sequel),  an infamous shot-for-shot remake in 1998,  a TV-movie spin-off,  and a successful television prequel series that ran five seasons.  “We all go a little mad sometimes.”

Appreciation for the expert commentary on “PSYCHO” above goes to Dr. Arnold Blumberg.  THANKS DOC!!  Doc is an educator, publisher, author, comic and pop culture historian, and former museum curator.  He was the editor of The Overstreet Comic Book Price guide and teaches courses in everything from comics to zombies to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Find him on Twitter @DoctoroftheDead.