Psycho

"A new and altogether different screen excitement!"

1960 1h 49m EN

🙌

8.4

BANGER

★8.4TMDB · 11,321

HorrorThrillerMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.

“A new and altogether different screen excitement!”

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Cast

Anthony Perkins
Norman Bates
Janet Leigh
Marion Crane
Vera Miles
Lila Crane
John Gavin
Sam Loomis
Martin Balsam
Milton Arbogast
John McIntire
Al Chambers
Simon Oakland
Fred Richman
Frank Albertson
Tom Cassidy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Joseph Stefano
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $50M — a 62.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

66 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Psycho Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, shot by John L. Russell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bernard Herrmann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Tomasini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh and Vera Miles carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alfred Hitchcock directs. John L. Russell behind the camera. Bernard Herrmann scores. George Tomasini cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $50M — a 62.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
366 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Part of the "Psycho Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, shot by John L. Russell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Bernard Herrmann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor George Tomasini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh and Vera Miles carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A new and altogether different screen excitement!".
10IMDB entry: tt0054215 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1111,321 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
12Classified under 46 themes, including "hotel", "clerk", "detective", "shower".
13Released under 47 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: John L. Russell
Original score: Bernard Herrmann
Editing: George Tomasini
Makeup / hair: Robert Dawn
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $806,947
Box office: $50,000,000
Return: 6196% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Psycho (1960)

Awards

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Psycho Collection

Series of American horror films, loosely based on the "Psycho" novels by Robert Bloch, which focuses on the deeply disturbed individuals who operate the Bates Motel.

Also by

Alfred Hitchcock

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2017-10-27
★ 7/10
Required viewing. Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time.
Wuchak2018-08-20
★ 9/10
“We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven't you?” A Phoenix secretary, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), embezzles $40,000 and rashly flees town, ending up at a remote motel in Fairvale, California, where she encounters the eccentric Mama’s boy Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Mixed into this web is a private investigator (Martin Balsam), Marion’s sister (Vera Miles) and Marion’s secret beau (John Gavin). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on Robert Bloch’s book, “Psycho” made a huge impact when it was released in 1960. It contains a plot development that was groundbreaking at the time shared by England’s “City of the Dead” (aka “Horror Hotel”), which went into production six weeks earlier than “Psycho” and was released in the UK at the same time, but not in America until 2 years later. While they’re both good, “Psycho” is way superior. It was followed by three sequels (1983, 1986 and 1990), the last being a semi-prequel, all starring Anthony Perkins as Norman with Vera Miles returning for the first one. One thing I don’t like is that it was shot in B&W. Check out the sequels and the 1998 remake to observe the same settings in living color. The film runs 1 hour, 49 minutes and was shot primarily at the backlot of Universal Studios, Universal City, California, with other parts in Los Angeles & Gorman, California, and Phoenix, Arizona. GRADE: A
tmdb569370922019-12-11
★ 10/10
My most favourite film from the master of suspense. This psychological horror is widely considered to be the first ever slasher film. Powered by great performances from Anthony Perkins & Janet Leigh, and the outstanding score by Bernard Herrmann which adds such great tension throughout the film, it is unarguably the greatest thriller ever made. Only Alfred Hitchcock could make a film so entertaining and so horrifying at the same time. The climax continues to haunt me forever.