Film Series...Day 3

Today's film is the classic Hitchcock film, "Psycho." This is truly my favorite Halloween movie. It still scares me to death. What do you think of it? How do you like the series so far? Here's some trivia for you:

Oh, by the way, thanks so much to Closer to Lucy for my fabulous award!!!

--Considered for the role of Marion were: Eva Marie Saint, Piper Laurie, Martha Hyer, Hope Lange, Shirley Jones, and Lana Turner.

--Alfred Hitchcock bought the rights to the novel anonymously from Robert Bloch for only US$9,000. He then bought up as many copies of the novel as he could to keep the ending a secret.

--One of the reasons Alfred Hitchcock shot the movie in black and white was he thought it would be too gory in color. But the main reason was that he wanted to make the film as inexpensively as possible (under $1 million). He also wondered if so many bad, inexpensively made, b/w "B" movies did so well at the box office, what would happen if a really good, inexpensively made, b/w movie was made.

--This was Alfred Hitchcock's last feature film in black and white, filmed November 30 1959-March 1 1960.

--During filming, this movie was referred to as "Production 9401" or "Wimpy". The latter name came from the second-unit cameraman on the picture Rex Wimpy who appeared on clapboards and production sheets, and some on-the-set stills for Psycho.

--Janet Leigh has said that when he cast her, Alfred Hitchcock gave her the following charter: "I hired you because you are an actress! I will only direct you if A: you attempt to take more than your share of the pie, B: you don't take enough, or C: if you are having trouble motivating the necessary timed movement."

--The license plate on Marion's first car is ANL-709. The license plate on Marion's second car is NFB-418. The latter could be a Québec reference. NFB stands for National Film Board of Canada, the famous office in which Norman McLaren, Claude Jutra, Michel Brault and many others worked, and 418 is the regional phone code for the region of Québec city. Although the real regional code of the NFB is 514 and not 418, this could have been mistaken by Hitchcock, as he shot I Confess (1953) in Québec years earlier in the effective 418 area.

--The film only cost US$800,000 to make and has earned more than US$40 million. Alfred Hitchcock used the crew from his TV series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955) to save time and money. In 1962 he exchanged the rights to the film and his TV series for a huge block of MCA's stock, becoming its third-largest stockholder).

--Director Cameo: [Alfred Hitchcock] about four minutes in wearing a cowboy hat outside Marion's office.

--Walt Disney refused to allow Alfred Hitchcock to film at Disneyland in the early 1960s because Hitchcock had made "that disgusting movie, 'Psycho'."

--This was Alfred Hitchcock's last film for Paramount. By the time principal photography started, Hitchcock had moved his offices to Universal and the film was actually shot on Universal's back lot. Universal owns the film today as well, even though the Paramount Pictures logo is still on the film.

--In the opening scene, Marion Crane is wearing a white bra because Alfred Hitchcock wanted to show her as being "angelic". After she has taken the money, the following scene has her in a black bra because now she has done something wrong and evil. Similarly, before she steals the money, she has a white purse; after she's stolen the money, her purse is black.

--First American film ever to show a toilet flushing on screen.

--According to Janet Leigh, wardrobe worn by her character Marion Crane was not custom made for her, but rather purchased "off the rack" from ordinary clothing stores. Alfred Hitchcock wanted women viewers to identify with the character by having her wear clothes that an ordinary secretary could afford, and thus add to the mystique of realism.

--If you look attentively you can notice that nearly every time a driver gets out of his car he does so through the passenger side, a seemingly odd behavior. This is due to the bench seating in older cars, and Alfred Hitchcock's desire to continue the shot without either moving the camera to follow the actor or having the actor walk between the car and the camera.

Psycho--My Favorite Scary Movie of All Time

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you are all excited about this fun-filled weekend. I am feeling a little festive, and am looking forward to a night in with some scary movies, so I thought I would post on my favorite, "Psycho." How can you beat the soundtrack and creepy Norman Bates?

Hitchcock's "Psycho" changed the horror film industry forever. He was able to scare us to death without a lot of gore. Here are some interesting facts about the film:

1. Chocolate syrup was used for the blood in the original Psycho.

2. The sound effect used during the stabbing scene was actually the sound of a knife stabbing a melon.

3. Among the actresses considered to play Marion Crane were: Martha Hyer, Hope Lange, Lana Turner, Shirley Jones and Piper Laurie (who wonderfully portrayed the religious fanatic, Margaret White in Carrie [1976]). Janet Leigh (Jamie Lee Curtis' mother) ultimately landed the role.

4. Alfred Hitchcock received a letter from an angry father whose daughter refused to take a shower after viewing the movie. Hitchcock simply replied, "Send her to the dry cleaners."

5. In the "Peeping Tom" scene Norman Bates (played by Anthony Perkins) removes a painting from the wall to watch Marion undress. The painting is called "The Lock" by Jean-Honore Fragonard and illustrates a man about to rape a woman.

6. Psycho cost $800,000 to film and earned an astounding $40 million.

7. In the trailer, Hitchcock yanks back a shower curtain to expose a screaming woman. The woman is Vera Miles, who plays Marion's sister, Lila Crane.

8. The MPAA insisted on the removal of the term "transvestite" from the film, deeming it vulgar. They allowed it once it was explained to them that the term was not vulgar, but used to describe a psychological condition

9. During the filming, Alfred Hitchcock placed the prop used as Mrs. Bates' corpse in Janet Leigh's dressing room without her knowledge. He did this to test the fear factor of the prop.

10. Every time a driver exits a vehicle in the film, he/she does so via the passenger side door.

11. Unlike anyone before him, Hitchcock absolutely insisted that viewers be present from the very start of the film. In some theaters, a record was played, counting down the time left before the show commenced.

12. In the movie, Marion Crane embezzled $40,000; ironically, that is the exact amount of money that Anthony Perkins was paid for his performance as Norman Bates.

13. Hitchcock originally wanted the shower scene to be silent, but after hearing Bernard Herrmann's musical score, he had a change of heart. Hitchcock credits one-third of the film's success to the brilliant and compelling musical score and doubled Herrmann's salary.

14. When the film begins, Marion is seen in a white bra; Hitchcock chose white to symbolize purity. After she embezzles the money and is undressing at the motel, she is wearing a black bra; this was meant to symbolize that she was no longer pure because she had committed an evil act. The same effect was used with her pocketbooks in the film: prior to the theft, her purse was white; after the theft, her purse was black.

15. The 1957 Ford driven by Marion in the film is owned by Universal and is the exact same car used by the Cleavers in "Leave it to Beaver."

16. The woman who played Janet Leigh's body double in about half of the shower-scene shots was named Myra Jones. In a sad case of life imitating art, Jones was stabbed to death in 1988. Her killer? A mentally disturbed handyman who targeted older women. He'd murdered at least one other before her - that police know about.

Interesting huh? Have a great Halloween!!! See you tomorrow!