New Associated With “Psycho”… Flashcards

Ed Gein

Murderer that inspired The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Silence of Lambs and Psycho.

Robert Bloch

• Author if the book Psycho 

• Created an Ed Gien- like character

• Created a nice character that the reader will identify with, and killed her halfway though for shock value

• The reader then roots for Norman, the only other character that they know

Alfred Hitchcock

• The most famous and successful director in the world

• Famous at this time for suspense films/ TV shows

• He was looking for something “different”

• MAIN reason he picked Psycho to adapt is because the  MAIN CHARACTER DIES HALFWAY THROUGH and the viewer is SHOCKED

Paramount Pictures

• They have Hitchcock under contract

• They told Hicthccock no because they thought no one would want to watch it, so he refused to pay for Psycho

• They REFUSE TO PAY for Psycho, they refused to pay for both production an advertisement

• They DO agree to distribute the film

Universal Pictures

Hitchcock builds his set at the studio

“Les Diaboliques”

• French Horror Film

• Director mandated that audiences had to see the film from the start or they could not be let in

• Hitchcock copies this tile for Psycho– 1st US film to mandate people show up on time

James Cavanagh

• 1st screenwriter hired for “Psycho”

• Psycho is a movie made up of 2 stories— Story A and Story B

• The only story that REALLY matters is Story A

  • Story A: Marion, Money, Motel, Meeting “Mother” and Norman, and Murdered (All the Ms)

  • Story B: Sam and Lila

• Fired for making Sam and Lila “important” characters

Joseph Stefano

• The second screenwriter of “Psycho” (He made it to the end)

• He was hired on a week to week basis

• He played the elements of Freudian Psychology

Sigmund Freud-

• Father of Psychoanalysis

• Issues as an adult stem from childhood

• We repress (push down) issues in order to live a normal life

• Oedipus Complex Theory-

  • Infant boy is capable of sexual desire

  • He desires his mother

  • He sees his father as a threat

  • Desire to kill the father & gat the mother to himself

  • When boys are socialized, they learn these feelings are wrong and repress the feeling and have a normal mother/son relationship

• Norman’s motive is Freudian in nature. Norman was never socialized— never realized desiring Mother was wrong and killed threat (mom’s boyfriend)

Anthony Perkins

• Plays Norman Bates

• Cast him to look weak and thin— does not look like a threat

• Regular Actor

Janet Leigh

• The star that played Marion Crane

• She was a star— easier to connect with her; we’d never expect her she’d die early on in the film

Vera Miles

• Played Lila Crane

• Had a poor relationship with Hitchcock

• Hitchcock hired her to be in “Vertigo” but Miles got pregnant and chose her baby over her career, which Hitchcock found very offensive.

• He stalked her career as “punishment”

Helen Hayes

• Hitchcock started a rumor that she was playing Mother so the press wouldn’t find out there was no actress for the role

Rita Riggs

• Makeup Artist

• Had to figure out how to cover Janet Leigh in shower and make her appear nude

• Moleskin was used to cover her body

Margo Epper, Ann Dore, Mitzi

• They are the 3 people used to portray Mrs. Bates

• Played physical Ms. Bates

• Anytime mother Moves it is moved, a different one of them played her

• 3 different sized people— meant to confuse the audience

Virginia Gregg, Paul Jasmin, Jeanette Nolan

• All 3 of them did Mother’s voice

• Anytime Mother speaks, their voices are blended together to get her voice

Geoffrey Shurlock

• Head of the Censorship Board in Hollywood

• Believed that they saw a nipple in the shower scene

• Ordered Hitchcock to remove nipple from scene so film could be released

• Hitchcock said he made the cut but never did and Shurlock was fooled

• Hitchcock filmed things he knew he’d never use to have bargaining power to keep what he did want in the movie

Saul Bass

• Storyboard Artist for the Shower Scene

• Intention of scene: The viewer should THINK they are seeing graphic violence but they will never actually see any violence (implication of violence)

Bernard Hermann

• Created the music for the shower scene  (and the whole film)

• Wanted to use the sound of “screaming violins”

Marketing Games (Advertising)

• Question: How do you advertise a movie with only $500,000?

1. Title of film– creates question and intrigues the view

2. He starred in the trailer for the film

3. He hoarded all the copies of the book Psycho, it became hard to find a copy of the book— Public Curiosity

4. Be on Time Rule— Created immediate Curiosity (Free)

5. Leroy Pinkowski case made the movie INFAMOUS–famous for something negative (he said the movie was so violent that it made him violent)

FINANCIAL INFO

• The whole Production Budget was $1 million 

• Advertising Budget was $500,000

• 30 day shooting schedule (everything was tightly/well-run)

• Made the movie in Black and White

• Only hired one movie star– budget