11 Interesting facts about Alfred Hitchcock’s classic ‘Psycho’

These fascinating facts about ‘Psycho’ will make you crazy!

Alfred Hitchcock’s timeless classic ‘Psycho’ (1960) is considered as one of the best psychological horror thrillers of all time. The movie revolves around a psycho man and his mysterious behaviour. ‘Psycho’ is full of suspense, thrills, mystery and drama. While the production design and cinematography make it visually stunning, the background music and sound designing make the film more effective and impactful. The film is terrifying at several moments and the climax scene will literally leave you awestruck.

Here are some interesting facts about the film.

1. ‘Psycho’ is the first American movie that shows a toilet flushing on the screen.
2. Hitchcock used to make cameo appearances in almost each of his films and ‘Psycho’ is not an exception. In ‘Psycho’, he is seen standing in a cowboy hat, outside the office building.
3. It is the most commercially successful movie in Hitchcock’s career. In its first theatrical release, ‘Psycho’ made a collection of 32 million US dollars at the North American box office.
4. Anthony Perkins, who played Norman in the film, said in an interview that his childhood was kind of similar to that of Norman.
5. The blood you see in the shower scene in the bathroom, is actually chocolate syrup.
6. One of the reasons why Hitchcock shot the film in black and white, is that he wanted to make the production budget as less as possible. The whole film was made under 1 million dollars.
7. The movie is based on a novel by Robert Bloch. The novel was inspired by the real life story of a serial killer named Ed Gein.
8. Hitchcock made sure that the ending should be kept secret from the people. He bought as many copies of the book as he could and even made the whole cast to take a swear that they wouldn’t leak any information outside.
9. Initially Hitchcock wanted to use jazz in the film’s score, but later Bernard Herrmann made the score with only stringed instruments. The score became hugely popular and it gives us goosebumps even after so many years.
10. At every movie theatre that showed this movie, there was a cardboard that read,”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.”
11. ‘Psycho’ was the fifth and final time that Hitchcock received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director.

‘Psycho’ is a masterpiece in true sense. It’s equally popular even after 60 years since its release.