Very good...but not Hitchcock's masterpiece

Rating: 8/10 (23 February 2008)

Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) leaves town with money that isn't hers. She's driving to see her boyfriend (John Gavin) and run away with him. She stops overnight at the Bates Motel run by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and his cranky unseen mother...
I don't deny that this movie is masterfully done by Alfred Hitchcock--the direction here is incredible. The justly famous shower scene and the murder of Arbogast are still shocking. The music score by Bernard Herrmann fits the film perfectly too. It's all well-done...but I'm not crazy (sorry) about it. Maybe it's because of my first time seeing it. I saw it in third grade on late night TV. The shower scene was completely cut out as was the explanation at the end! I was totally lost. So I thought it was a stupid, pointless movie. It's neither of course but first impressions are hard to ignore.
This is one of Hitchcock's true horror films. It was made in black and white on a low budget with a crew taken from Hitchcock's TV show. Also most of the cast took a cut in pay just to work with him. No one thought this would work but it's now considered a classic. I like it a lot but I find some of the acting stiff (Vera Miles and John Gavin especially) and some boring sequences. Let's face it--we all know Norman is his mother so that sort of lessens the movie. Leigh is good in her role and Perkins is just incredible in his. He rightfully plays Bates as a shy awkward little boy--but you see the madness lurking inside him. A truly great performance that came far too soon for Perkins and (sadly) destroyed his career. It's worth seeing of course but I consider "Rope" or "North by Northwest" as being much better films. Ignore the stupid R rating this still carries--it would get a PG-13 today. Recommended.
"We all go a little mad sometimes." "My mother...isn't quite herself today."