Serial Killers - Psycho I

     The idea for Psycho came from a man named Ed Gein who lived in the outskirts of Plainfield ,  Wisconsin. He did in his neighbors, mother, so called friends and others. By the way, Ricardo Gomez brought this to my attention. Anthony Perkins chose the name Ed in Psycho IV.

     It's a story about a man who runs a motel, (Bates Motel), in Fairvale , Ca. in the County of Kern. Probably in the Tulare region of Central Ca. Hitchcock chose Anthony Perkins to play Norman Bates, Janet Leigh to play Marion Crane, John Gavin to play Sam Loomis, (Marion's lover), Vera Miles to play Marion's sister Lila and others. Hitchcock's daughter also has a small part as an office worker at the start of the film. Her character's name is Pat.

     The camera focuses closely on Marion in the beginning as we see that she has a love affair that's going nowhere and cannot marry because of financial reasons. In the real estate office where she works she suddenly sees a large amount of cash, ($40,000), which intices her to steal it and take it to her lover, Sam Loomis. The real estate office is in Phoenix, Arizona which is a long drive from Fairvale, Ca. Nevertheless, instead of banking the cash, (all 100 dollar bills), she takes it and starts a drive to Fairvale, Ca. in her 1956 Ford sedan. Halfway there she decides to switch cars and stops at a used car lot, (California Charlie's), and is shadowed by a trooper, (Mort Mills), who suggests that instead of pulling off the road and napping, there are plenty of "safe" motels in the area. The first dark joke of the film. At the car lot she buys a 1957 Ford sedan for $700 and her car and she takes off in a storm for Fairvale.

           Notes:

                1. Film time - 11/59 to 2/60
                2. Cost $800,000
                3. Profit to Hitchcock - $357,000,000.
                4. Release to public - 6/60

to be cont.