Cut ! Damn it Janet you blinked...

[rogerballard]

Just home from work, Halloween fun.. Could you imagine, sitting in an audience in 1960, 1961 1962 and seeing this? Besides the shower scene, this still disturbs me to this day.

[longship]

1. Skree, Skree, Skree, Skree, Skree!

Dun-Dun-Dunnnn!

Sorry. Couldn't help myself. I am just a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann.

Here:

[rogerballard]

2. No Problem!

Hitchcock and Herrmann, like Rodgers and Hammerstein. Good video, not going to shower for the next 3 days.

[longship]

3. No charge, my friend.

My favorite Herrmann score is North by Northwest. The opening titles alone show you that you are about to see something astounding. No plot whatsoever, but a helluva ride.

And don't get me started about Vertigo.

The nightmare:

The reveal: (astounding scene)

Bernard Herrmann was a genius.

[rogerballard]

4. Love them all....

Herrmann was beyond genius as with most composers...

[rogerballard]

10. You may already know this ...

Tad bit of trivia, Lester Townsend the character who was stabbed in the United Nations scene was played by Philip Ober who was at one time married to Vivian Vance.

[longship]

14. I knew he was played by Philip Ober.

But had no idea that he was married to Vivian Vance.

Good trivia point!

Thanks!

[keen observer]

6. Bernard Herrmann was inspired by Shostakovich String Quartet No. 3

[longship]

15. I love Shostakovich, too.

The string quartets that I have heard are simply wonderful.

Thanks. Did not know of this parallel. It helps ground what Herrmann was trying to accomplish here.

[sarge43]

5. Herrmann could also do lushly romantic

He considered this his favorite.

[rogerballard]

11. Great cast...

To be honest, I have never seen this movie, after viewing and hearing the clip I probably should, I do remember the TV series with Hope Lange and loved it as a kid. What's not to like about Hope Lange?

[sarge43]

17. I recommend it.

It's part of my collection - one of the forgotten gems of the post war era.

Yes, perfect casting

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. There's a documentary about that scene called 78/52

78 shot set ups and 52 cuts. Just for that single scene.

[edbermac]

8. Balsam's murder is just as scary.

And the irony of the movie is that the trailer Hitch made is funny as hell.

[longship]

16. The trailer gives too much away. As usual.

The shock of Psycho is that the star in the first portion is dead before the halfway point of the film. Nobody expected that who hadn't seen this trailer.

Psycho certainly rates as one of Hitchcock's greatest films. But he had so many greats in the fifties it is very difficult to pick one as the top.

* Strangers on a Train
* Rear Window
* Vertigo
* North by Northwest
* Psycho

Each has its own qualities. I suspect that one has to take these as an epitome of the life work of an absolute master.

For earlier works, check out:
* The 39 Steps
* The Man Who Knew Too Much (The version without Doris Dog singing that horrible song!)
* Rebecca (OMFG! What a great film!)
* Sabateur (The first in Hitch's romances with climaxes at national monuments.)
* Shadow of a Doubt (Joseph Cotton! Another great flick.)

Enjoy!

[Rhiannon12866]

9. I saw it on the big screen when the film society screened it during college

I remember one girl screamed at the very worst moment. I couldn't take a shower for years.

[rogerballard]

12. Lucky you !

I would LOVE to see this on the big screen, as well as so many others to numerous to mention here

[Rhiannon12866]

13. I also saw The Wizard of Oz which was very cool

Since on the big screen I saw so much that I'd missed seeing it on TV countless times! We had more than one film society at my college and they showed some terrific - and classic - movies over a three day weekend every week. I agree, it was a definite improvement over seeing them on TV.