You can’t say that Hitchcock didn’t think through the angles when he released Psycho in 1960. As you may recall, Hitchcock tightly controlled the promotion for the film. The stars of the now classic movie — Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh – didn’t talk to the media. Critics weren’t given private screenings. And Hitchcock put a firm “no late admission” policy in place. If you didn’t see the film from the beginning, you didn’t see it all. It’s a hardball approach that the director publicized in a video outlining The Rules for Watching Psycho.
But then there was a carrot to accompany the stick — a playful trailer (above) that gave viewers a light-hearted tour of the Psycho set. You know, the infamous Bates Motel. In the trailer, Hitchcock teases the audience, almost giving away spoiler details, but never quite goes that far. The cheerful music playing in the background comes from Hitchcock’s lost masterpiece The Trouble with Harry. And, it all ends with …. ok we won’t tell … but just keep in mind that what you see is not Janet Leigh. It’s actually Vera Miles, who played a supporting role in the film, sporting a blonde wig and looking like Janet Leigh.
Unfortunately, you can’t watch Psycho on the web, but you can catch 22 Free Hitchcock Movies Online.
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