The Studio Sabotaged 'Psycho' And The Fact That It Was Made Is Miraculous

Left: Alfred Hitchcock in a publicity photo for 'Psycho.' Right: Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. Source: IMDB

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is one of the most claustrophobic thrillers of the 20th century, and it features easily the most famous shower scene in film history. Considered to be one of the highlights of Hitchcock’s career, Psycho is one of those films that you just have to see. Even though the film made a truckload of money at the box office upon its release, its distributor, Paramount, had zero faith in the source material or in Hitchcock’s directing.

Keep in mind, Psycho was far from Hitchcock’s first movie. He pitched the idea to Paramount after the back-to-back success of Vertigo and North by Northwest. He was more than 35 years into a career filled with hits made from odd character studies and the studio just didn’t think people would like the movie. Hitchcock believed in the story so much that he made the movie on his own dime and turned the financial setbacks into one of his most inspired films.