When it was released in 1960, Psycho was one of the most controversial films of the day,
thanks in part to the surprising (for the time) depictions of violence and sexuality
it contained.
In an effort to keep spoilers to a minimum and thus ensure audiences were as surprised
as possible by the film's more shocking twists and scenes, Hitchcock went to some rather
extreme lengths to keep the film's basic plot a secret.
For starters, one of the first things Hitchcock did after reading the original 1959 novel
the film was based on- Psycho, by Robert Bloch- and deciding that he just had to adapt it
to film, was charge his assistant with purchasing as many copies of the book as possible to
keep it out of public hands.
Exactly how many copies Hitchcock managed to get his hands on isn't known, but it is
generally thought that he came reasonably close to purchasing every copy on the shelves
at the time.
This must have been nice for Bloch, at least financially, who not only got a little over
$9,000 (about $71,000 today) for the movie rights to the novel, but a nice payout for
all the extra copies Hitchcock purchased.
Although Hitchcock was positively enamoured by the novel's twists and shocking content
(which was partly inspired by the killings of Ed Gein, who also inspired the Texas Chainsaw
Massacre movies) Paramount Pictures weren't.
They particularly didn't like the fact that Hitchcock's contract with them only guaranteed
he'd do one other film for them.
They did not want it to be Pyscho.
To try and dissuade Hitchcock from pursuing the film any further, executives more or less
attempted to halt production at every turn, which only strengthened the director's resolve.
For example, the studio refused to give Hitchcock his usual budget, offering him just shy of
a million dollars instead of the $3 million and change they'd given him for his previous
film, North by Northwest.
Rather than scrap the project, as they hoped, a defiant Hitchcock decided instead to simply
film the movie using a television crew mostly borrowed from his show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
and shoot the entire thing in black and white.
Hitchcock also managed to secure the film's main two actors, Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins,
for a fraction of their usual fees saving tens of thousands of dollars.
He also, as a demonstration of his faith in the project, turned down his normal pay and
instead very wisely opted for a percentage of the film's ultimate returns, reportedly
at a whopping 60%.
In a further attempt to get him to scrap the project in favour of something they deemed
better to complete his contract with them, Paramount Pictures told Hitchcock their sound
stages and other such needed equipment were completely booked, even though they weren't.
Again, Hitchcock was undeterred and moved production over to Universal Studios.
On that note, Paramount's unwillingness to commit to the film inadvertently led to their
rivals, Universal Studios, making a decent bit of money.
You see, after filming wrapped, Universal got to keep the Bates Motel set, which became
a big draw for fans taking a tour of the studio lot.
In any event, ultimately Paramount gave in and green-lighted the project, though at this
stage not nearly as involved in it as they'd normally have been.
This proved to be a boon to Hitchcock as he was free from executive meddling.
It also allowed him to film on what was essentially a closed set, helping to insure that no details
of the plot leaked.
To further make sure of this, Hitchcock made every member of the cast and crew promise
that they wouldn't talk about the film, its plot, or twists- rumor has it by making each
and every one of them say in front of him "I promise I shall not divulge the plot of
Psycho".
Even after the film was finished, Hitchcock barred both Leigh and Perkins from giving
any interviews concerning it, instead choosing to promote the film almost entirely by himself.
To avoid giving away any potential details about the plot, Hitchcock promotional efforts
focused wholly on alluding to the film's shocking twists and content, without giving away any
details.
For instance, he sent a guide to theatres instructing them what to do in the event someone
had a heart attack while watching the film.
This is something Hitchcock would later double down on at initial screenings by hiring "nurses"
to stand around theatre lobbies.
Hitchcock also took out a number ads in the lead up to the film's release that merely
featured an image of himself pointing sternly at his watch with a statement that said nobody
who turned up to the film late would be permitted to see that showing of it.
Other ads, and even a clip at the end of the film, featured an image of Hitchcock encouraging
those who watched it not to spoil the film for others saying things like,"After you see
Psycho, don't give away the ending, it's the only one we have." and "If you can't keep
a secret, please stay away from people after you see Psycho."
The final means with which the plot could potentially be spoiled early was with movie
critics.
As such, Hitchcock didn't allow critics to see an advanced copy, suggesting instead that
they watch it on release day like everybody else.
Annoyed critics generally responded by savaging the film and, as Hitchcock had suspected they
would, giving away plot points he'd tried so hard to protect in their rushed, release
day reviews.
For example, in their 1960 review of the film, Variety mentioned that the film contained
several "graphically-depicted knife murders".
After the film was a smashing success with the public, many of the critics who'd initially
called the film a schlock, bravely changed their opinion and began referring to it as
a masterpiece of cinema.
Paramount similarly forgot all about how they'd initially tried to can the film before production
began and heroically tried to ride Hitchcock's coattails after the film proved to be one
of the most profitable they'd ever produced up to that point, grossing about $32 million
(about $252 million today) in its initial run off the ultra-tight budget they'd given
Hitchcock.
Bonus Fact: • When it was released, Psycho was somewhat
controversial for containing a number of things that weren't deemed "acceptable" by the notably
prudish standards of the day, including a shot of an unwed man and woman in bed together,
a shot of an uncovered female bottom (which belonged to Janet Leigh's body double and
was censored in some versions) and perhaps most hilarious, an image of a toilet being
flushed.
In fact, Psycho is thought to be the first movie where a toilet is shown being flushed.
The momentous flushing took place just before Janet Leigh’s character takes a shower and
subsequently gets stabbed to death.
Another controversy was over Janet Leigh’s breasts.
Although there's never actually any frontal nudity present in the film, when censors first
viewed a cut of the film, an argument broke out about whether it was possible to see Janet
Leigh's breast during the shower scene.
Hitchcock told the censors he'd edit the scene.
A few days later, he sent the exact same cut to censors , but this time they didn’t complain.