What Is the worst scene in the movie?
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ecarle — 9 years ago(February 05, 2017 11:29 AM)
The hotel room scene, the real estate office scene, the cop stop scene, the California Charlie scene, the dusk-til-night rainstorm with voices scene, the drive up to the Bates Motel in the rain scene, the hardware store first scene, the talk between Arbogast and Norman scene
and a few more. -
ecarle — 9 years ago(February 05, 2017 01:22 PM)
Interesting. I might add that I don't think Psycho is a movie in which EVERY scene is greator even supposed to be.
As an analogy to screen acting, Spencer Tracy( a great actor) said "I must not give the same power of acting to every scene. I do some scenes at a normal level of moderate commitment, and save my strongest acting for the big scenes that should have it."
But every scene has something of interest to you it, and every scene has Hitchcock's vision in it, all the way.
For instance, in the California Charlie scene, note how:
The cop across the street is viewed in the distance as an implacable object.
The camera moves with Charlie and Marion as she looks back at the copand then CHARLIE looks back at the cop(Hitchcock moving camera POV)
Marion walking along the row of cars to make her choice is intercut with the "travelling close-ups" of each license plate, until she picks "NFB."
How Charlie's smiling face drains down to no emotionand then extreme distruston Marion agreeing right away to pay $700. (Hitchcock called this direction to his actor, John Anderson, as "negative acting" or "draining the face of emotion to get an emotional effect." Charlie's change in face creates paranoia on the part of Marion AND the audience.
Upon Marion's driving away from the lot(after the unseen mechanic yells "HEY!" and scares all of us), California Charlie, the cop, and the mechanic "all line up" in a perfectly balanced, perfectly composed row of "suspicious males." (Marion's NOT going to get away with this, and the solidarity of the masculinity of her watchers is disturbing, in a "pack of males versus a lone female" way.) -
telegonus — 2 years ago(June 05, 2023 05:26 AM)
I think that all those scenes work (as I think you do, too
) in the context of the film as a whole.
Psycho
is a remarkably consistent and elegant "all of a piece" movie, and take away any of those seemingly less skillfully directed, written or acted scenes from that whole and the film isn't nearly as good (even the greatest of symphonies have their "slow" movements, and for a reason; and great novels, too, need things like lists, exposition, and the occasional flowery use of words, phrases that are like arabesques, to keep the wagons rolling,–works of art are seldom logical, or based on easy books of rules or technique; and genius makes its own rules). -
CharlesTheBold — 9 years ago(February 08, 2017 07:10 AM)
Also there's the fact that Sam apparently gets up immediately and chases Norman to the cellar in time to rescue Lila. Although I guess it took Norman time to put on his Mother outfit and that gave Sam the leeway he needed.
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ecarle — 9 years ago(February 08, 2017 06:25 PM)
Also there's the fact that Sam apparently gets up immediately and chases Norman to the cellar in time to rescue Lila. Although I guess it took Norman time to put on his Mother outfit and that gave Sam the leeway he needed.
Hitchcock reportedly worked with his actors and a stopwatch to give Norman enough time to run and get dressed, in many scenes.
For instance, when Arbogast returns to the motel, he rummages around the office and parlor for awhile before going up the hill.
We realize later that this gave Norman time to run up the hill(after seeing Arbogast drive up; he ran through an open passage at the L of the motel that Lila later uses for her climb to the house), run up the stairs, get dressed, and be waiting for Arbogast to climb the stairs(what great stamina Norman has, after all that uphill running he can still violent run out and stab a man.)
Picture Sam's "recovery and run" from his perspective:
Think of how long Lila spent going down to the fruit cellar two different levels and a long walk and the opening of doors.
During that time, Sam woke up(obviously Norman's blow was glancing, just didn't "take" which is very realistic.) And ran up to the house long BEFORE Lila started screaming.
Its possible that Sam SAW Norman heading into the fruit cellar in the dress and followed him down rather than being drawn by Lila's scream(which would be too late.) -
ecarle — 9 years ago(February 08, 2017 06:20 PM)
In my opinion the "worst" scene is when Norman knocks out Sam Loomis with an object (not even sure what it was). Something about the way it was shot didn't seem to be very believable for me.
I take your point, but Hitchcock tried a little "editing trick" here:
We see before the fight Norman desperately looking out the parlor window and saying "Where's that girl you came here with?" Norman AND Sam turn their heads to look in opposite directions its a weirdly balanced shot.
Then Hitchcock cuts to a very short shot of: Lila heading down the main stairs of the Bates House(as if to leave).
Then Hitchcock cuts BACK to Norman and Sam and the fight is already well underway. Hitchcock "cut off" the start of the fight. Norman and Sam are locked deep in struggle, have been for awhileand THEN Norman knocks him out.
With what I have always called "an ornate Victorian object." Now I think its an ashtray.
The "jolt" of the cut back into the Norman/Sam fight does "look funny" and it is an example of many "jagged edits" in Psycho that may have cost it a Best Film Editing Oscar nomination. WRONGLY.
BTW, in Van Sant's remake, he has Norman take a roundhouse swing at Sam's noggin with a golf club. That could kill a guy -
Melton1 — 3 weeks ago(March 09, 2026 05:45 AM)
I actually really like the psychiatrist scene. It’s compellingly delivered by the actor, it helps you to digest the revelations about Norman and adds important information about his other crimes - the
scale
of his insanity is revealed, and it builds suspense and makes us eager to see Norman one last time, knowing what he truly is (and the pay-off doesn’t disappoint). It also gives Lila some closure as she’s able to finally understand what happened to her Sister, the mystery was killing her.
Don’t mind Abergast falling, just seems like a stylised old-movie effect, like the fake backgrounds during driving scenes. Unconvincing but part of the charm.
For the most part I found John Gavin to be fine, although when he’s stalling Norman to give Lila time to search the house he comes on pretty strong and adversarial too soon. I’d like him to have been more chilled out and able to relax Norman before getting confrontational.
This isn’t a ‘scene’ but one thing that didn’t quite work for me was mother’s voice. I just don’t believe that Norman could sound so female. I needed to see Perkins speak in that voice to believe Norman was capable of mimicking an elderly woman so well. Feels like a bit of a cheat to use a real woman’s voice.