Psycho 1960

Psycho is a 1960 American horror film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The screenplay, written by Joseph Stefano, is based on the 1959 novel by Robert Bloch. The film stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, and Martin Balsam. The plot centers on an encounter between on-the-run embezzler Marion Crane (Leigh), shy motel proprietor Norman Bates (Perkins), and his disturbed mother. A private investigator (Balsam), Marion's lover Sam Loomis (Gavin), and her sister Lila (Miles) investigate Marion's disappearance. Psycho was seen as a departure from Hitchcock's previous film, North by Northwest (1959), as it was filmed on a small budget in black-and-white by the crew of his television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Initially the film divided critics due to its controversial subject matter, but audience interest and outstanding box-office returns prompted a major critical re-evaluation. Psycho was a massive commercial success; with a budget of US$806,947 (equivalent to $8.8 million in 2025), the film earned $50 million (equivalent to $544 million in 2025) at the box office worldwide, not including the revenue from rentals.