This Day in Pop Culture for March 8

1960: Psycho Scares People Silly

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is considered one of the director’s greatest works and perhaps the most controversial. It was filmed on a low budget in black and white, was nominated for four Academy Award nominations and raised up a new “acceptability” for violence, deviant behavior and sexuality in American movies (oh boy!). Known for pushing cinematic boundaries, the film, which premiered on this day in 1960, was one of the first to show an unmarried couple in the same bed and a toilet flushing. At the time, Hitchcock instituted a “no late admission” policy for the movie. Since the movie’s main star is killed off early in the film, he was afraid that latecomers wouldn’t know what was happening. Anthony Perkin’s portrayal of Norman Bates was so good, that he had a hard time getting other roles to play then on out.