And so opens the delightful original 1960 preview of coming attractions for the famous shocker from The Master of Suspense. Hitch was also a major television star and this teaser film (with not one frame from the actual feature movie) plays up his mischievous persona as he strolls through the ''Psycho'' house, the Bates Motel murder scene, and the bahhthrooms, piquing our curiosities. He tells us nothing, of course, but it's nice to see the well-mannered director playful, even dawdling to look in the toilet, a definite, intentional irritant to the Paramount studio and Hollywood censors of the day.
A trivia item concerning the movie trailer: In the shower, that is not the person who bathes in "Psycho," Janet Leigh. Instead, co-star Vera Miles, under personal contract to producer Hitchcock, was coerced into the tub. Considered a comedown for the actress, he used her to save money and, reportedly, to inflict a personal insult. Seems he was still miffed over the pregnancy which forced Miles out of "Vertigo," a film he had intended for her, not Kim Novak.
Watch: Alfred Hitchcock's ''Psycho'' Trailer Tour @ YouTube
