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Bad Words and Mockingbirds
Revisiting a classic film based on a classic novel
Having taught film classes for 35+ years, I’ve seen certain movies more times than I’ve made pots of coffee (and I make at least two of these daily). So, to amuse myself and stay fresh, I often look for details that I’ve not previously noticed.
For instance, we are privy to many interior rooms and bedrooms in Hitchcock’s classic 1960 film, Psycho. Only in two pf these inner sanctums, however, do we see a shower. One should be obvious; the other is found in Marion Crane’s bedroom as she packs for her trip. That shower — the spigot seen so clearly without any meaning attached, of course — precedes, anticipates, even foreshadows the one to come. Not all showers are equal or refreshing. But we do NOT see a shower in the un-respectable hotel room Marion shares with Sam — an afternoon delight only two weeks before Christmas. We see two doors, though: one presumably a closet, the other presumably a bathroom with shower.
Hitchcock is such a tease.
Never before have I wondered about why we see the door but no shower in that scene. And now I realize that though we go far into the Bates mansion later — seeing multiple bedrooms, halls, a kitchen, and of course the root cellar — we never see any form of bathroom, much less shower, at all. Since it’s a…