From its early scenes of self-censored sex in an anonymous hotel room; to Janet Leigh's cold pursuit of hard cash; to a cop-car chase shown almost entirely in a small rear-view mirror, Psycho is a study in chilling frustration, effectively photographed in varying shades of gray. Ironically, things only begin to warm up at the Bates Motel (a family establishment), where Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates brings into the film the first elements of vulnerable humanity. Norman is crazy (the others aren't), and his curious relationship with Mom is certainly one of the more intimate mother-son relationships around. Norman's vulnerability is somehow contagious; it rubs off on Janet, whose attempt to freshen up in the shower is fruitless. Those of us who, justifiably, have never forgotten this shower might be more confounded than comforted by Hitchcock's statement that Psycho was “made with a great sense of amusement on my part. To me it's a fun picture.” (JB)