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A Famous Photograph: Hitchcock Holding a Clapper on the Set of Psycho

posted 2 years ago by ecarle (14979)
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Stephen Rebello's book "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho" is one of the great books about the making of a movie ever written. I think it set the standard for other such books -- including a subcategory of "Making of Hitchcock movie" books: Vertigo, Marnie, Frenzy.

One of the interesting claims in the book is that Hitchcock refused to allow the unit photographer to take photos of "key scenes" in Psycho. Evdiently, the photographer begged Hitchcock to let him photograph these scenes "for posterity" -- but Hitchcock wanted no leaks of the big shocks or twist in Psycho to get out via photographs.

Looking at the production stills for Psycho seems to bear this out. There are stills are Norman on the porch talking with Marion; Norman in the office talking to Arbogast; Norman in the office talking to Sam and Lila. One shot of the highway cop scene(a bit of crime thriller stuff here -- the money.)

Rebello's contention is belied that we have ONE (and only one) shot of Hitchcock standing outside the famous shower(no water running) and directing Janet Leigh within it. That must have given away something. It also could be used to refute Saul Bass's statement that HE directed the shower scene (or does it? Bass said Hitchcock was THERE, but allowed him to actually direct the shots. Hmm.)

No shots of Arbogast in the foyer or on the staircase. Indeed, poor Martin Balsam seemed to merit only three photographs of his work -- two on set, one posed for the studio -- and only ONE of those really has survived (Arbogast in the office with Norman.) The other two -- Arbogast on the porch with Norman and Balsam sitting in a chair with a cigarette -- are hard to find.

(Gus Van Sant, bless him, gave William H. Macy a few photographs for the Psycho remake of note -- one has Macy indeed standing at the bottom of the stairs in trepidation, the other has Macy performing a bit cut from both the original Psycho and the Van Sant: Arbogast flipping the OPEN sign to CLOSED in Loomis Hardware.)

Balsam wasn't invited the day that Leigh, Gavin, and Miles all posed for some "1960 cheesy" group shots in fear of a rocking chair. (Leigh and Miles don't appear together in the movie -- Leigh's too dead when Miles shows up, but seeing them together here feels historic.)

Anthony Perkins posed alone for all manner of evocative shots. The one with his hand over his mouth and the other hand outstretched, became famous, but there are plenty of other famous ones: standing under the owl, one in his jacket with his arms wrapped around himself(this became the TV Guide photo for showings of Psycho.)

And then there was the biggest star of Psycho: Alfred Hitchcock. That year at least(1960, thanks to the TV show and recent movies.) With that cast at least(Hitchcock didn't have to print a lotta shots of Cary Grant.)

Hitchcock was photographed on set with Janet Leigh(in Marion's bedroom and in Cabin One), with Perkins(ALSO in Cabin One, plus near the swamp), with Miles (in NORMAN's bedroom up at the house.) To see Hitchcock inserted into these famous fictional scenes is rather weird -- he becomes a PART of Psycho in those rooms with those stars.

Hitchcock was also photographed by, and in, a canvas Director's Chair marked "MRS. BATES." Ah, how clever for posterity.

But for all of those photos, the one of Hitchcock on the Psycho set that became MOST famous seems to have been a bit of a "well-staged lark."

Hitchcock is standing alone, in the Bates Motel office set. He holds the actual "clapper" being used to mark the film being shot that day for later editing. The clapper has some words and numbers printed, others "chalked in" for temporary use:

"PSYCHO" 9401
DIR. MR. HITCHCOCK
CAM. J.RUSSELL
1-29-60 DAY: (Blacked out)
TR 8/ 6

Hmm. Content-wise, I can't say I know EXACTLY all the information being imparted. 9401? Is the the production number? The 9, 401st flim to be made at Paramount? Or at Universal(where the soundstage is.)

TR 8? 6? Scene 8? Take 6? I have no idea.

The DAY is blacked out. I know this: it was late in the production, perhaps over schedule.

And the day is now "locked in" for film history. On January 29, 1960, Alfred Hitchcock stood on the set of a movie called Psycho and did his job. He --and we -- could have no idea how that day's work would reverberate over the decades, from one century into the next.

CONT

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

Rebello's book notes that production on Psycho began with a bit of late November shooting, then all of December 1959, then all of January 1960, with a bit of "mop up" filming in early February 1960. Marion was killed in the shower in the week leading up to Christmas 1959. Arbogast was killed on the stairs mainly on January 19, 1960. (Thus one victim was killed in the 50s and the other in the 60s.)

On January 29, Hitchcock seems to have been filming Norman meeting Sam and Lila at the desk. There is a shot from behind of Hitchcock directing Perkins, Miles, and Gavin; another shot of a burly make-up man in a short sleeved shirt touching up Miles' face at the motel desk, and a staged production still of Norman, Sam and Lila across the desk from each other.

I suppose on January 29, Hitchcock felt he wasn't filming much of a consequential scene so photos could be taken on set, and of him. There's a very weird shot of Hitchcock in the motel office squeezing some sort of flat rubber object and making a goofy face. I have no idea what that object is? Someone captioned it: "Has Hitchocck gone loco for Psycho?" THAT photo didn't go public.

But the OTHER photo -- the one of Hitchcock holding the clapboard -- was used very much indeed.

First and foremost: a "cartoon drawing" of Hitchcock holding the clapboard dominated many of the print ads for Psycho, usually with some new information imprinted into the clapboard: "You MUST see Psycho from the Beginning" for instance. Ad after ad after ad used the "Hitchcock with the clapboard" photo as a drawing.

CONT

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

Two years later, when Paramount re-released Rear Window in 1962("SEE IT -- if your nerves can take it after PSYCHO!") the drawing of Hitchcock holding the clapboard was again used. But the clapboard was removed and a sign was inserted, both with the PSYCHO reference and with this oddball bit of promotion, signed by "Alfred J. Hitchcock"

"I have no objection if you see Rear Window twenty times. This motion picture has enough merit to stand up under any number of viewings. But please do not anticipate those deliciously terrifying scenes that make you scream. Hold your breath until the scenes actually appear on screen. Then let go." Alfred J. Hitchcock

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Whoever wrote that for Hitch (I'll guess James Allardice, who wrote his TV intros/outros and the NXNW and Psycho trailers) seemed to be willing to present Hitchcock as a VERY self confident man, who KNOWS that HIS film has enough merit to be seen 20 times." But ya know what? its true. You CAN watch Rear Window 20 times. Or North by Northwest. Or Psycho.

The focus on "terrifying scenes that make you scream" seems to be an attempt to recast Rear Window as a "Psycho-style" screamer, which maybe it was in 1954, what with the unseen dismemberment of the victim, Kelly trapped by Thorwald, Stewart attacked by Thorwald, etc. And also: that "hold your breath til the scary scene" advice might work just great for the shock scenes in Psycho, too.

But key to this ad is that it brings BACK the "Hitchcock with the clapper" shot from the Psycho ads and thus 'continues the spell." (Plus this side bar "with Raymond Burr, TV's Perry Mason!" smiling with dark hair, not Thorwald's white hair.

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CONT

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

In 1970, the "Hitchcock with the clapper" photo took up the entire back cover page(glossy) of Robin Wood's seminal "Hitchcock's Films" (a new edition of a 1965 book,with an added chapter on Torn Curtain, that became THE copy of Wood's book to have.) Coupled with "Hitchcock/Truffaut", THIS book cemented my Hitchcock Jones and that clapper photo cemented my vision of Hitchcock. (I still have that copy, I just looked at it for this post.) For this back cover, the "Psycho" content was removed from the clapper and replaced with a photo from Marnie of Sean Connery's hand outstretched to grab cash from Tippi's hand.)

There are a LOT of photographs of Hitchcock through all the decades of his work, and some of them are pretty famous, but I think the "Psycho clapper shot" is the most famous -- I've seen it all sorts of places -- books, magazine articles, on the net -- for decades now. It rather freezes Hitchcock in perhaps his greatest year of success(1960) on the set of his most famous movie(Psycho), and locks both him and that shooting day in for posterity.

And this: Hitchcock's famous face -- the face of a star, actually (and the body of star, too) -- could sometimes look downright pleasant, sometimes sweetly amusing, sometimes a bit hammy. But the "Psycho clapper photo" locks Hitchcock's face in as humorless, superior, and just a bit menacing. It was a face Hitchcock asserted to properly set the mood for Psycho...and just his luck, it is THE photo he's remembered by.

PS. I did some internet skimming to find the photo and the Psycho data on the clapper. There are a LOT of copies of this photo on the net PLUS ...one shot of a wax museum Hitchcock somewhere, holding the famous clapper with the Psycho information intact. Its THAT famous.

[–] christomacin (4553) 2 years ago

Here's a link to the picture:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-12/alfred-hitchcock-holding-a-clapper-board-from-psycho/9043888?nw=0

They even made a Funko Pop version of it:
https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/77903

[–] ecarle (14979) 2 years ago

Here's a link to the picture:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-12/alfred-hitchcock-holding-a-clapper-board-from-psycho/9043888?nw=

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There it is! If one runs in "Hitchcock readings circles," that's a VERY famous photograph, it pops up all the time.

And, again, it became part of newspaper promotions for both Psycho and for Rear Window on re-release.

Its worth thinking about: SOMEBODY -- perhaps Hitchcock himself? -- thought it would be a cool photo to have Hitchcock hold the clapper and pose in the Bates Motel office. I may be wrong, but I don't think I've seen a photo of Hitchcock holding a clapper on any other of his famous movies. This "little brainstorm" then converted into part of the advertising FOR Psycho...and then again for Rear Window.

That said, this photo was incorporated into ads for Psycho that were NOT the more famous poster with Janet Leigh in her underwear, shirtless John Gavin, and Perkins and Miles as afterthoughts.

I think the only poster that put Hitchcock into the poster itself was for his final film, Family Plot, "winking" as Barbara Harris does in the final scene of the film.

But I've seen a poster of Hitchcock adding an "L" to "Strangers on a Train" to convert it to "Stranglers on a Train," so he DID get into some of the advertising of his films. But only in the poster itself for Family Plot(and not looking too good there, I might add, without jacket and tie and very old.)

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They even made a Funko Pop version of it:
https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/77903

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Ha! With PSYCHO 9401 and everything! Add that to the wax figure, and that's twice this photo was "homaged."