A Phoenix secretary steals $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Joseph Stefano (screenplay), Robert Bloch (novel)
Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
Story:
During a lunchtime tryst in Phoenix, Arizona, a real estate secretary named Marion Crane discusses with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis, how they cannot afford to get married because of Sam's debts. After lunch, Marion returns to work, where a client drops off a $40,000 cash payment on a property. Her boss asks her to deposit the money in the bank, and she asks if she can take the rest of the afternoon off. Returning home, she begins to pack for an unplanned trip, deciding to steal the money and give it to Sam in Fairvale, California. She is seen by her boss on her way out of town, which makes her nervous. During the trip, she pulls over on the side of the road and falls asleep, only to be awakened by a state patrol officer. He is suspicious about her nervous behavior but allows her to drive on. Shaken by the encounter, Marion stops at an automobile dealership and trades in her Ford Mainline, with its Arizona license plates, for a Ford Custom 300 that has California tags. Her transaction is all for naught—the highway patrolman sees her at the car dealership and witnesses her purchase of the newer car.
Driving on, Marion encounters a sudden rainstorm and decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel; the proprietor, Norman Bates, invites her to a light dinner after she checks in. She accepts, but then hears an argument between Norman and his mother about bringing a woman into her house. Instead of dining at his home behind the motel, they eat in the motel parlor, where he tells her about his hobby of taxidermy and his life with his mother, Norma, who is mentally ill. Returning to her room, Marion decides to go back to Phoenix to return the stolen money. She prepares to take a shower, unaware that Norman is spying on her. As she is showering, a female figure suddenly appears and stabs her to death with a chef knife. Norman discovers the murder after seeing his mother covered in blood. He meticulously cleans up the crime scene, putting Marion's corpse and her possessions—including the embezzled money—into the trunk of her car and sinking it in the swamps near the motel.
A week later, Marion's sister Lila arrives in Fairvale and confronts Sam about the whereabouts of her sister. A private investigator named Arbogast approaches them and confirms that Marion is wanted for stealing the $40,000 from her employer. He eventually comes across the Bates Motel, where Norman's behavior arouses his suspicions. After hearing that Marion had met with Norman's mother, he asks to speak with her, but Norman refuses. Arbogast calls Lila and Sam, informing them of what he has discovered and saying he intends to speak with Norman's mother. He goes to the Bates' home in search of her; as he reaches the top of the stairs, Mrs. Bates suddenly appears from the bedroom and murders him. When Lila and Sam do not hear from Arbogast, they go to the local sheriff, who informs them that Norma Bates has been dead for ten years, following the murder–suicide of her and her lover. Concerned, Lila and Sam make their way to the motel. Meanwhile, Norman takes his unwilling mother from her room, telling her he needs to hide her for a while and ignoring her objections.
At the motel, Lila and Sam meet Norman. Sam distracts him by striking up a conversation while Lila sneaks up to the house. When Norman eventually realizes this, he knocks Sam out and rushes to the house. Lila sees Norman approaching and attempts to hide by going down steps that lead to a cellar. There she finds Mrs. Bates sitting in a chair. Lila turns her around and discovers that she's a mummified corpse. Lila screams as a figure comes running into the cellar: Norman, holding a chef knife and wearing his mother's clothes and a wig. He tries to attack Lila but is subdued by Sam.
Sitting in a detention room at the local courthouse, Norman is now permanently trapped in the persona of his mother, whose personality he had adopted after murdering her and her lover out of jealousy ten years prior. Guilty over her death, and wanting to erase it, he exhumed her corpse and began to treat it as if she were alive again. Whenever he became sexually attracted to any other woman, the abusive Norma would take full control of his mind and kill the woman. In this state, Norman had killed two missing girls prior to Marion, as well as Arbogast. While Norman sits in the room, Norma's voice is heard protesting that the murders were Norman's doing and that she "wouldn't even harm a fly.
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