Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh) leaves her boyfriend because she wants to progress the relationship, and he doesn't have the funds to do it. In a rather desperate move, she So steals $40,000 from her job and splits. She plans on driving forever but a storm send her into the Bates Motel run by (who else?) Norman Bates (played by Anthony Perkins). Norman lives with his bitchy mother, and has no sign of a social life. One thing leads to another. He asks Marion out on a date and it is this date that Marion realizes she will drive back and return the money she stole.
After she takes a shower.
This is indeed Hitchcock's finest work. There are no holes to the plotline and it can be viewed just as disturbing now as it was in 1960. The music is memorable, and the shower scene is known well around the world as the most terrifying 46 seconds caught on film. However, the reason the film works so well is indeed because of Norman Bates. He's just as much of a victim as he is a criminal, which multiplies to "disturbing quotient" of this film by 69-fold. This film is saturated with unrequited insanity ad therefore is a must see for any horror fan, Hitchcock fan, or bedlam-lover.
