Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller

Leigh is perhaps best remembered for her role as Marion Crane, who is stabbed to death in the shower sequence of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Opening to mixed reviews in 1960, Psycho's sleazy storyline so spooked Paramount Pictures that Hitchcock was forced to finance it himself. So recounts Leigh in this amiable, somewhat scattershot look at the making of Psycho, occasioned, she notes, by the film's continuing popularity and the ``blatant inaccuracies'' that surround it. Attempting ``to set the record straight,'' she recalls the jovial atmosphere on the set, the moleskin suit she wore in the shower, the ingenious publicity campaign for the film, her nomination for an academy award and her ongoing, real-life aversion to showers. Included are conversations with screenwriter Joseph Stefano and others, and fond remembrances of Anthony Perkins and ``Mr. Hitchcock.'' Less compelling is Leigh's bubbly, critical evaluation of the film itself. Nickens has written biographies of Elizabeth Taylor and other performers. Photos. (June)