Goofs for
Psycho (1960) More at IMDbPro »

• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: ... or, more accurately, "Incorrectly believed to be a goof even though no one has ever actually seen it". There are persistent reports that Marion swallows after she is dead. As far as we're able to tell, the story originated in a newspaper article in 1973, but has been misremembered and misreported by subsequent generations of goof fans. The original story said that Hitchcock's wife, Alma Reville, spotted the post-death swallow shortly before the film was released and told her husband in time for a correction to be made. According to Janet Leigh, it wasn't a gulp at all, but a blink, and it was, indeed, edited out. The released version of the movie contains no post mortem swallowing or blinking, so, unless you worked on the movie, you've never seen it. No, really, trust us, you've *never* seen it.
  
  
• Continuity: As Marion approaches the restroom at California Charlie's used car lot, the door hinges on the left with the doorknob on the right and has dark (painted?) glass in the upper half. In the interior shot, the hinges and knob are just the opposite and the door is a solid slab. In the exterior shot as Marion exits the restroom, the door is solid with no glass, and hinges on the right and latches on the left, consistent with the interior view.
  
  
• Continuity: At one point during Marion's night-flight from Phoenix toward Fairvale in her black 1956 Ford, there is a point-of-view shot over the hood of the white 1957 Ford that she doesn't have yet. She gets the newer car from California Charlie the following day.
  
  

• Revealing mistakes: When Marion drives away from the police officer, the unmistakable sound of a 1957 Ford starter can be heard, but she doesn't reach for the key (which is left of the steering wheel on the dashboard), or make any visible movement to use the shift lever.
  
  
• Continuity: While driving in Bakersfield, no car dealership can be seen through the windshield as Marion turns off a major road onto a wide, unlined street. The next exterior shot shows her car turning off a four-lane, lined street into California Charlie's used car lot.
  
  
• Continuity: In the shower, Marion's hand changes from thumb down to thumb up when she grabs the shower curtain and then pulls it down
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: The shadow of the camera falls on the lady examining the pesticide can in Sam's hardware store.
  
  
• Continuity: When the police officer backs in behind Marion's car on shoulder of the highway, no tire tracks from his vehicle are visible in the soft dirt.
  
  
• Continuity: At the car dealership, the same extras (people on the sidewalks) are seen repeatedly, walking in different directions
  
  
• Continuity: In the hotel at the start of the film, Sam sits with his arms outstretched. In the close-up of Sam, the towel has moved across to his right though he hasn't yet moved his arms.
  
  
• Continuity: When Norman is making his way from the house to the hotel office to greet Marion, it is pouring rain outside. However, in the next shot when he's in the hotel office his suit is completely dry.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When Marion first gets out of her car and meets the salesman at the used car dealership, a crewmember is reflected in the car door. Part way through the shot, he suddenly crouches down.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When Lila and Sam are walking from their motel room to the office, the reflection of a crew member can be seen in the window between rooms 1 and 2.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the scene where Norman carries his mother to the fruit cellar, you can clearly see her legs are those of a live person's. Near the end of the film, however, Mrs. Bates is almost a skeleton.
  
  
• Plot holes: Lila and Sam are able to sneak into Cabin 1 just by opening the door, but neither of them has a key, and it is very likely that Norman would have locked it to avoid someone discovering evidence of Marion's murder.
  
  
• Miscellaneous: Simon Oakland, who plays "Dr. Fred Richmond", is never mentioned by name or given screen credit with the character's name.
  
  
• Continuity: When the cop awakens Marion in her car, the driver's side windshield frame has dozens of grimy handprints and fingerprints from everyone whose touched it while setting up the shot. As she pulls into the car lot the grimy hand prints / smears are shown to be all over the door panels also.
  
  
• Continuity: When Norman has pushed Marion's car into the swamp you can hear that the sound of the bubbles creates echoes. The scene was probably shot in a studio.
  
  
• Continuity: When Marion rips up the piece of paper she does math on, she flushes it down the toilet. However, later in the movie the same piece of paper is found somehow and is dry.
  
  
• Continuity: During the shower scene, the placement of the curtain rings varies multiple times.
  
  
• Continuity: Det. Arbogast phones in about the Bates Motel and Norman. Later, he returns to the motel to investigate. There is a reaction shot of him looking at the Bates house. The sky in the background is clear and uniform. Arbogast glances behind him to make sure he isn't shadowed and then starts out for the house. Now, the sky in the background is obviously cloudy.
  
  

• Continuity: SPOILER: When Norman comes to clean the evidence of Marion Crane's death, there is blood on the floor. In the immediate capture, there is seen less blood in the same spot. Norman couldn't have mopped the blood away that quickly.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: SPOILER: When Norman is walking through the ground floor of the house shortly before the shower scene, he grabs hold of the giant, wooden stair banisters, which wobble unnaturally.
  
  
• Continuity: SPOILER: After discovering Marion dead in the shower, Norman turns and knocks a picture of a bird off the wall on to the Floor. In the next frame the picture is still on the wall.
  
  

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