### Psycho 1960 % 281960 % 29 Horror , Mystery , Thriller , 1 h 49 min Anthony Perkins , Vera Miles , John Gavin , Janet Leigh Director Alfred HitchcockIMDb rating # movieguidestars # 9733 # 9733 # 9733 # 9733 # 9733 # 9733 # 9733 # 9733 # 9733 # 9734 8 . 510 419 , 134 votes Stressed and under pressure because of stealing a large amount of money from her employer and running away , a partly poor office worker who ' s committed theft in order to be able to marry the man she loves , gets lost and decides to stay at a motel for the night , regretting what she ' s done . But on her single night at the motel , she finds out it was a mistake to choose this motel as she finds its young depressed manager ' s mother an unrelenting psycho . IMDbCritical reception Initial reviews of the film were thoroughly mixed . Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote , There is not an abundance of subtlety or the lately familiar Hitchcock bent toward significant and colorful scenery in this obviously lowbudget job . Crowther called the slow buildups to sudden shocks reliably melodramatic but contested Hitchcock ' s psychological points , reminiscent of KrafftEbing ' s studies , as less effective . While the film did not conclude satisfactorily for the critic , he commended the cast ' s performances as fair . British critic C . A . Lejeune was so offended that she not only walked out before the end but permanently resigned her post as film critic for The Observer . Other negative reviews stated , a blot on an honorable career , plainly a gimmick movie , and merely one of those television shows padded out to two hours . Positive reviews stated , Anthony Perkins ' performance is the best of his career . Janet Leigh has never been better , played out beautifully , and first American movie since Touch of Evil to stand in the same creative rank as the great European films . A good example of the mix is the New York Herald Tribune ' s review , which stated , . rather difficult to be amused at the forms insanity may take . keeps your attention like a snakecharmer . WikipediaMore info at % 281960 % 29 , Psycho % 20 % 281960 % 20 film % 29 , Rotten Tomatoes , , . I am a bot . Send me feedback % 2 Fr % 2 FMovieGuidesubjectRe % 3 A % 20 Confidence 1 . 10 . Data sources and other i n f ormationrMovieGuidewabout .