But then Sacha Gervasi’s ( Anvil: The Story Of Anvil ) film is less about Hitch’s dodgy sexual predilections than about his relationship with Alma Reville (Helen Mirren), his wife, collaborator and uncredited script editor.

It’s also about his battle to shoot Psycho , the game-changing flick that invented the slasher.

When his plan to adapt Robert Bloch’s novel as his next film after the acclaimed North By Northwest hits a brick wall of distaste at Paramount, Hitch decides to put up the money himself, mortgaging his house to do so.

Partly because of this, partly because she’s teetering on the brink of an affair with a younger screenwriter (Danny Huston), Alma is less supportive than usual, leaving Hitch bereft.

True, there are some tonal swerves, from social comedy to psychological drama, and there’s the intrusive device of having Hitch periodically visited by the spirit of Ed Gein (the Wisconsin killer who inspired Bloch’s novel).

But the making and marketing of Psycho are entertainingly recounted, with polished playing from the starry cast.

Hopkins gives a decent impersonation of the portly director, with just the occasional hint of Hannibal Lecter.