Summary

• "A hobby should pass the time, not fill it." Norman Bates reflects on his taxidermy hobby, hinting at the darker and more time-consuming pastime that drives him to kill.
• "Sometimes, Saturday night has a lonely sound." Sam Loomis's quote captures the loneliness and despair felt by Marion, Norman, and others throughout the film.
• "You mean the old woman I saw tonight wasn't Mrs. Bates?" Sam Loomis's realization sets up the shocking twist ending, revealing the truth about Norman and his alter ego.

Alfred Hitchcock maintained the title of the Master of Suspense, but he also dabbled in horror and some of the best Psycho quotes show that he was just as much at home in a scary film as he was in a suspenseful thriller. Released in 1960, Psycho was the grandfather of slasher movies, with Norman Bates as the manager of a roadside motel that kills people who stop and get a room. However, what really led this movie into a genre that wouldn't even have a name until the mid-1970s was the twist ending and the revelation of why Norman was killing people, to begin with.

This was also set up with the dialogue in Psycho, whether it was something that Norman Bates said that led to the twist or quotes by other characters that both hinted at what was to come and also explained what happened to those who might have left the movie a little confused. This was something Hitchcock loved to add to his movies, with the dialogue almost as important as the visual clues he added to strengthen and deepen his stories. At the end of the day, Hitchcock's best horror movie is a masterpiece because of its direction, script, and some amazing quotes.

20 "A Hobby Should Pass The Time, Not Fill It."

Norman Bates

When Marion Crane was getting to know Norman Bates a little bit, she took notice of the taxidermized animals hanging around his room. It was a little surprising to her, as it was not a hobby that many people took on. She looked at the animals and said she understood because every man needs a hobby but Norman wasn't as impressed with his hobby because of how much time it took him to collect these. "It's more than a hobby. A hobby's supposed to pass the time, not fill it." To this, Marion asked if his time was so empty, and that would eventually lead to what Norman's other, deadlier, pastime was.

19 "Sometimes, Saturday Night Has A Lonely Sound."

Sam Loomis

Sam Loomis was Marion's boyfriend in Psycho and part of the reason she wasn't as interested in her was because of his growing debt. It really played into why she wasn't sure about marrying him and had no problem stealing the money from her employer and then taking off without letting him know. Sam ended up joining forces with Marion's sister Lila, and they prepared to find her. While Sam and Lila were talking, he made this interesting quote, which had a few meanings, from his own feelings of inadequacy to the feelings of Marion as she ran away and Norman as he sat alone in his motel at night, waiting for new victims to drive in.

18 "You Mean The Old Woman I Saw Tonight Wasn't Mrs. Bates?"

Sam Loomis

The big twist at the end of Psycho was set up thanks to this quote by Sam Loomis. He and Lila had made their way to Bates Motel when the private investigator they hired disappeared. They met Norman Bates there, and then Sam looked around and found the house behind the motel. He looked in the house and saw what he thought was Norma Bates. Imagine his shock when he realized that the old woman he saw wasn't an older woman at all, but was something more tragic and deadly. This quote came while he was talking to Sheriff Al Chambers, and they realized that Norman had secrets he was hiding in his old house behind the motel.

WHERE TO WATCH: Stream Psycho on Peacock

17 "Shut Up! Shut Up!"

Norman Bates

Norman Bates spent most of Psycho battling the memories and image of his own mother, who had died years before. She never left him, though, always talking to him in his mind and driving him to hurt people, kill people, and repeat his horrific actions over and over again. Norman wanted to be rid of the voice in his head, but he never could shake it, even when he tried to separate them by having the decomposed body of his mother still in his old house. This quote from Norman came when his mother's voice in his head wouldn't stop yelling at him, degrading the women who came into his life, and hounding him until he couldn't take it anymore.

16 "These Were Crimes Of Passion, Not Profit."

Sheriff Al Chambers

Though a smart man, Sheriff Al Chambers knew Norman Bates better than almost anyone, and still didn't know the levels of depravity the motel owner had dropped to. Al actually thought that Marion and the private investigator her sister hired could have run off together with the money, never once believing the idea that Norman Bates was a murderer like his mother. When he learned the truth, Al was shocked as he felt Norma killed her lover and then herself 10 years earlier. In fact, Norman killed Norma and her lover. When Sam and Lila asked about the money, Al said it was in the swamp because Norman didn't kill for money.

15 "Mother! Oh God, Mother! Blood! Blood!"

Norman Bates

After Marion was killed in Psycho, Norman could be heard exclaiming, “Mother! Oh God, mother! Blood! Blood!" Norman would have found blood on himself, but of course, the audience didn't know that. Norman rushed down the steps to the motel, only to find Marion dead on the bathroom floor. This is one of those lines that made viewers believe Norma was still alive, which made the twist ending that much more shocking. What was also important about this quote was that Norman was as shocked as anyone, showing he had no idea what he was doing, even up to the very end of Psycho​​​​​.

14 "Well, A Boy's Best Friend Is His Mother."

Norman Bates

Early in the film, Norman wanted to bring Marion up to his house to have dinner with her. Norma refused and snapped at Norman for even thinking that would be a possibility. Instead, Norman just brought food to the motel’s parlor. Marion talked to Norman about how his mother treated him, suggesting that he shouldn’t put up with it anymore. She asked if he ever went out with friends to which Norman replied, “Well, a boy’s best friend is his mother.” Little did Marion know that Norman was actually Norma.

13 "Headaches Are Like Resolutions. You Forget Them As Soon As They Stop Hurting."

Marion Crane

While talking, Caroline could tell Marion had a headache. Marion reassured Caroline she was fine by saying, “Headaches are like resolutions. You forget them as soon as they stop hurting.” While the quote itself was profound, the response from Caroline was just as memorable. Caroline said she doesn’t have any aspirin, but has some tranquilizers her mother’s doctor had given her on the day of her wedding. This was an important moment that showed the despair and hopelessness of the women working in the thankless job.

12 "Norman Bates No Longer Exists."

Dr. Fred Richman

Near the end of Psycho, after Norman Bates' arrest, Dr. Fred Richman explained to Sam Loomis and Lila Crane who killed Marion. Richman explained,

“Norman Bates no longer exists. He only half-existed, to begin with. And now, the other half has taken over. Probably for all time.”

Richman continued to explain that while Norman did kill Marion, it was the mother half of his brain that had taken over. The quote not only explains what was going on with Norman but was written and delivered in a way that made it one of the most memorable quotes in the film. The end where Norman's face filled the screen made the quote hit even harder.

11 "No One Really Runs Away From Anything."

Norman Bates

While Norman Bates was put off by Marion Crane suggesting that he should possibly put his mother somewhere, Marion was equally concerned when Norman asked where she planned on going after she left his motel. Seeing that Marion was uncomfortable, Norman apologized for prying and asked what she was running away from. Marion said, “Why do you ask that?” to which Norman cleverly responded, “No one really runs away from anything. It's like a private trap that holds us in like a prison." This also showed how Norman still considered the Bates Motel to be his own prison, as is his mother's place in his mind.

10 "A Son Is A Poor Substitute For A Lover"

Norman Bates

The parlor scene in Psycho is among the best in the movie, mainly because the dialogue between Marion and Norman is so well written. Another memorable quote from this scene is, “A son is a poor substitute for a lover.” The line hints at the true nature of Norman and Norma’s relationship, but at the time seems to just fit into their conversation. While the sexual nature of Norman’s relationship with his mother wasn’t dealt with in the film, the A&E series Bates Motel delved much deeper into the mother and son’s creepy and incestuous relationship, which really played off this Psycho quote.

9 "Oh We Have 12 Vacancies. 12 Cabins, 12 Vacancies"

Norman Bates

When Marion ran away from her secretary job in Phoenix, she had more than a few scares on her road trip. After she embezzled $40,000, she saw her boss walking across the street, was questioned by a car salesman, and was even interrogated by a police officer. While she was driving she ran into a storm and had to pull off at the Bates Motel. Marion found Norman at the front desk and asked if he had any vacancies. Norman happy to get a customer (or maybe a victim) eagerly answered, “Oh we have 12 vacancies. 12 cabins, 12 vacancies.” It was a nice place for Marion to hide and a nicer place for Norman to take his next victim.

8 "Why, She Wouldn't Even Harm A Fly"

Norma Bates

After the twist ending in Psycho, where Lila found Norma’s skeleton in the fruit cellar, Norman tried to attack her with a knife, but Sam Loomis stopped him. Soon after, Norman had been taken into custody, but he still believed he was Norma. A police officer had taken a blanket to Norma (Norman) and the viewer had heard an inner monologue in Norma’s voice. Believing he was his mother, Norman had thought,

“I'm not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching. They’ll see. They’ll see and they’ll know. They'll say ‘Why she wouldn't even hurt a fly.’”

7 "You Eat Like A Bird."

Norman Bates

When Marion walked into the parlor with Norman, the first thing she noticed was a stuffed owl on the wall. In fact, Norman’s parlor had been filled with stuffed animals since he enjoyed taxidermy. Taxidermy was one of the creepier hobbies that Alfred Hitchcock could have given Norman Bates, which was why Marion had initially been off-put by the dead animals. Norman had given Marion a light dinner and while she had been eating, he muttered, “You-you eat like a bird.” The two then joked about the phrase since birds actually eat quite a bit of food compared to their weight.

6 *“I Won’t Have You Bringing Some Young Girl In For Supper!”

Norma Bates

The first time Norma Bates said anything, Norman had wanted to bring Marion up to the house for dinner. In a chilling voice, Norma said, "I won’t have you bringing some young girl in for supper! By candlelight, I suppose, in the cheap, erotic fashion of young men with cheap, erotic minds." Her voice had echoed all the way down to the motel, so Marion could hear everything, meaning she had no reason to believe Norma was actually dead. The voice had been provided by actress Virginia Gregg, but of course, it was supposed to be Norman talking to himself inside the house.

5 "I Must Have One Of Those Faces You Just Can't Help Believing"

Norman Bates

After Marion Crane left town with $40,000, her boss, Tom Cassidy, hired Detective Milton Arbogast to find her. After Milton talked with Lila and Sam, he headed to Bates Motel to talk with Norman Bates. Immediately, Arbogast could tell something wasn’t right with Norman. After Arbogast agreed to walk the property with Norman while he changed sheets, he saw Norma in the window of Norman’s house. While it looked like Norman was living with someone, Norman was technically telling the truth about living alone but was lying about Marion. Norman saw Arbogast looking at the house and said, “I must have one of those faces you just can’t help believing.”

4 "I’m Norma Bates."

Norma Bates

To make the Psycho twist ending seem even more shocking, Alfred Hitchcock even made movie theaters refuse entry to those who showed up after the movie had started. This line was very hard to hear, but when Norman went to attack Lila, the music from Bernard Herrmann included a track that said "I’m Norma Bates" that he mixed in with the rest of the music. Most people probably didn't notice because it was so subtle, but the scene would never be the same once one heard it.

3 "We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes."

Norman Bates

Anybody could see that Norman and Norma didn’t have a healthy relationship, but Norman always made excuses for his mother. Norman got offended when Marion suggested that he shouldn’t be as easy on his mother, but Norman constantly made excuses for her. One of Norman’s excuses for her was “We all go a little mad sometimes.” That was an understandable assumption, but people typically didn’t get as bad as Norman Bates. Building Norma up as such an insane woman also made the climax of the film that much more shocking when it was found out that Norma was actually Norman.

2 "We're Always quickest To Doubt People Who Have A Reputation For Being Honest"

Milton Arbogast

At first, when Milton Arbogast started his hunt for Marion Crane, he visited Sam Loomis' shop where he met Sam and Lila for the first time. Milton initially thought that Sam might be hiding Marion someplace to protect her from getting arrested for stealing the money from Tom Cassidy’s bank. He later thought the same thing with Norman after he accused him of taking money from Marion to hide her. Milton was no doubt an intelligent man, but one of his best quotes from the movie was, “We’re always quickest to doubt people who have a reputation for being honest.” It played into the ending perfectly.

1 "They Cluck Their Thick Tongues, And Shake Their Heads And Suggest, Oh So Very Delicately"

Norman Bates

The parlor scene in Psycho was not only a good scene to analyze because of the mise-en-scène, but also because the dialogue between Marion and Norman was incredibly well-written. Norman was talking about how sick he was of his mother controlling his life but said he put up with it because she was ill. Marion suggested that he put her someplace else to avoid the abuse, which offended Norman. Being a bit taken aback, Marion said she was only making a suggestion. Norman replied by complaining about people saying, “They cluck their thick tongues, and shake their heads and suggest, oh so very delicately!”

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  Psycho

  Summary:

  In this now-iconic Alfred Hitchcock thriller, a secretary embezzles forty thousand dollars from her employer's client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel. The place is run by a young man under the domination of his mother -- and he soon turns out to be far more threatening than he appeared at first.

  Release Date:

  1960-09-08

  Budget:

  $806 thousand

  Cast:

  Janet Leigh, Martin Balsam, Anthony Perkins, John Gavin, Vera Miles

  Director:

  Alfred Hitchcock

  Genres:

  Horror, Mystery, Thriller

  Rating:

  R

  Runtime:

  109 minutes

  Sequel:

  Psycho 2, Psycho 4: The Beginning, Psycho 3

  Writers:

  Joseph Stefano

  Studio(s):

  Universal Pictures

  Distributor(s):

  Universal Pictures

  Sequel(s):

  Psycho 2

  Franchise(s):

  Psychonauts