--- title: Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho': Read TIME's Original Review from 1960 description: The movie premiered in New York City on June 16, 1960 canonical: https://time.com/3907090/original-review-1960-psycho/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-16T14:00:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:13.228Z article:section: History og:title: Read TIME's Original Review of 'Psycho' og:description: The movie premiered in New York City on June 16, 1960 og:url: https://time.com/3907090/original-review-1960-psycho/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02536c3db8390c88/698852ce3c1639270e4582e3/psycho.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Movie Poster For 'Psycho' og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read TIME's Original Review of 'Psycho' twitter:description: The movie premiered in New York City on June 16, 1960 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02536c3db8390c88/698852ce3c1639270e4582e3/psycho.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read What TIME's Original Review of _Psycho_ Got Wrong  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jun 16, 2015 2:00 PM UTC  German movie poster for director Alfred Hitchcock's classic film 'Psycho,' 1960 German movie poster for director Alfred Hitchcock's classic film 'Psycho,' 1960Paramount Pictures / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jun 16, 2015 2:00 PM UTC Fifty-five years after its June 16, 1960, premiere, Alfred Hitchcock’s _Psycho_ is firmly entrenched in the cinematic canon. It altered the suspense genre forever, it changed what can be shown on screen — in addition to the reams of blood, it was the first film to show a flushing toilet — and it set the bar for the lengths to which a filmmaker would go to avoid spoilers. But at the time of its release, not every critic guessed at the film’s lasting influence. Among those reviewers was TIME’s, who found _Psycho_ just a little too much: --- > “” --- Though the plot (graciously unspoiled by the review) was acknowledged as “expertly gothic,” the critic warned that “the nausea never disappears.” The final result, the critic noted, is “a spectacle of stomach-churning horror”—not guessing that audiences would see that as a good thing. **_Read the full review, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Psycho](http://time.com/vault/issue/1960-06-27/page/53/) ### How Hitchcock Turned a Small Budget Into a Great Triumph  Alfred Hitchcock directing Shadow of a Doubt in 1942. William Vandivert—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. On Hollywood sound stage, side of house which was used in Santa Rosa is reproduced. Most exterior scenes were shot on location, to keep set costs low. For this one Universal used old lumber and nails which are not included in the War Production Board ruling on new materials. Seated on upstairs porch Alfred Hitchcock directs Teresa Wright, holding broken step and flashlight. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alfred Hitchcock on the set of Shadow of a Doubt. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alfred Hitchcock directing Shadow of a Doubt in 1942. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alfred Hitchcock directing Shadow of a Doubt in 1942. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alfred Hitchcock demonstrating various actions during filming of Shadow of a Doubt. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alfred Hitchcock stands on a scale on set. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alfred Hitchcock directing Shadow of a Doubt in 1942. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alfred Hitchcock directing Shadow of a Doubt in 1942. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alfred Hitchcock directing Shadow of a Doubt in 1942. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alfred Hitchcock with actress Teresa Wright showing how to struggle. Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Santa Rosa's town square with policeman directing traffic was viewed by Skirball and Hitchcock as they contemplated using it in the movie. In the background is the Bank of America which was used for the exterior shots. To shoot the pictures Main Street was blocked off for three days. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alfred Hitchcock directing Shadow of a Doubt in 1942. William Vandivert—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Alfred Hitchcock directing Shadow of a Doubt in 1942. William Vandivert—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. On location in Santa Rosa, Alfred Hitchcock turns railroad depot into a movie set. In foreground Director Hitchcock (seated) explains scene to actors Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright and Henry Travers. Behind him is movie company consisting of two camera crews, grips, juicers, producer, assistant directors, child-welfare worker, actors, stand-ins, extras, sound men, script girl. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3907090/original-review-1960-psycho/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3907090/original-review-1960-psycho/"},"headline":"Read What TIME's Original Review of Psycho Got Wrong","datePublished":"2015-06-16T14:00:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:03:13.228Z","description":"The movie premiered in New York City on June 16, 1960","url":"https://time.com/3907090/original-review-1960-psycho/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02536c3db8390c88/698852ce3c1639270e4582e3/psycho.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02536c3db8390c88/698852ce3c1639270e4582e3/psycho.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Movie Poster For 'Psycho'","caption":"Movie Poster For 'Psycho'","creditText":"Paramount Pictures / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3907090/original-review-1960-psycho/","name":"Read What TIME's Original Review of Psycho Got Wrong"}}]}] ```