Psycho II from an Australian Perspective

Psycho II is a Universal Studios/Oak Industries production, starring, Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Robert Loggia and Meg Tilly.

It's 22 years later and Norman Bates is coming home.

It's 1983 in Australia and there's a buzz in the air that Anthony Perkins is returning to reprise the role of Norman Bates, made famous in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

I was slightly more excited to see Vera Miles returning as Lila (also from the original).  I had started watching a number of Vera Miles movies readily available on TV.  I was surprised how often she would appear in the credits.  Besides, Psycho I had only seen Anthony Perkins in Agatha Christies, Murder on the Orient Express.  The rest of the cast were all new to me

The Mike Walsh Show is really when things started to heat up.  Mike Walsh was a daytime chat show airing across Australia during the day.  John-Michael Howson was the resident over the top movie critic.  He had just returned from the United States seeing a preview of Psycho II.  John-Michael was indeed excited to say the least.  The curtains closed just prior to the ending leaving John-Michael furious, he had to pay to see the final denouement.  There was talk about Australian director Richard Franklin shooting a remake of The Window and John-Michael was impressed with his directorial effort.  Mike made a throw away comment, Tony Perkins was on the show on Monday.  I was hoping he would visit Adelaide (a town Tony loved when he made For the Term of His Natural Life a year or so earlier).  Tony didn't visit Adelaide but did some radio interviews.  Psycho II wasn't a rumour any longer it was happening and about to be released.  

 

Magazines, newspapers, radio interviews, it was all starting to happen.  Psycho II was being fuelled by articles and stories with many focussing on Anthony Perkins sexual awakening and his relationship with Victoria Principal.  Psycho II may have taken a back seat, but any press is good press if it fills a seat.  I was extremely excited by the Movie 83 magazine.  Colour photos of Psycho II over three pages.  I even managed to purchase a number of insert movie posters from the cinema. 
You might think with an Australian director there would have been much written about Richard Franklin but no, only a paragraph here and there.  The score for Psycho II wasn't released in Australia but luckily a record store had two copies imported. The following week the other copy had sold as well. I still have my Psycho II scrapbook making sure I saved every article there was.

Anthony Perkins had arrived in Sydney with his wife and children to promote Psycho II.  He appeared on The Mike Walsh Show and also on the nighttime, The Don Lane Show.  Tony seemed a little anxious and almost bored with answering the same answer questions over and over.  He smiled when he had too, nodded when the question didn't really need an answer.  Then every state flew in their own movie reviewer for an interview.  Local Adelaide, Movie Scene host, Anne Wills, gushed over that fabulous moment where the camera came down thirty feet to the ground.  Obviously, Anne had brushed up on the press release before the interview.

Finally, it was August 19th, 1983.  Psycho II opened at Greater Union Cinema 6 in Hindley Street which sat 488 people and it was a full house. I was excited. I went wanting to be entertained but I also went a little sceptical. My brain was in overdrive.  "The relatives of the seven people he murdered", SEVEN?  I always thought there was 6.  When Norman went into mothers' room and seeing everything 'as it were' all I could think about was that Lila was the only one who had been in the bedroom.  Everything was pointing to Lila.  I remember being terribly excited we got to see more of the Bates house.  I found Meg Tilly a delight in the film.  I feel she played the character of Mary superbly.  Robert Loggia was also solid in his role of Dr Raymond.  My beloved, Vera.  How wonderful it was to see Lila still feisty as always.  It was a week before the film came out there was a photo of Vera and a caption, - will she see the film out? Vera Miles scream suggests doom is at hand.  I had never entertained the idea of Lila dying, so when the whole cinema screamed, I'm yelling out "NOOOOOO!"  I did walk out feeling extremely entertained.  Very sadly a movie review just prior to the release basically gave the ending away.  I read about the shovel and in that moment, I realized no film critic should EVER ruin someone's enjoyment by giving away the ending. (That article is at the end of this post)

Promotional postcards designed by Universal Studios but only the first card was produced for Adelaide audiences.

I saw the film numerous times at the cinema, each time noticing new things I'd missed previously.  The staff at the cinema were like "oh, hello again".  There was a massive 3D cardboard promotional display for the film.  What I wouldn't have done to own that.  When Psycho II was airing at the local drive-in I'd sometimes go across the road and watch the movie with no sound.  Psycho II returned in 1984 just prior to the video release and although not a packed cinema it was nice to see it again.

Just prior to the film's release I wrote to Universal Studios asking if they had any information, they could supply me about Psycho II.  They kindly sent me a press release with black and white 8 x 10's, pages of information, a colour magazine feature and some colour transparencies.  I had never seen a press kit before and was thrilled to add it to the Psycho II collection.

Over the years it's so nice to see Psycho II being so widely appreciated.  From movie reactions on YouTube to people casually saying they watched a terrific film and low and beyond it was Psycho II.  I first purchased Psycho II on BETA in 1984.  The film was only a rental at the time and had to pay $75.00 to own the copy.  The poor woman couldn't understand why I wanted to own it.  Psycho II is something I can watch over and over and remember a time when I was 20 and had time to take everything in at a more relaxed pace.

All photos copyright Universal Studios.