Alfred Hitchcock’s biggest movie, Psycho, is now 55 years old. Where does the time go? Despite being filmed in black-and-white, it holds up well as a suspense thriller for those who don’t know the whole story -and even for those who do. For fans of the movie, we have some tidbits about its making. If the exact same film were released for the first time today, what rating would it get? I would guess PG, but times were different in …1984.
2. IT WAS GIVEN AN R RATING—A QUARTER-CENTURY AFTER ITS RELEASE.
The film was given an R rating by the MPAA in 1984. Yes, a film released in 1960 is now rated R. (The MPAA ratings system wasn't created until 1968, but they do like to re-rate older films from time to time.)
10. THE ENDING WAS SPOILED MONTHS BEFORE THE FILM'S RELEASE.
Despite Hitchcock's fervent and admirable attempts at keeping the project a secret, both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter published very thorough spoilers regarding the Psycho plot months before the film actually came out.
That one made Hitchcock hopping mad, and led to some other behind-the-scens facts about Psycho that you can read at mental_floss.