Psycho Page #22

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INT. THE BASEMENT OF THE OLD HOUSE - (DAY)

Lila reaches the bottom, stops, listens, hears the stairboards

creaking as footsteps fall hard and measured upon them. She

turns, pulls open the fruit cellar door, looks in. The woman

is sitting in a comfortable chair, the back of the chair,

and the woman, turned to the door. Lila calls a harsh,

frightened whisper.

LILA:

Mrs. Bates...?

Lila goes into the room.

INT. THE FRUIT CELLAR

Lila goes to the chair, touches it. The touch disturbs the

figure. It starts to turn, slowly, stiffly, a clock-wise

movement. Lila looks at it in horror. It is the body of a

woman long dead. The skin is dry and pulled away from the

mouth and the teeth are revealed as in the skeleton's smile.

The eyes are gone from their sockets, the bridge of the nose

has collapsed, the hair is dry and wild, the cheeks are

sunken, the leathery-brown skin is powdered and rouged and

flaky. The body is dressed in a high-neck, clean, well-pressed

dress, obviously recently laundered and hand-ironed.

The movement of this stuffed, ill-preserved cadaver, turning

as if in response to Lila's call and touch, is actually

graceful, ballet-like, and the effect is terrible and obscene.

Lila gazes for one flicker of a deathly moment, then begins

to scream, a high, piercing, dreadful scream.

And Lila's scream is joined by another scream, a more

dreadful, horrifying scream which comes from the door behind

her.

NORMAN'S VOICE (O.S.)

(screaming)

Ayeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Am Norma

Bates!

Lila turns.

NORMAN:

His face is contorted. He wears a wild wig, a mockery of a

woman's hair. He is dressed in a high-neck dress which is

similar to that worn by the corpse of his mother. His hand

is raised high, poised to strike at Lila. There is a long

breadknife in it.

LILA:

Close on her face. She is dumb-struck. Her eyes are screaming.

BACK TO NORMAN:

As he is about to start forward, a man's hand reaches in

from the doorway behind, grabs Norman's wrist. Sam comes

through the door, still holding tight to the wrist, pulling

back the arm and at the same time throwing himself at Norman,

football tackle style.

SERIES OF CUTS - THE FIGHT

Norman and Sam, struggling. The wild fury in Norman's face,

the mad noise of his screams and vile curses. The terrified,

fight-to-the-death look of Sam. The still, staring Lila.

MRS. BATES

A close of her face, She appears to be watching and enjoying

the fight. Over the shot, the SOUNDS of the struggle, the

screams of Norman.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. COURTHOUSE AT READING - (NIGHT)

There are many people gathered about the steps, the curious

and the concerned and the morbid. At the curb, a couple of

newspaper cars, two or three police cars, and a mobile unit

truck from the local television outlet. There is noise, and

chattering as questions are asked and answers given, and the

sounds of traffic, and of the television equipment being

moved into the courthouse, for on-the-scene reporting, and

the stern voices of policemen trying to keep people back.

The scene has a bright glare about it, that quality of sudden

light thrown on a fearful darkness.

CLOSER ANGLE ON STEPS OF COURTHOUSE

A POLICEMAN trying to make way for the television men,

muttering "keep back," etc., to the spectators. A TELEVISION

MAN, carrying a piece of equipment goes through door, and

CAMERA FOLLOWS him into the courthouse vestibule.

Here, too, there is a crowd, composed of Policemen, Reporters,

Television Men. The Television Men we have been following

stops beside a Policeman.

TELEVISION MAN:

(Indicating the front

door he has just

come in through)

You think they'll take him out that

way?

POLICEMAN:

(Looking at waiting

crowd, shrugging)

Probably have to.

(A rueful smile)

Besides, the taxpayers hate it when

something gets slipped out the back

door on them!

Over this exchange, the buzz of other voices, the movement

of men. CAMERA MOVES ON, down the corridor, gets to the door

of the office of the Chief of Police just as a young fellow

with a carton box filled with paper containers of sent-out-

for coffee reaches this door. CAMERA HOLDS as the COFFEE BOY

pauses a moment, then goes into the room.

CUT TO:

INT. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE - (NIGHT)

Lila is seated in a chair, Sam standing close by. A bit apart

from them, we see Sheriff Chambers, in quiet conference with

the CHIEF OF POLICE, the COUNTY SHERIFF, the DISTRICT

ATTORNEY.

The Coffee Boy stands in the doorway. Sam goes to him, takes

a container of coffee from the box, carries it to Lila,

checking the notation on the lid as he goes.

MED. CLOSE ON SAM AND LILA

SAM:

(quietly)

It's regular. Okay?

LILA:

(ruefully)

I could stand something regular.

Sam smiles encouragingly, hands her the coffee. Sheriff

Chambers ENTERS SHOT, gives Sam a container of coffee he has

brought for him. Sam takes it, nods a thank you.

For a moment no one speaks. Lila looks badly shaken, Sam

disheveled, but contained.

CHAMBERS:

You two can go on home if you like.

(a sympathetic look

at Lila)

Making that statement was enough for

one night.

SAM:

(to Lila)

Want to?

LILA:

No. I'm all right. I'll feel better

when all this is explained... if it

can be.

Sam looks a question at Sheriff Chambers. Chambers shrugs

doubtfully.

CHAMBERS:

If anybody gets any answers, it'll

be the fellow talking to him now...

the Psychiatrist. Even I couldn't

reach Norman... and he knows me.

(to Lila)

You warm enough, Miss?

Lila is about to answer, when she sees someone come into the

room and rises anxiously. Sam and Sheriff Chambers turn,

follow her gaze.

INT. OFFICE OF CHIEF OF POLICE - FULL SHOT

A young man with a serious, frowning face has just come into

the room. He is DR. SIMON, the Psychiatrist.

He goes to the desk where the box of coffee containers has

been placed, takes up a container.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Did he talk to you?

SIMON:

No. I got the whole story... but not

from Norman. I got it from... his

mother.

Everyone gazes at him, mystified. He speaks as he removes

lid from coffee container.

SIMON:

Norman Bates no longer exists. He

only half-existed to begin with...

now, the other half has taken over.

Probably for all time.

LILA:

(With difficulty)

Did he kill my sister?

SIMON:

Yes... and no.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Look, if you're trying to lay a lot

of psychiatric groundwork for some

sort of plea this fellow would like

to cop...

SIMON:

A psychiatrist doesn't lay the

groundwork .. he merely tries to

explain it.

LILA:

But my sister is...

SIMON:

Yes. I'm sorry.

(to Chambers)

The Private Investigator, too. If

you drag that swamp somewhere in the

vicinity of the motel...

(To the Chief of Police)

Have you any unsolved missing persons

cases on your books?

CHIEF OF POLICE:

Yes. Two.

SIMON:

Young girls?

CHIEF OF POLICE:

(nods, astounded,

then:
)

Did he confess to...

SIMON:

(interrupting)

As I said, the mother...

(Pauses, goes on afresh)

To understand it, as I understood it

hearing it from the mother... That

is, from the mother-half of Norman's

mind, you have to go back ten years...

to the time when Norman murdered his

mother and her lover.

(A pause, then as no

one interrupts)

He was already dangerously disturbed,

had been ever since his father died.

His mother was a clinging, demanding

woman... and for years the two of

them lived as if there was no one

else in the world. Then she met a

man and it seemed to Norman she "threw

him over" for this man. That pushed

him over the thin line... and he

killed them both. Matricide is

probably the most unbearable crime

of all... and most unbearable to the

son who commit it. So he had to erase

the crime, at least in his own mind.

(A pause)

He stole her corpse... and a weighted

coffin was buried. He hid the body

in the fruit cellar, even "treated"

it to keep it as well as it would

keep. And that still wasn't enough.

She was there, but she was a corpse.

So he began to think and speak for

her, gave her half his life, so to

speak. At times he could be both

personalities, carry on

conversations... at other times, the

mother-half took over completely. He

was never all Norman, but he was

often only mother. And because he

was so pathologically jealous of

her, he assumed she was as jealous

of him. Therefore, if he felt a strong

attraction to any other woman, the

mother side of him would go wild.

(To Lila)

When Norman met your sister, he was

touched by her... and aroused by

her. He wanted her. And this set off

his "jealous mother" and... "mother

killed the girl." After the murder,

Norman returned as if from a deep

sleep... and like a dutiful son,

covered up all traces of the crime

he was convinced his mother had

committed.

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