Psycho Page #6

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DISSOLVE TO:

MARY IN NEW CAR:

Mary looks weary, tired with strain and with hard driving.

Her eyes are heavy with worry and deep thought.

OUT THE WINDSHIELD

We can see that it is much later in the day, almost dusk.

MARY IN NEW CAR:

We HEAR the sound of an agitated BUZZ of an intercom system,

a sound emanating from Mary's imagination.

After the second BUZZ, we HEAR the voice of Caroline.

CAROLINE'S VOICE

Yes, Mr. Lowery.

LOWERY'S VOICE

(a worried tone)

Caroline...? Mary still isn't in?

CAROLINE'S VOICE

No, Mr. Lowery... but then she's

always a bit late on Monday mornings.

LOWERY'S VOICE

Buzz me the minute she comes in.

Again Mary shakes her head, forces herself to stop hearing

these "invented" scenes of her imagination.

EXT. HIGHWAY

Now we cut to the view of the road, from Mary's viewpoint.

Darkness of evening is coming. In the dim twilight we see

the neon sign of roadside restaurants and gas stations

beginning to blaze on.

INT. MARY'S NEW CAR

Back on Mary's face, and after a moment, the imagined voices

again:

LOWERY'S VOICE

Call her sister! If no one's answering

at the house....

CAROLINE'S VOICE

I called her sister, Mr. Lowery,

where she works, the Music Makers

Music Store, you know? And she doesn't

know where Mary is any more than we

do.

LOWERY'S VOICE

You better run out to the house.

She may be... unable to answer the

phone...

CAROLINE'S VOICE

Her sister's going to do that. She's

as worried as we are.

A flush of painful guilt and regret rises up in Mary's face.

She closes her eyes for one tight swift moment.

EXT. HIGHWAY

We cut again to the highway. The first oncoming headlights

slash at the windshield.

INT. MARY'S NEW CAR

Cutting back to Mary, we can sense by the tense muscles of

her face that she is driving faster. The oncoming headlights

blurt at her.

Suddenly we HEAR Lowery's voice, loud now and frightened, as

if the anxiety in the man's voice was strong enough to break

through Mary's effort to keep her mind silent and her

imagination blank.

LOWERY'S VOICE

No! I haven't the faintest idea. As

I said, I last saw your sister when

she left this office on Friday...

she said she didn't feel well and

wanted to leave early and I said she

could. And that was the last I saw...

(a pause, a thought)

...wait a minute, I did see her, an

hour or so later, driving...

(a pause, then with

solemn fear)

Ah, I think you'd better come over

here to my office. Quick.

(a pause, a click)

Caroline, get Mr. Cassidy for me.

EXT. HIGHWAY

It is completely dark now, night.

INT. MARY'S NEW CAR

We cut back to her face.

LOWERY'S VOICE

After all, Cassidy, I told you...

all that cash... I'm not taking the

responsibility... Oh, for heaven's

sake, a girl works for you for ten

years, you trust her! All right,

yes, you better come over.

FROM MARY'S VIEWPOINT

EXT. THE ROAD AHEAD INT. MARY'S NEW CAR

Fast cut back to Mary's face. Oncoming headlights throw a

blinding light across her features.

CASSIDY'S VOICE

(undrunk, sharp with

rage)

Well I ain't about to kiss off forty

thousand dollars! I'll get it back

and if any of it's missin' I'll

replace it with her fine soft flesh!

I'll track her, never you doubt it!

LOWERY'S VOICE

Hold on, Cassidy... I still can't

believe... it must be some kind of a

mystery... I can't...

CASSIDY'S VOICE

You checked with the bank, no? They

never laid eyes on her, no? You

still trustin'? Hot creepers, she

sat there while I dumped it out...

hardly even looked at it, plannin'

and... and even flirtin' with me...!

A look of revulsion makes Mary close her eyes.

THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD AGAIN

Big drops of rain begin to appear.

CLOSEUP - MARY

She is becoming aware of the rain starting.

THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD

The rain increasing and backlit by the oncoming headlights.

CLOSEUP - MARY

Mary starts the windshield wipers.

THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD

The wipers are having a battle with the now torrential rain.

CLOSEUP - MARY

Peering through the blurred windshield.

CLOSEUP - THE CAR WHEELS

slowing down in the flooding highway.

CLOSEUP - MARY

peering through the windshield. The oncoming lights are fewer.

CLOSEUP - THE CAR WHEELS

almost coming to a slow turn.

THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD

just blackness and rain.

CLOSEUP - MARY

peering.

MARY'S VIEWPOINT

An almost undiscernible light in the far distance, a neon

sign blurred by the rain-sheeted windshield.

MARY'S CAR

She presses down, forces the car to move on through the

flooded road.

EXT. THE ROAD

As we move closer, we see the neon sign more clearly and can

faintly make out the large letters which read "Motel." Mary

stops the car, lowers the window slightly, looks out. We see

the sign clearly now: "BATES MOTEL." Mary opens the car door

and dashes out into the rain and up onto the porch of the

motel office.

EXT. BATES' MOTEL - (NIGHT)

Mary pauses on the porch. The lights are on within the office.

She tries door, finds it open, goes into office. CAMERA

FOLLOWS her into office. There is no one present. Mary goes

to the desk, rings a small pushbell. There is no response.

Mary rubs her forehead in weariness and frustration, goes

back out onto the porch. She looks off in another direction,

slightly behind the office, and sees...

MARY'S VIEWPOINT - A LARGE OLD HOUSE - (NIGHT)

A path from the motel office leads directly up to this house.

There is a light on in one of the upstairs rooms. A WOMAN

passes the window, pauses, peers out.

We see her in clear silhouette. She quickly goes away from

the window.

EXT. PORCH OF BATES' MOTEL - (NIGHT)

Mary, having seen the woman, expects now that she will get

some attention. She stands a few moments, waiting.

No one comes. Impatience and anger rise in Mary. She dashes

out into the rain, to her car, gets in, opens the side window,

begins to honk the horn. After a moment, a YOUNG MAN open

the front door of the house, pauses, starts down the path.

After a few steps, he turns and runs back into the house.

Mary leaves her car, starts a dash for the shelter of the

porch. As she runs, we see that the Young Man has gone back

only to get an umbrella. Seeing that Mary is on her way to

the porch, he runs quickly, the umbrella unopened in his

hand. He gets to the porch a moment after Mary has reached

it.

He stops short, looks at her, then at the umbrella hanging

useless in his hand, then back to her.

There is something sadly touching in his manner, in his look.

Mary's impatience goes and she smiles and this makes him

almost smile. He gestures her into the office, standing back

to indicate that he will go after her. She goes into the

office.

INT. OFFICE OF BATES' MOTEL - (NIGHT)

The Young Man follows Mary in, closes the door. He is NORMAN

BATES, somewhere in his late twenties, thin and tall, soft-

spoken and hesitant.

NORMAN:

Dirty night.

MARY:

(not really a question)

You have a vacancy?

NORMAN:

(simply, almost

cheerfully)

We have twelve vacancies. Twelve

cabins, twelve vacancies.

(a pause)

They moved away the highway.

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