Somebody has typed 11 August 1960 on top of this. Would that be the date of original publication? Probably not, unless Sarris somehow got into an advance screening, which seems unlikely. The IMDB says that the U.S. release date for PSYCHO was September 8, 1960.

Sarris's review is a remarkably good and self-assured first effort. It's not overwritten; it reveals just the right amount about the film; and Sarris puts PSYCHO and Hitchcock in proper context. I heard Sarris talk about this review, and he said it drew a lot of "hate mail" to the VOICE, because for a while the standard required reaction to PSYCHO was outrage and moral indignation. (The reaction quickly turned to respect, and PSYCHO drew four Oscar nominations, including Best Director for Hitchcock--one of five times he was nominated. The others were for REBECCA, LIFEBOAT, SPELLBOUND, and REAR WINDOW.)

My only gripe is the cheap shot Sarris takes at DIABOLIQUE (1955), Henri Clouzot's great French film. It has become fashionable for auteur critics to bash DIABOLIQUE, particularly as a counterpoint to Hitchcock. Sarris does it here, in his discussion about the ending. Robin Wood does it in his book on Hitchcock, where he notes that Hitchcock reveals the big shock early in VERTIGO, allowing the audience to participate in the moral drama that follows, while DIABOLIQUE goes for the more conventional (and supposedly less meaningful) "shock ending." (VERTIGO, DIABOLIQUE, and EYES WITHOUT A FACE all came from novels written by Thomas Narcejac and Pierre Boileau.)

That view is so misguided. DIABOLIQUE is a masterpiece in its own right, with its own meaning and logic. It's far more mystical (and even religious) than PSYCHO or VERTIGO, and the ending of DIABOLIQUE--for those of us who think we understand what Clouzot was up to--is perfect.

PSYCHO and DIABOLIQUE were two of the most influential films ever made, and one of the films influenced by DIABOLIQUE . . . was PSYCHO. (Hitchcock saw the French film and thought:

It would be fun to make something like that.) William Castle's entire horror career came from DIABOLIQUE, though Castle's HOMICIDAL (1961), was specifically based on PSYCHO.