Psycho (1960) - 31 mistakes

Revealing: When Marion is driving her car through the night, she keeps looking at her speedometer. You can clearly see that the gear shift lever is in "park" as she is driving.

Deliberate "mistake": When Norman picks up Marion's body to carry it to his trunk, a bra is visible through the shower curtain. Gus Van Sant included this goof in his 1998 remake.

Factual error: When Janet Leigh is shown lying dead on the floor of the shower, there is a close-up of her open eye. The pupil is contracted to a pinpoint (obviously due to the bright lighting) where it should have been dilated. After the film was released, Hitchcock heard from several ophthalmologists who pointed this out and suggested he use belladonna eyedrops in the eyes of "dead" people in future films, as the chemical prevents the pupils from contracting.

Visible crew/equipment: While Janet Leigh is being stabbed to death by Mother, as Janet turns around in the shower, it is possible to see part of the moleskin that Janet wore for the scene for a split second.

Continuity: When Marion and Norman are talking after he has brought in some sandwiches, Marion tears the same piece of bread 3 times on different occasions.

Revealing: After Marion has been murdered there is a close-up of her face. If you look down to her neck you can see her pulse.

Continuity: When Marion steps into the shower, we can hear (not see) her unwrap a bar of soap and throw the wrapper on the floor of the shower. But when Norman is cleaning the bathtub, after Marion is killed, the wrapper is no where in sight.

Visible crew/equipment: When Marion arrives at the car dealership, the salesman sees her and starts walking towards her. If you look carefully, there is a wire trailing out his trouser leg, most likely for a hidden mic.

Other: In the shower scene, Marion Crane's palm looks water wrinkled as if she's been in the shower for quite a long time even though she was only in for a few moments before Norman stabs her. Also, when Norman drags her out of the bathroom, Marion's legs are stiff and together and she has her toes pointed.

Continuity: When Marion arrives at the Bates motel, she sounds the car horn for the first time, the windscreen wipers are switched on. She gets out of the car, looks towards the old house, then goes back to the car, as she sounds the horn for the second time the windscreen wipers are now switched off.

Visible crew/equipment: When Marion first gets ready to get in the shower, the camera is panning back over the bed to show the newspaper with the cash wrapped up in it.  As the camera pans back, one can clearly see the camera's shadow on the bed as it pans back.

Visible crew/equipment: After Marion's sister and boyfriend look through the Number 1 bathroom and find the ring on the toilet, they turn off the light. On the wall behind them you can make out a square beam of light, but no other lights are on in the cabin.

Continuity: As the camera zooms into the hotel window, you can see a shadow on the blinds. But in the next shot, the shadow is now longer (even though it's supposed to be in real time).

Continuity: In the scene after Janet Leigh is killed Norman goes into Cabin one and starts mopping. He puts the mop in front of the bed for a second. Through the mirror you can see the mop fall when he put it down, but when he goes back to get it, the mop is up again.

Continuity: After seeing Marion's dead body in the bathroom, Norman accidentally knocks down a framed picture of a bird (with the picture facing up and it is a few inches away from the wall). But when Norman is spreading the shower curtain on the floor, the picture has changed position (with the picture now facing down and it is against the wall).

Continuity: The shadows made by the sunlight streaming onto the hotel office wall completely change, from the scene in which Sam grills Norman about the $40K, to the shot in which Norman runs out to find Lila. While Sam and Norman were in the hotel parlor and Lila was in the house, who pulled the office window shade half way down - Mother?

Continuity: In the shot in which Norman goes into the bathroom and puts the pail behind the door, the shower curtain rings are spread out. In the very next shot in which he emerges from behind the door, the rings are in tight groups. As he leaves the bathroom, the rings are spread out again.

Continuity: When Marion steps into the shower and pulls the curtain shut, if you look closely, you can see a rubber bath mat with holes in it. After this shot, the mat is not seen again (during the murder or the clean-up).

Continuity: Norman brings a tray of food to Marion, when she says "So long as you've fixed supper we may as well eat it," watch how her folded arms change position from hands tucked underneath, to hands on top of her arms.

Revealing: When Marion's boyfriend and sister visit the Sheriff and his wife at home, there is a camera shot where you can see that living room background scenery ends and there is no ceiling.

Continuity: When Marion is buying another car at the dealership, in the background you can see the same extras walking in different directions on the sidewalk.

Continuity: When Marion gets out of her car at the dealership, she is holding her purse with her hands. But in the next shot, her purse is now around her left arm.

Continuity: While in the shower, Marion rubs her right arm with a bar of soap and her hair has yet to get wet. But in the next shot, the soap has disappeared from her hand and most of her hair is wet.

Deliberate "mistake": After being stabbed, Arbogast falls down the stairs in an impossible manner. He is standing tilted backwards all the way down the stairs.

Factual error: The state trooper asks Marian for her "license," but not the registration. Then he looks at the car's plate and verifies the number. But it would be on the registration, not on her license.

Continuity: When Norman carries Marion's dead body out to the boot of the car, the water on Marion's bonnet changes between shots. In some shots there is water, sometimes there is no water.

Factual error: Janet Leigh is driving from Phoenix, AZ to Bakersfield, CA. On the way there is an interview with a state trooper followed by a shot of a sign on the highway saying, "left lane for Gorman". Gorman, CA is in the general vicinity, but it is not on the route one would take to get from Phoenix to Bakersfield.

Audio problem: When Norman runs down from the Bates house to the motel and meets Marion, he says "Gee, I'm sorry I didn't hear you in all this rain. Go ahead in, please." But you look closely, it looks like Norman is barely moving his lips. In fact it looks like Marion is saying something instead.

Continuity: When Norman is parking Marion's car, he does so by reversing with right hand lock. But when he drives off, he does so with left hand lock without having turned the steering wheel.

Other: In the scene where Janet Leigh goes to take a shower, she gets into the stall and immediately turns the shower on. What's amazing is that it's the right temperature right as she turns it on. Guess the Bates Motel has really good showers.

Factual error: Norman Bates spies on Marion by removing a picture from a wall in his back office but this cannot be so. If you look at the motel from the outside, Marion's cabin is to the right hand side of the office. As you walk into the office the front desk is on the left (as you can tell when the private investigator arrives) and the back office where Bates has his stuffed birds, etc. is behind the front desk. If he looked through a hole in his back office he would have been looking through an outside wall and not into Marion's cabin, which would be on the other side of the office.