Janet Leigh’s casting as Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho created an unusual marketing and storytelling challenge. Audiences expected the famous star to remain central, but Hitchcock killed her character early in the film.

The shock became the story

Hitchcock’s decision helped establish one of cinema’s most influential narrative surprises and changed how audiences thought about the safety of major characters in suspense films.

Explore more classic Hollywood history in the Hollywood archive.

Imran Siddiqui

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