Psycho: The Main Characters, Ranked By Intelligence | ScreenRant
It's been over 60 years since Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was released yet it still towers above most of the projects that came after it. The movie is often lauded for its impressive camerawork, with the iconic shower murder scene having a whopping 78 different shots. The sleek direction aside, the characters are quite intriguing too.
Danger looms all over the movie and as such, each character has to make the best decision to avoid tragedy. Unfortunately, some don't and as a result, they face some serious consequences. Those that tread carefully not only come off as very wise but also emerge as better characters in many other ways.
10 Marion Crane
Marion steals from her boss and goes on the run, hoping to pay her boyfriend's debts and get married to him. Sadly, she gets subjected to one of the most shocking deaths in horror movies when she decides to spend the night at the Bates Motel.
Marion's actions are driven by love rather than logic. She doesn't think things through when she steals $40,000 from her boss as such a decision not only marks the end of her employment status but also puts her on the radar of law enforcement. Even if she would have given Sam the money to pay off his debts, they would have struggled to survive once they got married, since she would not only be unemployed but also a wanted woman.
9 Norman Bates
The proprietor of the Bates Motel has a split personality which makes him imagine he is having conversations with his dead mother. He commits plenty of murders throughout his life but he is eventually stopped by Sam and Lila.
Norman is undoubtedly one of the best Hitchcock villains but he is far from a cautious serial killer. He doesn't have believable fake stories to cover up his murders and that's why Arbogast quickly figures out he is lying when he interrogates him about Marion's death. Additionally, it is unwise of him to keep his mother's mummified body and continue to have audible "conversations" with her yet he told the Sheriff she had died in a murder-suicide. He also risks discovery by telling every motel visitor about his mother.
8 Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers
Chambers doesn't believe a single word when he is informed that Norman's dead mother is still in the mansion. His refusal to act forces Sam and Lila to conduct their own investigations.
Chambers is hardly aware of what happens in his own backyard. Despite serving as a Deputy Sheriff for years, he never notices any unusual activity at the Bates mansion. As such, he comes off as someone who is poor at his job. He blindly believes Norman's story about his mother's fate, as well as his additional false explanation when Sam and Lila force him to call the serial killer. Furthermore, his suggestion that Arbogast is after the money is so far-fetched that it borders on laughable.
7 Tom Cassidy
Cassidy purchases the Harris Street Property as a gift for his 18-year-old daughter but Marion steals the $40,000 he used as payment. The tycoon thus hires a private investigator to trace the money.
It takes both brains and effort to become wealthy and since Cassidy is among the richest men in America, it should be presumed that he is very smart. However, it's hinted that Cassidy brought about the whole mess by paying in cash instead of writing a check like other clients. By ignoring the risks that come with paying in cash, Cassidy kickstarts a chain of events that lead to tragedy.
6 California Charlie
This used car salesman serves Marion when she stops by his lot to trade her car. Though he doubts her, he goes ahead and gives her a new car.
Charlie doesn't take long to figure out that something is off about Marion. He is normally the one who has to pressure customers therefore Marion pressing him comes off as weird to him. The car salesman doesn't ignore the little details either. In addition to thoroughly inspecting her car, he also makes sure to ask Marion a couple of equations before he makes the sole.
5 George Lowery
The real estate tycoon George Lowery is introduced as Marion's boss. Worried that it would be risky to keep $40,000 in the office, he tasks her with banking it but she goes on the run.
Like Cassid, Lowery is wealthy because he is brainy. He understands the risks of his business and that's why he doesn't wait even a minute to issue a directive for the money to be banked. Lowery is very kind to his employees too and it's hinted that this is the reason he has been very successful.
4 Lila Crane
Lila shows up in Fairville to look for Marion and discovers that she stole money and ran away. With the help of Arbogast and Sam, she is able to find out exactly what transpired.
The terror in the final act is one of the things about Psycho that still hold up today and Lila is right at the center of it. She is careful enough to look over her shoulder when she sneaks to the mansion to look for Norman's mother. This way, he doesn't catch her by surprise as he does with Arbogast. She is quick to get information too. This is best seen earlier in the movie when she learns everything her sister did even before Sam does.
3 Private Investigator Arbogast
Arbogast is hired to retrieve the $40,000 that Marion stole so he heads over to the Bates Motel to question Norman. He quickly figures out that there is something fishy going on but is murdered before he can establish the truth.
The private investigator's line of questioning paints him as a very cunning man. Within a few minutes, he manages to get Norman to contradict himself. It's through him that everyone else gets to learn that Norman is keeping his mother in the house. He also does well by telling Lila and Sam his earlier findings rather than keeping things to himself until he is done with the investigation.
2 Sam Loomis
Sam starts out as a man struggling to get out of debt but spends the rest of the movie, trying to find out what happened to his girlfriend, Marion. He soon realizes she was murdered.
Sam can be credited with doing the most work during the events that lead to Norman's downfall. Thanks to his awareness skills, he quickly spots the figure of Norman's mother in the mansion window and is, therefore, able to inform the sheriff. Distracting Norman so that Lila can sneak into the house is also a smart move since the serial killer cannot be dealt with diplomatically. And by him subduing Norman rather than killing him, everyone else gets to find out why he committed the murders.
1 Dr. Leo Richmond
The psychiatrist is introduced after Norman's arrest and goes on to explain to law enforcement officers why the serial killer committed his crimes. He appears in the fourth installment in the franchise too.
Richmond has plenty of knowledge about how the minds of serial killers function. Through his explanation, viewers get a perfect understanding of how Norman was able to have conversations with his dead mother inside his own head. Though the numerous facts he possesses come naturally for members of his profession, they are still impressive.