193 Psycho ( 1960 )

In  what  was  a  seminal  year  for  horror  films  this  one  topped  the  lot. Alfred  Hitchcock's  masterpiece  singlehandedly  invented  the  slasher  genre  and  introduced  horror  tropes  such  as  death  being  the  penalty  for  sexual  transgression, ambushes  in  the  shower, quick  jump  cuts etc  that  are  still  being  used  today.

A  summary  of  the  plot  seems  unnecessary  but  for  passing  Martians  it  goes  like  this. Marion  Crane  an  office  worker  steals  a  client's  money  to  finance  an  elopement  with  lover  Sam ( John  Gavin ). Driving  to  meet  up  with  him,  she  pulls  into  an old  fashioned  motel  to  escape  a  rainstorm. The  proprietor  is  Norman  Bates ( Anthony  Perkins )  a  pleasant,   slightly  callow,  young  man,  apparently  in  thrall  to  a  dominating  mother. Marion  decides  to  have  a  shower...

Vera  Miles  ( as  Lila  Crane )

Sex : No

Death  :  Survives  ( but  cops  it  in  Psycho  II )

Vera's  real  surname  is  Ralston  but  when  the  former  beauty  contestant   began  her  film  career  there  was  already  an  actress  of  that  name. She  got  her  big  beak  in  The  Searchers  in  1956  then  committed  herself  to   Hitchcock  as  a  mooted  replacement  for  Grace  Kelly.  She  didn't  achieve  that  status - pregnancy  cost  her  the  female  lead  in  Vertigo   but  she  was   always  gainfully  employed  in  film  or  TV  until  her  retirement  in  1995. She  is  now  87.

Janet  Leigh  ( as  Marion  Crane )

Sex : Marion  has  just  had  sex  with  Sam  as  the  film  opens  and  is  wearing  a  bra  and  underskirt. There  are  quick, blurred  glimpses  of  her  breasts  in  the  shower  scene.

Death :  Do  I  really  need  to  say ?

Janet  was  originally  Jeanette  Morrison . She  was  already  an  experienced  actress  having  been  in  films  since  the  late  forties. She  married  Tony  Curtis  her  third  husband  in  1951. She  took a  break  from  acting  after  their  divorce  in  1962  but   returned  as  a  character  actress  and  was  working  down  to  her  death  in  2004  aged  77.

Pat  Hitchcock  ( as  Caroline ) 

Sex : No

Death : Survives

Pat  was  the  director's  only  child  and  although  she  was  genuinely  an  actress  she  did  little  work  for  anyone  else. She  is  now  88  and  has  been   married  for  65  years.