Anatomy of a Psycho

Anatomy of a Psycho
Film poster
Directed byBoris Petroff (as Brooke L. Peters)
Screenplay byJane Mann
Don Devlin
Story byJane Mann
Edward D. Wood, Jr. (as Larry Lee)
Produced byBoris Petroff (producer)
StarringSee below
CinematographyJoel Colman
Edited byEd Spiegel
Music byMichael Terr
Production
company
Distributed byUnitel
Release date
  • 14 June 1961 (1961-06-14)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Anatomy of a Psycho is a 1961 American crime thriller film directed by Boris Petroff (as Brooke L. Peters). Ed Wood reportedly contributed to Jane Mann's screenplay as Larry Lee. Ronnie Burns, adopted son of George Burns and Gracie Allen, plays the romantic lead. The film was shot at the Alexander Film Company studios in Colorado Springs in 1959[1] it was the only feature film produced by the company.[2] The film had the working title of Young Scarface;[3] by the time film the film received a distributor it was retitled to exploit Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and Psycho (1960).[4]

Co-screenwriter Don Devlin who played Moe was the father of producer Dean Devlin, Jane Mann was the wife of Boris Petroff.[5]

Premise

Duke Marco has raised his kid brother Chet and his sister like a father. When Duke is sentenced to death after a trial for murder, Chet increasingly experiences paranoia and psychosis, which not even his sister, best friend or girlfriend can relieve. Ultimately losing touch with surrounding reality, he assaults the son of the prosecuting attorney, beats up the judge's son and sets his house on fire then attempts to get the son of the judge on a murder charge. However, Lieutenant Mac, a local police officer, discovers Chet's involvement and hunts him down, leading to a tragic denouement.

Cast

Soundtrack

The film uses public domain music originally used for Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959).

Title Psycho Darrel Howe sung two songs in the film Gonna Go Round and I Make a Wish, with the 45 record crediting Young Scarface.[6]

DVD release

The film was released on DVD in 2001.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Western History Subject Index".
  2. ^ "Local film company, celebrating 90 years, had storied past". 4 November 2009.
  3. ^ p.8 Motion Picture Herald August 1959
  4. ^ "Local film company, celebrating 90 years, had storied past". 4 November 2009.
  5. ^ "⁨Symphony in Grey ⁩ | ⁨B'nai B'rith Messenger⁩ | 30 October 1936 | Newspapers | the National Library of Israel".
  6. ^ "Darrell Howe – Gonna Go Round / I Make a Wish (1959, Vinyl)". Discogs.
  7. ^ Anatomy of a Psycho/Hatchet For the Honeymoon (1974), Amazon. Retrieved on 24 February 2010.

Further reading

  • The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1996), documentary film directed by Brett Thompson
  • Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992) ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8