8 Incredible Ways Movie Spoilers Were Kept Secret
4. To Keep The Plot A Secret, Hitchcock Bought As Many Copies Of The Book As He Could - Psycho
Though Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is a stellar piece of work in its own right, it will mainly be remembered for two specific moments - the shower scene, and the revelation that Norman impersonates his mother and kills young women.
It's a film that demanded to be seen with as little prior knowledge as possible, so in order to keep the film's twisty-turny plot under wraps, Hitchcock implemented several elaborate schemes during the production and marketing of his product.
The director's wish to keep the audience in the dark as much as possible was so great that he sent out his assistant to buy as many copies of the Psycho book as she could find, just to make sure nobody else could read it.
Hitchcock then prohibited anyone - including critics - from seeing the movie in advance of its release, and when it finally did come out, he implored cinema owners to lock their doors once the film had started, so nobody could walk in late.
He also recorded a message for moviegoers that played once the film had ended, which asked them to keep the movie's twists to themselves. Hitchcock devoted himself to making sure the audience experience was as exciting as possible, and based on Psycho's huge cultural impact, it's safe to say he was successful.