Hitchcock used to say that this movie was nothing but a joke, as he just wanted to see the audience react while the female star was being murdered early in the plot. However, nobody laughed. Instead, when it was time to take a shower, many looked behind the bathroom curtain in terror, just to make sure no one was there.
When a father wrote the director that his daughter resisted taking another shower, he simply responded “send her to the dry cleaners”. As Hitchcock himself confessed later, 33% of the famous shower scene’s success could be attributed to Bernard Herrmann’s unparalleled music.
The director had initially decided to film this scene without any notes, but immediately changed his mind when he listened to this composition. From then on, it’s all a part of the cinematic vision of one who set the bar to a new height for all the rest, with his very first thriller.
As for the scene itself, though it only lasts for 45 seconds, took a week of filming and over 70 different camera angles. You can see it here on a great storybook / flipbook, through a featurette of the upcoming Hitchcock movie, with outstanding Anthony Hopkins starring.
