''Anatomy of a Psycho'' is a 1961 American

crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

film directed by Boris Petroff (as Brooke L. Peters).

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novelist. In the 1950s, Wood directed several B movie, low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult c ...

reportedly contributed to Jane Mann's screenplay as Larry Lee. Ronnie Burns, adopted son of

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyeb ...

and

Gracie Allen Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen (July 26, 1895 – August 27, 1964) was an American vaudevillian, singer, actress, and comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns, her straight man, ap ...

, plays the romantic lead. The film was shot at the Alexander Film Company studios in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

in 1959 it was the only

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

produced by the company. The film had the

working title A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...

of ''Young Scarface''; by the time film the film received a distributor it was retitled to exploit ''

Anatomy of a Murder ''Anatomy of a Murder'' is a 1959 American legal drama film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Wendell Mayes was based on the 1958 novel of the same name written by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker under ...

'' (1959) and '' Psycho'' (1960). Co-screenwriter Don Devlin who played Moe was the father of producer

Dean Devlin Dean Devlin (born August 27, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actor of film and television. He is best known for his collaborations with director Roland Emmerich, and for his work on the The Librarian (franchise), ''Li ...

, Jane Mann was the wife of Boris Petroff.

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 In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or inco ...

, 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

* Ronnie Burns as Mickey * Pamela Lincoln as Pat * Darrell Howe as Chet * Judy Howard as Sandy * Michael Granger as Lt. Mac * Frank Killmond as Bobbie * Russ Bender as Frank * Don Devlin as Moe * William Salzwedel as Duke * Robert Stabler as Defense Attorney * John B. Lee as District Attorney * Pat McMahon as Arthur (uncredited)

Soundtrack

The film uses

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

music originally used for Wood's ''

Plan 9 from Outer Space ''Plan 9 from Outer Space'' is a 1957 American Independent film, independent science fiction film, science fiction-horror film produced, written, directed, and edited by Ed Wood. The film was shot in black-and-white in November 1956 and had ...

'' (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''.

DVD release

The film was released on DVD in 2001.Anatomy of a Psycho/Hatchet For the Honeymoon (1974)
Amazon. Retrieved on 24 February 2010.

References

External links

* * *
Anatomy of a Psycho free online streaming
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anatomy of a Psycho 1961 films American crime thriller films 1960s crime thriller films 1960s English-language films American black-and-white films Films with screenplays by Ed Wood Films shot in Colorado 1960s American films English-language crime thriller films