To ensure he made a return on his investment, Alfred Hitchcock created a set of rules for watching his 1960 classic horror film Psycho.

We won’t allow you to cheat yourself. You must see PSYCHO from the very beginning. Therefore, do not expect to be admitted into the theatre after the start of each performance of the picture. We say no one — and we mean no one — not even the manager’s brother, the President of the United States, or the Queen of England (God bless her)!

In foyer’s across the States, a Pinkerton guard was hired to bar any late comers.

Hitchcock had invested $806,947.55 of his own money, via his company Shamley Productions, into Psycho, after the Hollywood studios denounced it a sick film which would most likely destroy the great director’‘s reputation. It didn’t. Instead it made Hitchcock a lot of money, a generation of younger fans, and inspired a whole range of psychotic slasher movies.
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds

Happy Birthday Norman Bates: ‘Psycho’ turns 50 today

Behind the Scenes: Alfred Hitchcock directs ‘Frenzy’ in 1972

 
Via Open Culture