
Was Norman Bates really a murderer and transvestite? The answer might seem obvious, until you read an essay on Psycho that was shared in one of my Hitchcock discussion groups.
Thought-provokingly, the essay's author proffers a yes and no answer to that question: because Bates assumed his mother’s identity so completely, Mrs. Bates could be identified as the serial killer as well as Norman. In other words, the movie's psychologist (Simon Oakland) was right:
Dr. Fred Richmond: I got the whole story — but not from Norman. I got it from his mother. Norman Bates no longer exists. He only half-existed to begin with. And now, the other half has taken over. Probably for all time.That yes-and-no ambivalence is a defining characteristic of Hitch's movies, going all the way back to his silent period. Take The Manxman (1929), for example.
Lila Crane: Did he kill my sister?
Dr. Fred Richmond: Yes — and no.

A truly messed-up love triangle, its plot revolves around three inhabitants on the Isle of Man: Pete, a fisherman; Philip, a lawyer; and Kate, the girl they both love. When Pete leaves the island to make his fortune and win Kate's hand in marriage, she and Philip fall in love and have relations of Biblical proportions, whereupon Kate gets pregnant. Then Pete unexpectedly returns home. She marries him as promised, only to find herself compromised from every angle. Finally, she and Philip are forced to leave in humiliation.


Nevertheless, she gives him her word that she will wait — only to regret it immediately afterward. When he leaves, she shuts the window and the troubled look on her face reveals that she is conflicted about her decision. In this scene, the beam from the lighthouse shines on and off through her window, echoing her own conflicted state of mind.
This movie, stuffed as it is with religious references and symbols, seems to point to an all-seeing Judge who will set matters straight in His own time. Superficially, audiences could see it as a fable or a sermon based on the motto-like scripture that opens the film, "What does it benefit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?" (Mark 8:36) No sooner is that moralism spelled out, however, than it is undermined. The eternal Judge (i.e. God) of The Manxman isn't all that cut and dried, and whatever religiosity the film might promote is tendered ironically.

Here are a few of the film's religious references:

This shot seems to be an ironic reference to classical and romantic paintings of Mary, Joseph and Jesus' flight to Egypt.
The Virgin of Guadeloupe mousepad.

Earlier, at her wedding and as her sins came to light in the courthouse, Kate resembled the Virgin Mary — the ironic joke being that she was no virgin.



That yes-and-no ambivalence recurs throughout Hitch's films. Similarly, a yes-and-no answer could be given to the question of whether Hitch made ghost stories, whether his films are sexist (and, conversely, whether his films are feminist), or just about any other "theory" that one might try to attach to his films. And this ambivalence comes through in a coy, playful, teasing manner that is also dead serious. Not unlike Kate at her bedroom window.
For more Manxman fun, tune in tomorrow.
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