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One other thing I'm not sure about. I wanted to know what the "hoochie cooche" (mentioned in the title song) was. It was a dance done by women and was suggestive. Maybe not the best thing to be teaching Tootie? (Although given her other proclivities this is probably the mildest one.) Wikipedia does mention its last "hurrah" was at the 1904 World's Fair and then was gone by WWII. Wiki link

So they really did meet in St. Louis!

This was going to be my point. I think everyone who watches Psycho knows Norman Bates is his mother. But everyone is still on board once this movie gets going. That's a good thriller. Even if you know the main beats of the story, this movie stil works whereas a lot of thrillers lose all their power when the is no mystery. Psycho still works every time you watch it even if it's just the main scenes because the reveal of Norman dressed as his mother is so well done. Anthony Perkins looks completely unhinged. Also, check out Black Christmas. It's weird in parts that don't work but the horror stuff really works.

Fun weird connection people often overlook. Marion Crane is played by Janet Leigh who became a horror icon because of this movie. Her daughter as mentioned was Jamie Lee Curtis who became a horror iconic thanks to her role in Halloween. However everybody knows that. The connection is actually much deeper. In addition to Halloween redefining the slasher genre which Psycho basically started people often overlook or forget that the psychiatrist in the movie Halloween movies played by Donald Pleasence is Dr. Sam Loomis who is named after the character in Psycho.

I don't want to go against Amy and Paul too hard but it makes me cringe slightly to hear that this movie should be possibly dismissed because of the second half. It is akin to me to those that say "Full Metal Jacket is great until they leave boot camp." It is so dismissive of the great stuff that happens just because pop culture has made the key cultural moments mostly in the front half. Now if you say "the second half isn't as memorable as the first half" I again half to challenge this because as stated what are the things people know about this movie? The shower scene and Norman Bates is his mother. The later of those is the final reveal, so dismiss the second half you dismiss this reveal and major twist as well. Also you praise Martin Balsam but all his stuff is in the second half. Not to mention the iconic shot of him falling down the stairs or even his introduction with the giant close up of his face. They also mention Norman and Sam Loomis interaction and his change in character. Odd that this is remembered because it's in the "I don't remember anything" second half. Now you could argue that Sam Loomis and Lila Crane aren't as interesting, and that is a fair argument to be made but to actively dismiss and write off the second half as "nothing happens" is crazy. If you criteria for dismissing it is "I don't remember a lot from the second half" just think about half these movies on the list and how much we don't remember that's not there because of pop culture referencing it to us.

Haven't listened to the episode once again... still haven't listened to LotR..... but for myself even knowing the twist ending I still was shocked just by the way it was achieved in the movie. This is really well done and holds the fuck up. It's definitely also one of those movies I wish I could go back in time to see in theaters because I would love to see how people reacted to this for the first time.

Paul & Amy pull off the highway for a short stay at 1960’s proto-slasher masterwork Psycho. They dissect Alfred Hitchcock’s artful use of misdirection, listen to Anthony Perkins’ pre-Psycho pop single, and ask if there was any value in Gun Van Sant’s controversial remake. Plus: Alexandre O. Philippe, the director of “78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene,” discusses one of cinema’s most infamous moments in detail. What do you think is in the warehouse at the end of Raiders Of The Lost Ark? Call the Unspooled voicemail line at 747-666-5824 and let us know! Follow us on Twitter @Unspooled, get more info at unspooledpod.com, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

I haven't listened to it yet either, but while I was watching last night, even knowing the twist, I was struck by the tension. For example, when Lila is searching Bates' house while Sam distracts Norman, there was still this fear of "Will she get caught?" And the answer is: of course not. Norman is in the Motel with Sam. The only thing in the house is a corpse. But still, knowing that there was nothing in the house that could possible hurt or catch her, I felt this anxiety for her. It makes me sad to hear that the second half is being called "unmemorable." I love the second half just as much as the first.

Fun fact this is the movie where Judy Garland met her second husband Vincent Minnelli who is Liza's father .

Maybe. Honestly, even though suburbs weren’t really a “thing” at that time, they more or less live in one. I don’t actually think they’d live in a NYC tenement, but I do think they’d miss the freedom of having a house with a lawn. For instance, no Wicker Man-style bonfires at Halloween.

Cold cat come for kitchen

That's still nothing to Texas BBQ but I'm biased.

Idk Tootie and Agnes would probably be delighted over some trashcan fires in NYC

I genuinely think it has a lot to do with the fact that in St. Louis they are part of the upper class, but in NYC they would be forced to live among others in a tenement and good gracious that is just unacceptable!

If Lon had already gone to Princeton for a while surely he had taken a trip or two into New York City? He could tell them what it was really like and maybe research places to live so they wouldn't be in a tenement.

I hesitate to bring this up but it's bothering me. Esther and Tootie do a cakewalk during the party. The lyrics are questionable but the dance itself doesn't appear to be kosher (at least for white people to be doing). I thought sure we had a previous pick where a cakewalk was done or mentioned. Does anyone remember that? Here's the Wikipedia entry on cakewalks. And in modern times... Thoughts?

Cam Bert's question had me actually curious as to when St. Louis got bad. It's certainly been known as, if not the murder capital of the US, it's always near the top (and crime of other types is usually pretty high up there as well). So, when did that start? According towikipedia, maybe around the time this movie takes place. Obviously newspaper reporting 100+ years ago may not be reliable but it looks like murder rates went way up at the turn of the century. Maybe murder was under reported prior to 1900 though. Obviously, being wealthy white people and written from the perspective of Tootie where a child may not realize how crime ridden their city is may make St. Louis seem less dangerous than it is. But it's possible it was genuinely better at this time than shortly after that. Take, for example, Gary, Indiana. In the Music Man, it's written about favorably. Of course, is a song from a con man and not reliable. But Gary used to be an okay place to live. At least good enough you could convince people being from the is fine. You couldn't write a song about Gary at anytime after the 90s to fool anyone. So, maybe 1903 was the last time you could ever write a movie about how great St. Louis is.

Oh yeah the more they kept talking about how perfect St. Louis was the more I thought "yeah because you're rich and white..."

I just assume that I'll only be able to think of a few that haven't been covered. I'm happy to stay for everyone else's picks!

That's cool It's totally chill. We get that life gets in the way, but as long as as people don't act like jerks (which, of course, none of us do), everyone is welcome to come and go as they please. No pressure whatsoever.

do the hustle

A night in heaven is just so unsexy...cringeworthy dancing.

It's kind of boggling my mind that people are defending this movie. I haven't seen it, but if this recap is any indication, it's a perfect fit: http://www.agonybooth.com/video_shows/Mr_Mendos_Hack_Attack/Rubber.aspx

I agree with the others that this is awesome. However, this completely falls into the "How did this get made?" category as well as the "Why did this get made?" and "WTF is this?" categories. It would be perfect for this show.

Rubber kicked ass