Psycho

Think of it as "The Three Faces of Gidget" -- in drag.In one of the most glacial winters in Baltimore history, director Terry J. Long has transformed the tiny Spotlighters Theatre into a slice of sun-drenched Malibu Beach, circa 1960 -- the setting for Charles Busch's corny, campy, comic "Psycho Beach Party."In Sixties lingo, it's a groovy way to come in out of the cold -- unless, of course, drag comedies about psycho teen-agers aren't your bag, in which case, you are forewarned and should stay home.

For Duncan Sheik, June 7 will forever be a day mired in mixed emotions. It was then, earlier this year, that his seventh album, "Covers 80's," hit stores. The 12-track album features Sheik's deconstructions of his British new-wave favorites, such as New Order's "Low-Life" and Japan's "Gentlemen Take Polaroids. " As the 42-year-old singer-songwriter put it recently, the songs "seemed to capture that angst teenage moment I was going through in the '80s. " But on the day the album dropped, Sheik canceled his summer tour and entered a treatment center for alcohol addiction.

It has been more than 35 years since Janet Leigh saw herself on screen in Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror film, "Psycho." After viewing the famous shower scene in which she was repeatedly stabbed, Ms. Leigh was seized with an overwhelming -- and lasting -- terror."

It's Halloween week on NBC so prepare yourself for ghost stories, parties, costume contests and secret web cams.  "Community": After Brita grades the study group's personality tests, she is convinced that one of them has an extreme (“like a Dorito” Thanks, Jeff) personality disorder and the only way to figure it out who is the always reliable “Tell a Ghost Story to Figure Out Who's the Psycho” game. Abed tells a cliché 50's horror movie plot and him and Annie kiss… awkward… Annie lets out a little bit of her inner freak in a forbidden love saga between Vampire Jeff and the Werewolf Annie.

Taking a shower has never felt truly safe ever since Janet Leigh stepped under the spray in the bathroom of nondescript Cabin 1 at the Bates Motel, during the most famous scene of Alfred Hitchcock's stylish horror film from 1960, Psycho. It's chilling enough to see the mysterious assailant's knife come slashing through the air at the unfortunate woman. What really makes the scene click is the accompanying sound of Bernard Herrmann's music, with its piercing strings underlining every jab of the violence.

It's the truth -- Janet Leigh really hasn't taken a shower since seeing herself in "Psycho" nearly four decades ago."It wasn't shooting the scene," says Leigh, whose character's death at the hands of the knife-wielding Norman Bates helped ingrain Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece into the national psyche. "But I never realized before how completely vulnerable we are. Seeing the movie and seeing how defenseless one is -- you can't see, the curtain's shut; you can't hear, the water's running.

The suits at Universal are doubtless hoping that lightning will strike twice with "Psycho," director Gus Van Sant's much-hyped remake of the Alfred Hitchcock groundbreaker that earned a ton of money for Paramount back in 1960.Van Sant certainly wouldn't mind either - what director doesn't yearn to be called a genius? And Anne Heche (cast here as Marion Crane) probably wouldn't mind a career as long and as steady as her predecessor in that fatal shower, Janet Leigh.But at least one person associated with "Psycho" 1998 probably would prefer that history not repeat itself.

Does the world need another "Psycho"? Probably not, but an extra one doesn't hurt.In one of this year's most talked-about cinematic experiments, underground-to-indie-to-mainstream director Gus Van Sant has orchestrated a shot-by-shot re-creation of Alfred Hitchcock's horror classic.With a young, fresh cast and an equally vibrant look, the new "Psycho" will no doubt prove groundbreaking to teen-agers who think this stuff started with "Scream." Hitchcock buffs with absolutely nothing better to do than to satisfy their curiosity won't be offended by Van Sant's tribute to the master, which has been given added verve by cinematographer Christopher Doyle's vivid photography.

She made 62 other movies, and in none of them was she stabbed repeatedly while taking a shower. Janet Leigh, who died last week at 77, will go down in film history for one role only -- in reality, for one scene, the 45 seconds she spent getting knifed by Anthony Perkins' deranged mama's boy in Psycho (1960). It is, admittedly, one incredible scene, a tour de force of quick-cut editing by director Alfred Hitchcock that set the template for every damsel-in-distress scene in every horror film made for the next 44 years (and counting)

Once an enfant Terp terrible, always one?At a recent Maryland basketball practice, as a couple of reporters discussed the possibility that 47-year-old coach Gary Williams was easing up in his dotage, from his mouth exploded a burst of four-letter expletives. As his face reddened, Williams grabbed the practice schedule from his back pocket and slammed it to the court."Unbelievable!" he screamed at an embarrassed Terp. "I did not see that ball go through your hands! Didn't happen! Physically impossible!

Taking a shower has never felt truly safe ever since Janet Leigh stepped under the spray in the bathroom of nondescript Cabin 1 at the Bates Motel, during the most famous scene of Alfred Hitchcock's stylish horror film from 1960, Psycho. It's chilling enough to see the mysterious assailant's knife come slashing through the air at the unfortunate woman. What really makes the scene click is the accompanying sound of Bernard Herrmann's music, with its piercing strings underlining every jab of the violence.

Ask average moviegoers about Howard Hawks, William Wyler or George Cukor, and you'll probably get nothing but blank stares. Try Billy Wilder or John Ford, and you might elicit a glimmer of recognition, although they probably couldn't name a single film either man directed. But mention Alfred Hitchcock, and it's like bringing up the name of a good friend. Everybody knows Hitchcock, the overweight gentleman with the pronounced English drawl. He's the guy who directed Psycho, right? Plus The Birds, Rear Window and the movie with that guy being chased across a cornfield by an airplane.

The movie begins with tender vows between an Afghan-war vet, Jim Davis (Christian Bale), and his Mexican betrothed, Marta (Tammy Trull). It ends in carnage on the street. But for most of its meandering running time Harsh Times is just a rough South Central L.A. buddy movie about a slacker named Mike (Freddy Rodriguez) and a psycho (Bale). Rather than face up to the demands of adulthood, they retreat into the feckless, footloose ways of their youth. They don't foresee petty crimes becoming major.

Gerald Green, 84, author of The Last Angry Man, a 1956 book that told the story of a heroic doctor who worked in New York's slums, died Tuesday in Norwalk, Conn. The book - dedicated to Samuel Greenberg, the author's father who was a doctor in Brooklyn, N.Y. - was made into a movie in 1959 and starred Paul Muni. Mr. Green, who lived in New Canaan, Conn., was a writer, director and producer at NBC-TV in its early days. His experience helped him develop his novel's second main character, a TV producer who filmed documentaries.

Saved from death row by a temper-tempering drug, a psycho (Ray Liotta, above) has gone off his meds in Control (9:15 p.m.-11 p.m., Showtime).

In 1965, Repulsion (playing tomorrow at noon and Thursday at 9 p.m. at the Charles) was greeted as Roman Polanski's riposte to Hitchcock's Psycho -- a brilliant, grisly potboiler that gave the 32-year-old Polish filmmaker commercial entree to the West. Four decades later, it's evident that Polanski was always drawn to existential horror and that his lucid moviemaking owes as much to Hollywood's master writer-directors as to visual maestros like Hitchcock. After Repulsion premiered, Polanski told Cahiers du Cinema, "I like to shut myself up. I remember: when I was twelve, fourteen, I liked atmospheres that came from ... what do I know?

Newt hired a psycho-babbling consultant to make stealing from the poor sound like sensitivity. Newt is a Neanderthal, but a New Age Neanderthal.

Saved from death row by a temper-tempering drug, a psycho (Ray Liotta, above) has gone off his meds in Control (9:15 p.m.-11 p.m., Showtime).

She made 62 other movies, and in none of them was she stabbed repeatedly while taking a shower. Janet Leigh, who died last week at 77, will go down in film history for one role only -- in reality, for one scene, the 45 seconds she spent getting knifed by Anthony Perkins' deranged mama's boy in Psycho (1960). It is, admittedly, one incredible scene, a tour de force of quick-cut editing by director Alfred Hitchcock that set the template for every damsel-in-distress scene in every horror film made for the next 44 years (and counting)

Where: The Carroll Arts Center, 91 W. Main St., Westminster. When: Tomorrow. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., movie starts at 7 p.m. Why: There is no better device for a quick cuddle than a scary movie - particularly one directed by Alfred Hitchcock. If you can't make it to this week's film, they're showing Hitchcock's The Birds on Oct. 15, Vertigo on Oct. 22 and Psycho on Oct. 29. Information: Call 410-848-7272.