‘Pretty Poison’ shows the other side of Norman Bates

It’s difficult to watch Anthony Perkins and not think of showers and taxidermy. The man created perhaps the most famous cinematic villain of all time, and the shroud of that iconic role followed him the rest of his career. It’s somewhat of a shame that audiences couldn’t quite get past the fact that he starred as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcok’s Psycho. The performance was too eerily effective, and moviegoers were forever entranced.

Nearly a decade after Psycho, Perkins made a dark comedy (stressing the dark) with first-time filmmaker Noel Black. The result is Pretty Poison, which will play a one-week engagement at New York City’s Film Forum, beginning Friday, Feb. 3.

Perkins plays Dennis Pitt, a man recently released on probation after serving time for arson. Almost immediately it becomes clear that Dennis is mentally disturbed. He’s unable to hold a proper conversation with his parole officer, Morton Azenauer (John Randolph), and he has a penchant for lying. He tells Morton that all he wants to do is start a quiet life and have a respectable job, but deep down there’s something much more poisonous.

Dennis moves to a small Massachusetts town and takes a job on the assembly line of a local chemical plant. Day in and day out he inspects little vials of red-tinged liquid, using a magnifying glass to look even closer. It’s a dull existence, and Dennis wants some excitement. At a nearby food shack, he stumbles upon Sue Ann Stepanek (Tuesday Weld), a beautiful high school student with flowing blond hair.

Rather than steering clear of the juvenile, Dennis takes a most unusual approach: He whispers in her ear, “We’re under surveillance.”

The manipulative man continues an entire ruse that he’s a CIA agent, and Sue Ann needs to help him gather information. Intrigued by the secrecy of this mysterious stranger, the young lady accepts the challenge.

Pretty Poison turns down some dark, dark paths. Dennis is very much like a playwright, and Sue Ann is his trusting actress. If he tells her to jump, she jumps. This loyalty is pushed to the limit when the two begin solving their problems with murder and bloodshed. Strangely, Sue Ann enjoys the new lifestyle, fully embracing the mayhem. Dennis becomes the one with reservations, wondering whether he’s taken the joke too far.

There are many movies that come to mind when watching Pretty Poison. The dynamic between Perkins and Weld is similar to Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in Bonnie & Clyde, and Black’s filmmaking style feels influenced by Jean-Luc Godard. The movie fits nicely into the canon of 1960s stylized cinema. There’s a heavy emphasis on absurdity, camera angles and seemingly plot-less action. Much of Pretty Poison takes place in cars, bedrooms and on a lovers’ lane where Dennis and Sue Ann quiz each other and grow intimate.

The movie is certainly edgy, especially for its time period. If one believes the ages of the characters then Dennis essentially courts an underage high school student into having sex with him and joining a murdering spree. But Dennis is not the type of man who can process right from wrong, looking at Sue Ann as more of a challenge for his manipulative skills.

Pretty Poison serves as a nice companion piece to Pscyho, mostly because it shows Perkins’ range as an actor. Some audience members may wrongly conflate the two performances, saying the actor is simply playing another creepy loner. But such sentiments downplay the effectiveness of both roles. Dennis is not Norman, and Norman is not Dennis. They’re two men you probably don’t want babysitting your children, but they come from different worlds. Norman is totally believing of his fantasy world, while Dennis knows he’s the puppet master and the strings are attached to Sue Ann.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Pretty Poison

• 1968

• Directed by Noel Black

• Written by Lorenzo Semple Jr.; based on the book by Stephen Geller

• Starring Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld, Beverly Garland and John Randolph

• Running time: 89 minutes

• Click here for more information on the Film Forum, where Pretty Poison plays from Friday, Feb. 3 to Thursday, Feb. 9

• Rating: