Shock from newspaper delivery in the shower

No matter what anyone says, anything can be famous. This is one of my favorite moments in cinema photography. It is an homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Instead of a psychological thriller with the mother being stabbed to death in the shower, it is now the bellhop delivering a newspaper to Dr. Richard H. Thorndyke, played by Mel Brooks, in the shower in a fit of anxiety and rage from being hounded into getting the paper. So this moment of shock and not death delivers a good laugh at what could have been a moment of horror. This is what I love about Mel Brooks’s take in his movie High Anxiety.

The first shot is a recreation of the scene from Psycho, with her face of shock and death being shown close and pulling away, but in Mal Brooks’s interaction, he is only in shock and complains about not giving a tip to the bellhop. This is why I see this as a new scene while paying tribute to the original inspiration for a moment and, thus, not a recreation. A moment just before a punch line at what is a moment of dark humor. This scene is particularly significant to me because it showcases the transformative power of humor in cinema, turning what could have been a moment of horror into one of laughter and joy.

This shot was much harder to make than I initially thought, as I was doing this with my camera on my phone and by myself. The angle was particularly challenging, as I couldn’t make adjustments while looking at the subject myself. Additionally, the water would dry or fall off my face too quickly to get a better comparison. It was a humorous struggle to get into character, imagining how someone broke in and stabbed me with a newspaper before leaving, screaming about it, and hoping that I was happy they gave it to me. To truly embody the character’s shock and disbelief, I had to put myself in a confused and acquired mindset, which was no easy task. It would have been easier if I had someone be the model, but I didn’t find anyone willing to do the scene, even with a bathing suit. Well, I can’t blame them, and a time crunch is unhealthy for us.

If you want to talk about stories or have a project that you want to work on together. Contact me from the information bellow. Otherwise subscribe to the news letter about writing content, stories and my thoughts about what I am currently working on.