This past week I have seen a few social media references to the 1988 film Die Hard being a holiday movie most popular around Christmas. The film is set around the holidays and has thus become action aficionados’ best present to themselves on television during the year-end broadcasting festivities.
Not to be outdone, another post appeared in my feed about something I had not realized before: that December 11 is considered “Psycho Day” in the quaint city of Phoenix, Arizona. The mayor at the time, Thelda Williams, made the date official in 2018, and people are now asking if Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller is also considered a holiday film.
The city of Phoenix was the backdrop for the movie’s action, which opens with a timeline of Friday, December 11 at 2:43 PM. Phoenix was decorated for Christmas in several shots featuring actress Janet Leigh and the cast before her doomed character of Marion Crane sets off to meet a ghastly fate (no spoilers here: not every human being reading this has seen the movie).
The film itself began principal photography on November 11, 1959, meaning the cast and crew were rolling film just before Christmas. Janet Leigh herself has said in quotes that she spent seven days filming her crucial scene in a small bathroom set. Hitchcock himself oversaw everything and kept only a limited crew on hand for the most vital roles. What a Christmas present to get out of there.
Also, December 11 did fall on Friday during filming in 1959. I know, because I looked it up.
So, when deep diving into such a subject, the question becomes whether it matters.
For me, this movie serves a few distinctive purposes. I was a newborn when the filming began (I probably wasn’t out of the hospital yet, as they kept new moms there for a few days back then) and didn’t see it until over a decade after it was released in theatres in 1960. My first viewing was on 1970s evening television. I was probably too young for a PG movie with that type of content (it was rated M for mature audiences at first release). It was quite a shocker, and I consigned it to my “one and done” viewing list of classics (up there with less than a handful of films such as Saving Private Ryan). I still followed up over the years and know a lot about it, but I probably will not view it again in my lifetime.
When a film has elements of the holidays in them, is it a holiday film? My opinion is this: if you like to watch movies with holiday references in them during the holidays, it’s fine. It may not be Christmas classic material, but even a scary movie can contain elements of the season.
Phoenix residents capitalize on the tourism aspect of the movie’s success, because quite a few of the landmarks in the scenic parts of the movie’s establishing shots are still present in town, particularly the Westward Ho tower which appears prominently, along with a half dozen other historic buildings still standing. Not to mention Arizona’s natural beauty surrounding the city.
In Phoenix the film first screened on August 11, 1960, at a theater which is apparently still in business as well. People nationwide allegedly fainted at screenings, and film students are regularly given Hitchcock’s classic canon to examine in detail and see what makes it hold up.
In this case, Psycho is still relevant after 65 years. The movie has earned a position of historic significance and is preserved in the National Film Registry. It has outlived its characters, its director, and appears on cable at least once on classic networks such as TCM around Halloween time mostly, but not at Christmas. It’s no more a true holiday movie than any of the Harry Potter films are, even when Hogwarts is decked out with trees and floating candles. No matter.
And speaking of Harry Potter/Die Hard actor Alan Rickman, I’m not sure if Mr. Rickman’s plummet off Nakatomi Tower or Maltin Balsam’s detective Arbogast’s fate on the Bates house’s staircase was more exciting or gruesome, but whichever you watch on your TV, enjoy. It’s all good during the holidays.
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