Why Psycho got the chop
QUESTION Was the release date of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho delayed because of a real-life murder?
Alfred HitcHcock’s thriller Psycho terrified and shocked cinema-goers when it opened in 1960. it contained unprecedented levels of violence and sexuality, and its infamous ‘shower scene’ of a woman being brutally murdered.
its cinematic release was not delayed, however its tV premiere was. on Monday, september 19, cBs announced it was postponing its broadcast of Psycho following the high-profile murder of 21-year-old Valerie Jeanne Percy in chicago the day before.
Valerie Percy was the daughter of republican senatorial candidate charles Percy, at the time touted as a future President. Valerie had just graduated from cornell college and was just two days away from postgraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University. she and her twin sister sharon had featured prominently in the senatorial campaign.
the family lived in a sprawling mansion, perched above the beach on lake Michigan. the tragedy began when an intruder used a glass cutter on the Percy back door and found his way to Valerie’s second-floor room. she was stabbed and beaten to death.
for 40 years the killer’s identity and motive has eluded federal state and local investigators, whose best clue was a bloody palm print, the killer’s glove and a sketch of a possible suspect.
charles H. Percy went on to serve three terms as senator for illinois.
in place of Psycho, cBs showed kings Go forth, a 1958 drama set in World War ii starring frank sinatra, tony curtis and Natalie Wood. tV guides of the era are something of a collector’s item as they list the movie to some fanfare (the network had spent $800,000 for the rights) though it was never shown.
Psycho eventually premiered on television in June 1967 but not on cBs. station WABc-tV in New York city broadcast Psycho on saturday, June 24, 1967, as part of its the Best of Broadway series.
it aired from 11.30-1.45PM. According to the New York times, the infamous shower scene was cut from 12 stabs to three.
Olivia Coles, Marlow, Bucks.
QUESTION Which was the last wooden bridge to span
the River Thames?
old Battersea Bridge was the l ast surviving wooden bridge on the thames. in 1766 John spencer, first earl spencer and forebear of Princess diana, was empowered by Act of Parliament to build a toll bridge at the site of the modern bridge, to replace an old ferry service.
Although a stone bridge was planned, difficulties in raising investment meant that a cheaper wooden bridge was built instead. designed by Henry Holland, it was initially opened to pedestrians in November 1771 and to vehicle traffic in 1772. it was built in 19 spans of varying widths, between piers composed of massive beams. Alfred Beaver, in memorials of old chelsea, gives the length as 726 feet and width 24 feet, and it had a ‘slight curvature to the west’. despite its impractical nature, it was considered a thing of beauty and was represented numberless times by artists including turner, Girtin, de Wint, Varley, Whistler and de cort.
But it was sited at an awkward bend in the river and considered a danger to shipping because of the difficulty of steering through the arches unless the ‘set of the tide was known’. to improve safety, two piers were removed and the sections of the bridge strengthened with iron girders.
in 1879 the bridge was taken into public ownership, and in 1885 demolished and replaced with the existing bridge, designed by sir Joseph Bazalgette and built by John Mowlem & co. the new Grade ii listed bridge remains the narrowest surviving road bridge over the thames.
Harry Leppington, Colchester, Essex.
QUESTION On a holiday in the Canary Islands I noticed that my whisky measure was considerably more generous than at home. What are the measures used?
fUrtHer to earlier answers, i owned a bar and restaurant on the i sland of Menorca in the eighties and was taught to serve drinks by a local bar owner who had been in the business for many years.
to serve a spirit-based drink with mixer, take a tube glass and place 3 to 4 ice cubes in it. spill in the spirit until it fills over the top of the cubes, pour a small amount of the bottled mixer on top and place in front of the customer. this method could be modified dependent on whether the customer was a big tipper, a pretty young thing, or foul-mouthed and annoying.
in Britain a good barman at that time could get 32-34 nips out of a 75cl bottle but i could only get 12-14 servings out of the same bottle, depending on the answers. Ian Hopkins, ex-bar La Espuela,
Villa Carlos, Menorca.