The Girl in Alfred Hitchock's Shower [Hardcover]

Robert Graysmith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2010

The New York Times bestselling author who investigated the Zodiac case now uncovers a real-life mystery of murder, body doubles, and obsession

Marli Renfro was a model who played a part in one of the most iconic scenes in American movies- as Janet Leigh's nude body double in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho-only to fade into obscurity, a footnote in Hollywood history. It wasn't until 1988 that Marli Renfro made news again-raped and murdered by a serial killer with a fetish for the classic Hitchcock shocker. But as Graysmith investigated Marli's story, a nagging doubt entered his mind. What if Marli was still alive? What if another woman had been murdered in her place? And if Marli was still alive, would he ever find her?

The line between art and reality is blurred in this astonishing coda to one of the most memorable screen murders of all time, and to a real- life crime that one man was determined to solve.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Graysmith (Zodiac) mixes film history, true crime, and autobiography with disappointing results in this scattered exploration of the woman behind one of cinema's most memorable scenes. Though his goal is ostensibly to track down Marli Renfro—Janet Leigh's body double in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho—who some believed was raped and murdered in the 1980s, Graysmith takes too long getting there. Detailing the intricate Psycho shoot, which was painstakingly designed by Hitchcock in order to both shock the audience and pass the rigorous censor test, Graysmith introduces readers to Renfro, a gorgeous redhead who came to the film via modeling, some of it nude. Interspersed with Renfro's experiences as an actress, Playboy model, and dancer is an account of the life and crimes of Henry Sonny Busch Jr., a Norman Bates–look-alike in L.A. who strangled three women and had a penchant for Psycho. Graysmith, comparing his own growing obsession with Renfro to the plot of the 1944 film Laura (where the detective also falls for a dead woman after seeing her photograph), is determined to discover what really happened to her. As sloppy as Hitchcock's shower scene was precise, Graysmith's jumbled account never finds its footing, despite the fascinating subject matter. (Feb.)
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About the Author

Robert Graysmith resides in San Francisco, California and is the New York Times bestselling author of The Sleeping Lady, Auto Focus, Unabomber, and The Bell Tower.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1 edition (February 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042523231X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425232316
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,108,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Well there's a couple of days of my life I'm never getting back..., April 1, 2010

By 

Lucyzack - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Girl in Alfred Hitchock's Shower (Hardcover)

All right then... let's just say you are a writer who, for decades, has nursed an adolescent crush on a pretty, all-but-unknown actress of sorts who happened to be the body double in the famous Psycho shower scene. Say that you have always longed to "tell her story". Problem is, there really isn't a whole lot of story for you to tell. At least not one that's remotely interesting to anyone other than, perhaps, the actress, her family & friends. Oh! and, of course, you the still-smitten writer. So you add A) some standard issue "behind the scenes" anecdotes about the film Psycho and B) a meandering narrative about a real-life serial killer who was said to have been inspired by said film. Throw in a few scraps about the early days of Playboy magazine and some obscure (for a reason) "Vegas in the '60s" stories and voila! A dull, disjointed mess of a book is born! My advice is to save your time and money and give this vanity project a pass.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Not Worth Reading, July 4, 2010

By 

Simon (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Girl in Alfred Hitchock's Shower (Hardcover)

Length:: 4:02 Mins

Hopefully this four-minute video review will convince you that this book is absolutely not worth reading.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars COMPELLING PREMISE -- AWKWARDLY WRITTEN, February 9, 2010

By 

Robin Simmons (Palm Springs area, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Girl in Alfred Hitchock's Shower (Hardcover)

I was fascinated by the mystery of what happened to Janet Leigh's body double for Hitchcock's "Psycho" shower scene. Was she murdered by a real life psycho who patterned his crimes after his movie doppelganger?

Robert Graysmith's 40-year personal obsession with pin-up model and part-time actress Marli Renfro does not pay off in his sloppily written riff that tries to be a crime novel with a twist.

Oddly structured with no real theme, the two -- or is it three? -- stories do not really merge at any point. And the big pay off is disappointing in that we do not really get any sense of the true life or mystery of the body double.

This story -- it's not really a novel -- reads like an overwritten, unedited, first draft.

On every page there's a hint of a wonderful noir tale of the darkside of Hollywood and the seductive lure of that shadowy place between reel and real life where the fantasies are manufactured.