Searching for Old Doors on Craigslist can be CrAzY! (Psycho)

[Banner]

Hi fellow old house lovers,

I spend a fair amount of time searching Craigslist for antiques and old house parts, sometimes for toilets, butt that's another story . About a month ago I was looking around on Craigslist in the Antique section. While there I saw a very large Walnut Victorian door for sale. The ad title read, "Own a piece of movie history"! As I read their ad further it said, "The original door from the Alfred Hitchcock movie, "Psycho". This was the door used on the front of the Bates Motel." I loved the style of the door and I thought I might be able to use it here on the Vincent house. I really didn't believe that it could be the actual front door to the Bates' motel, used in the movie. I was right, it wasn't the door to the motel, it was the front door to the Bates' house. After I bought it and after some time consuming research I discovered that this was the authentic front door to the world famous "Psycho House" studio set (not the door to back lot Psycho House façade you see on the Universal Studio tram tour). I contacted Profiles In History, a company that specializes in Hollywood memorabilia and within a week two close friends and I, with said door in tow, were headed west to their auction house in Hollywood, CA. The Psycho Door was going home where it will be auctioned to the highest bidder on Sept 30th, 2015.
How did it get to Wisconsin and where had it been all these years you ask. About 15 years ago a funeral director bought the door from a dealer in LA and had the door shipped to Wisconsin where he installed it on the front of his Funeral home. When he sold his funeral home to new owners in 2012 they removed the door because they told me they wanted something more energy efficient. (Maybe they thought it was a little creepy? ) So why did the first funeral guy install it on his business in the first place? He said it was because he needed a very large door to fit the space. I saw the space and I know construction, he had to have the wall and the door jam modified to accommodate that enormous door. I think it's because he was a marketing genius. You know, because, why have mom's memorial service at the Nelson-Chapman funeral home when you can have it at that place with the cool Psycho door?

If you know the story of Psycho, it is actually a screen play adapted from the novel Psycho by Robert Blake. Blake, a Milwaukee novelist wrote the book in 1959. The story was based on the real life serial killer Ed Gein from Plainfield, WI. So after Universal studios dismantled the Psycho sound stage set in 2003 the door ended up in the hands of a LA antique dealer and was then sold to the funeral guy who had it shipped to Wisconsin where it ended up on his funeral home not far from where Ed Gein had spent his time killing women, snatching bodies from the local grave yards and turning his victims into useful household items. Yep, he was PSYCHO!

So to make things even more exciting and because the stars are apparently aligned over me, Turner Classic Movies is re-releasing a re-mastered version of Psycho for a 2 day run nationwide in selected theaters just one week before the door goes up on the block. Talk about timing!
Remastered PSYCHO in Theaters Sept 20th and 23rd CLICK HERE!

If you are looking for an old Victorian door with some pretty cool history, feel free to place your bid! Some facts to keep in mind.
1.) The Movie Psycho is #13 in the AFI, American Film Institute's list of greatest movies of all time, #1 Horror/Thriller!
2.) The Psycho House is considered to be the most recognized movie house of all time.
3.) Alfred Hitchcock is considered to be the greatest director of all time with more films in the top 100 of the AMA and AFI.
4.) Psycho is considered to be his masterpiece and it was his highest grossing film throughout his career and after his death.
5.) This door is thought to be the only known set piece left and clearly the only architectural piece from the film known to exsist.
6.) Profiles in History have it right when they say, "One of the most important Hitchcock relics one could ever hope to find."

Wish me luck!

Profiles In History AUCTION #74 Page 331

Profiles In History, Hollywood Auction #74, Page 331 CLICK HERE!

Lot 906: Front door to Norman Bates’ Victorian home in Psycho. CLICK HERE!

Loaded and ready to drive it home from Rib Lake, WI (The Funeral Home)

Just after I got it home

Loading the now padded, packed, water proofed, bullet proof, (knife proof???) Psycho Door.

Ready for the Psycho Tour


Transporting the Psycho Door across the American West.

Arrival at Profiles in History

Scenes from the movie and the trailer, with Alfred Hitchcock.


At Universal Studios we were given exclusive access to the Phycho House


Keep searching on Craigslist for your old house parts, you might find something CrAzY! (Psycho)

Banner (Dan)

[Don M]

Hi Banner, Great to see you here at "The Historic District"! So was the Psycho Door a prop built for the movie set or was it an actual antique door from a real house obtained for the Psycho set? Inquiring minds want to know! Don

[Sara]

Very cool read! I think you added some information since you posted it over at wavy glass - so now I've read it twice.

Would you share more - were you able to enter the psycho house at Universal Studios? Or just get a photo in front of it?

What did the people over at Profiles in History say when you first contacted them? And when you got there - did they have anything cool that was about to be auctioned that you got to see?

Neat story.

[Banner]

Very cool read! I think you added some information since you posted it over at wavy glass - so now I've read it twice.

Would you share more - were you able to enter the psycho house at Universal Studios? Or just get a photo in front of it?

What did the people over at Profiles in History say when you first contacted them? And when you got there - did they have anything cool that was about to be auctioned that you got to see?

Neat story.

Sara, we didn't go inside but I don't think there is much in it. For years it was just the facade, front and left. We did see lots of very cool stuff at profiles in history. Everyone there was great. When I called them about the door they were very excited. As you can see it got an entire page in their catalog, not many items get that much space. I have dealt with them in the past and I can't say enough good things about their organization. They have set all the world records for Hollywood collectables.

Thanks, Dan

[Banner]

Hi Banner, Great to see you here at "The Historic District"! So was the Psycho Door a prop built for the movie set or was it an actual antique door from a real house obtained for the Psycho set? Inquiring minds want to know! Don

Don,

It's really hard to say. What I can say is the carpenters and property people at Universal are masters and if they want you to think something is old they can pretty easily do it by distressing it and actually using old lumber etc. That said, my best guess is that this door is a very old Victorian door that was modified to match the exterior facade door. The facade was a house that had been at universal on Colonial street. It's appeared in other movies before Psycho was made. It's hard to know if the house entrance was rebuild when it was moved and the matching doors were made at the same time or if the studio door (my door) was built to match the existing door.

Dan