Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

... you can learn from:

Psycho (1960)

Highway Patrol officer: You slept here all night? 

Marion: Yes. As I said, 

I couldn't keep my eyes open. 

Highway Patrol officer: There are plenty of motels in

this area. You should've... I mean... just to be safe.

Yes... just to be safe! Ha. The actor who plays the immensely memorable cop in Alfred Hitchcock's horror masterpiece was named Mort Mills, and today would've been his 98th birthday (if he hadn't died in 1993, that is). He worked with Hitchcock again six years after Psycho when he played the "Farmer" in Torn Curtain...

... looking completely unrecognizable there with Mr. Newman. His character's not actually a farmer though, he's a spy, which leads to the greatest scene in the mixed-bag that is Torn Curtain, which I did a great big post on here before. Anyway Mills was always playing a law-man or something of the sort - scan through his hundred credits on IMDb and see "Sergeant" of "Sheriff" or the like countless times. He had the face for it. His other best remembered role in the movies (he did a whole lot of TV) is probably...

... his role as the lawyer in Touch of Evil (alongside his future Psycho co-star Janet Leigh, of course) but it's been so so long since I have sat down and watched Touch of Evil I'm hard-pressed to remember what that role consists of. Anyway it's always a welcome treat, uncovering the scattered legacy of a fine character actor, so thanks for all you gave us, Mr. Mills!
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