Joseph Stefano

Writing a masterpiece - The Psycho movie (1960)

Jopseph Stefano is a screenwriter of Psycho film and he acquired his recognition and international fame because of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho script.

The first steps of Joseph Stefano

During his teenage years Joseph Stefano wanted to start a career as an actor. He drop out high school and traveled to New York City and he started his career as an actor in Big Apple.

Beyond, Joseph Stefano’s theater career, Joseph was also a composer of pop music in the 1940’s he wrote songs for Las Vegas showman Donn Arden.

Joseph Stefano’s career as a screenwriter

Joseph Stefano’s first screenplay was the Black Orchid (1958). Source of inspiration for this movie was his childhood years and especially his father who was tailor and he used to make silk flowers.

Joseph Stefano was chosen by Alfred Hitchcock to adapt Rober Bloch’s novel Psycho for cinema. Joseph Stefano is responsible for many changes in script that I have already mentioned on the relative article - Psycho creating a masterpiece.  Joseph Stefano’s work in Psycho was recognized and received in 1961 the Edgar Award for Best motion Picture Screenplay by the Mystery Writers of America.

After the enormous success of Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock offered to Joseph Stefano to write the screenplays of Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964). Joseph Stefano, refused during that period he was producing and writing the TV series Outer Limits. I need to highlight that the Outer Limits TV series was directed by Stefano’s friend Leslie Stevenson.

After the Outer Limits TV series Stefano decided to write and direct “The Ghost of Sierra de Cobe” (1964), then a thriller titled Eye of the Cat (1969) and a comedy film with the title Furtz! (1969).

During 1970’s and 1980’s Joseph Stefano wrote many TV movies such as “Home for the Holidays” (1972), Snowbeast (1977). Joseph Stefano wrote also an episode of the first season of Star Trek : The Next Generation.

In 1995, Joseph Stefano wrote and executive produced the film “Two Bits”  (1995) with Al Pacino in casting playing the part of the main character. “Two Bits” is a drama film and its a very personal project and unfortunately for Joseph Stefano the film had not achieved any box - office success. After, “Two Bits”, Joseph Stefano had no interest to write about the modern Hollywood.

Personal opinion about Joseph Stefano

To be continued

Elias Stoikos