Bates Motel (film)

Bates Motel
TV Guide advertisement, 1987
Based on	Characters created by Robert Bloch
Written by	Richard Rothstein
Directed by	Richard Rothstein
Starring	Bud Cort Lori Petty Moses Gunn Jason Bateman
Music by	J. Peter Robinson
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Ken Topolsky
Cinematography	Bill Butler
Editor(s)	Dann Cahn Richard A. Freeman
Running time	90 minutes
Production company(s)	Universal Television
Distributor	NBC
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	July 5, 1987

Bates Motel is a 1987 American made-for-television comedy-drama horror film and a spin-off based on the Psycho film series starring Bud Cort, Lori Petty, Moses Gunn and Jason Bateman. The film premiered as part of NBC Monday Night at the Movies on July 5, 1987.^[1]

The film is about Alex West, a mentally disturbed youth who was admitted to an asylum after killing his abusive stepfather. There he befriends Norman Bates and ends up inheriting the Bates Motel. It was originally produced as a pilot for a proposed TV series set in the Bates Motel, but it was not picked up by the network.

Plot

Alex West (Bud Cort) roomed with Norman Bates at the state lunatic asylum for nearly 20 years, and they became close friends. After Bates' death, Alex learns that he has inherited the Bates Motel, which has been vacant since Norman's arrest. Alex travels to Bates' California hometown (renamed Fairville for this film; in the original film it was Fairvale) and with a little help from teenage runaway Willy (Lori Petty) and local handyman Henry Watson (Moses Gunn), Alex struggles to re-open the motel for business.

Cast

• Bud Cort as Alex West
• Lori Petty as Willie
• Moses Gunn as Henry Watson
• Gregg Henry as Tom Fuller
• Khrystyne Haje as Sally
• Jason Bateman as Tony Scotti
• Kerrie Keane as Barbara Peters
• Robert Picardo as Dr. Goodman
• Lee de Broux as the Sheriff
• Kurt Paul as Norman Bates
• Martha Frumkin as Dr. Phillip
• Rick Lieberman as the Architect
• Timothy Fall as Terry Miller
• Kelly Ames as Beth
• Peter Dobson as Billy Parks
• Paula Irvine as Rebecca
• Greg Finley as the Attorney
• Nat Bernstein as the Salesman
• George 'Buck' Flower as the Vagrant
• Carmen Filpi as Buddy
• Gary Ballard as the Pastor
• Andy Albin as Mr. Yokes
• Dolores Albin as Mrs. Fisher
• Robert Axelrod as the Sheepskin Salesman
• Craig Richard Nelson as The Funeral Director

DVD releases

The film was released to DVD on October 3, 2013 as part of Universal's "Vault Series", exclusively on Amazon.com.^[2]

On September 2, 2014, Universal re-released the film on DVD (along with Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning) as part of its "4-Movie Midnight Marathon Pack".^[3]

References

1. "Bates Motel". The New York Times.
2. Amazon.com
3. Amazon.com

External links

• Bates Motel at the Internet Movie Database