Benjamin Dreyer: I'm told that a toilet is casually flushed in a 1930 comedy called Going Wild, but Psycho's flushing toilet is certainly more significant. As long as we're here, you can catch a glimpse of a toilet in King Vidor's marvelous The Crowd (1928).

In honor of Janet Leigh's birthday: my favorite prop in the entire history of cinema

Happy Janet Leigh's birthday!

Am I right in thinking Psycho has the first shot of a flushing lavatory in American cinema?

I'm told that a toilet is casually flushed in a 1930 comedy called Going Wild, but Psycho's flushing toilet is certainly more significant. As long as we're here, you can catch a glimpse of a toilet in King Vidor's marvelous The Crowd (1928).

Oh, in case you were waiting for the other shoe to drop, the Going Wild toilet is apparently flushed innocuously by a plumber. But I haven't seen it.

Me neither. It seems the Psycho flush is far more meaningful.

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