Psycho ‘Shower Scene’ tops ‘most iconic bathroom moment’ poll

The ‘shower scene’ in classic thriller Psycho has been voted the most memorable bathroom scene in film or television history.

The survey, carried out by luxury bathing and skincare brand fenjal, asked participants to name the most iconic bathroom scenes from the big and small screens. Marion Crane’s murder scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal thriller took top spot with 16% of the vote, closely followed by Allie Hamilton’s bath scene in romantic drama The Notebook (13%).

Julia Roberts’ bubble bath in Pretty Woman, Elizabeth Taylor’s lotus flower bath in Cleopatra, and Marilyn Monroe’s ice bath in The Seven Year Itch all took an 11% share of the public vote.

The full top 10 is below:

1. Psycho – The murderous shower scene
2. The Notebook – Rachel McAdams in the bath with a veil on
3. Pretty Woman – Julia Robert’s bubble bath
4. Cleopatra – Elizabeth Taylor’s lotus flower bath
5. The Seven Year Itch – Marilyn Monroe’s ice bath
6. Home Alone – Macaulay Culkin putting on aftershave and clasping his hands to his face
7. Scarface – Al Pacino’s bubble bath
8. The Shining – Naked woman in bathtub
9. Friends – The secret bath
10. Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire – The prefects’ bathroom

In celebration of its 60th anniversary, fenjal also conducted a survey on what makes the perfect bath, with respondents citing temperature as a key factor (49%), while a third of respondents (33%) mentioned bubbles.

However, the study found Brits prefer baths to showers. Over half of respondents (52%) opt for the tub, compared to around three in ten (31%) preferring a shower, while 16% do not have a preference.