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A close study of the creation of suspense through the "Looking for Arbogast" scene in Hitchcock's film, Psycho

In the scene, Looking for Arbogast, Hitchcock capitalizes on the shock value of the previous scene, Death and the Detective where we see Mother murder Arbogast. In this scene, we see Lila, played by Vera Miles and Sam Loomis, played by John Gavin. The lighting in the hardware store is very dim, creating many shadow effects. We see Lila backlit twice, which is reminiscent of the first time we see Mother, providing a nice contrast between the two "females".

The first shot is taken from a slightly lowered angle, fading up from black immediately after the murder of Arbogast. The hardware store is dimly lit, and a curlicue of smoke trails from an unseen cigarette in the foreground across Lila's body and out of shot. Sam is resting against a bureau, wearing a white shirt which starkly contrasts with the grayed-out background. His arms are folded, as if he is resigned to waiting, and he looks out of the window to the audience's right. There is no music, and only the sounds of the body movements of Lila are heard until they speak.

Lila is dressed in an uncomfortable-looking woolen suit, her blonde hair haloed in light, and her face slightly shaded, which helps Hitchcock to suggest a likeness to her sister, Marion. Hitchcock's masterful "twinning" is seen at work here. Lila looks like a twin of Marion, while the two rakes in the background also suggest twins. In the background also are some heavy books, two of which have identical spines, and some filer drawers, with identical labels. This matching of props has sinister overtones, as if these two characters are victims of an organized force of evil. Throughout this scene, and indeed the entire film, we see Hitchcock's hints at the dualism which inspires Norman/Mother to murder women who both attract and repulse him.
The snap transition to the closer shot showing Lila is followed by a sighing sound, and the sounds of her shifting in her seat, as if restlessly waiting. She is backgrounded by a door which is ominously ajar, as if suggesting the awful discoveries she is to make later in the film. The lighting emphasizes her blonde hair, reminiscent of her sister's, but in a more conservative and old-fashioned style. This reflects her persona as a sexually proper woman, unlike Marion.
Lila clenches her left hand, bites the inside of her cheek, and sighs. As she addresses Sam, she turns away sharply from the camera,

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