4. Psycho
Hard to believe now given its tameness by modern standards, but PSYCHO was a taboo-buster in its day. With the shower scene, it featured one of the great shock (not to mention semi nudish) onscreen deaths, but the introduction of Janet Leigh's character, Marion Crane, was unheard of at the time too: dressed, seductively and skimpily (for 1960) in white bra and slip, Marion lounges around a hotel room with her lover Sam Loomis (John Gavin).
Marion's undergarments are important beyond base titillation: after Marion steals $40,000 to finance a new life with her man, Hitchcock replaced the character's white lingerie with a black ensemble as a subtle symbol of her turn towards the dark side.
Feel like spicing up your sex life? Watch LOVE LUST & LINGERIE, Monday 8p.
Author: Matt Singer