Vertigo

Vertigo is a psychological thriller that was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and released in 1958. It stars James Stewart in his fourth and final Hitchcock film and Kim Novak. Barbara Bel Geddes and Tom Helmore appear in supporting roles. The film is set in San Francisco and many famous landmarks appear in the film. Initially, it was not a great success with either critics or the public but over time it has been recognised as one of the greatest films of all time, replacing Citizen Kane in 2012 on top of the Sight and Sounds critics’ poll of the greatest films of all time.

The film opens with two detectives pursuing a criminal over rooftops somewhere in San Francisco. While jumping over rooftops, one of them slips while landing on a rooftop and ends up clinging to the drain pipe. While looking down, he gets dizzy and suffers from Vertigo for the first time. The other officer gives up his pursuit and attempts to rescue him but falls to his death, leaving the other officer to hang on the drain pipe clinging for his life.

In the next scene, we find out the officer is John “Scottie” Ferguson (Stewart) and due to his Vertigo he has been forced to retire from the police force. He is in his friends, Marjorie “Midge” Wood’s (Geddes) apartment and is trying to overcome his Vertigo. Midge is in love with Scottie but Scottie doesn’t reciprocate her love. His fall also caused him to have to use a cane while walking. Scottie mentions he has received a phone call from his old College friend Gavin Elster (Helmore) who is a successful shipping tycoon and has asked Scottie to meet him at his work. While stepping up on a multi-tiered chair, to try and “lick” his Vertigo, he looks out the apartment window and suffers another case of Vertigo and falls into Midge’s arms.

Scottie arrives at Elster’s work and learns he wants him to follow his wife, Madeline, as he fears she has been possessed by someone dead. Madeline apparently goes into trances and wanders around San Francisco. After Elster states that he wants Scottie for the job as he trusts him greatly, Scottie agrees to retake his old role as a private detective once more. Elster arranges for him to see Madeline later that night.

At Ernie’s restaurant, Scottie is introduced to Madeline (Novak), a cool blonde, when Elster and she walk by Scottie who is sitting at the bar. The next day, Scottie follows her as she drives about San Francisco. After leaving her apartment in Nob Hill, she first stops at a flower shop to buy some flowers before heading to the Mission Dolores where she stops for a while to look at the gravestone of Carlotta Valdes who died in 1857. After she leaves, Scottie makes a note of the name on the gravestone.

Madeline then heads to the California Palace of the Legion of Honour where she sits, almost like she is hypnotised, at a painting of a portrait of Carlotta Valdes. Scottie notices her hair is done the exact same way as Carlotta’s is in the painting. Finally Madeline heads to the McKittrick hotel and heads up to her room and stands looking outside the window. Scottie heads inside and asks the landlady the name of the person who just came in. She says her name is Carlotta Valdes and then says she hasn’t been in today. Scottie gets the landlady to check the room and it is empty, and Madeline’s car has disappeared. He finds it parked in front of Madeline’s apartment.

Back at Midge’s, he asks her for someone who is an authority on San Francisco history for help with his research. She recommends the owner of the Argosy Book Shop. The owner tells Scottie about Carlotta Valdes: she had a child with a wealthy but abusive man and when he tired of her, he abandoned her and took the baby. She went crazy and committed suicide. After leaving, Midge, who accompanied him, demands to know what is going on. After Scottie refuses, she guesses that it has something to do with Gavin Elster and then goes further and guesses that Carlotta has taken control of his wife. She laughs at Scottie but understands why Scottie is investigating when he says Madeline is a pretty woman.

Scottie meets with Elster for a drink and Elster tells him the whole story about Carlotta. Madeline inherited several of her jewellery and just sits and looks at them in the mirror. Elster also worries that she may kill herself. He then reveals that Madeline knows nothing about Carlotta. Scottie takes another drink while saying he need this.

The next day while following Madeline, she ends up at Fort Point below the Golden Gate Bridge. Standing at the side of the water, she peels off petals of a flower slowly by the edge of the Bay. Suddenly she suddenly jumps in. Scottie jumps in, rescues her then takes her back to his apartment to dry off. She wakes up when the telephone goes off in Scotties Bedroom. Giving her his bathrobe, they talk for the first time. Madeline says that she can’t remember jumping into the Bay but thanks Scottie for saving her. When they are interrupted by Elster phoning, Madeline takes her clothes and leaves the apartment. When Scottie comes out to look, Midge drives away, jealous and thinking that something else happened between the two.

The next day, while following Madeline, Scottie ends up back at his own apartment as Madeline posts a note through the letterbox. Scottie asks and Madeline agrees to them spending time together. Together, they take a car ride to a local nature park. Madeline keeps disappearing between the trees and when Scottie catches her he presses her for information about what she is thinking.

The pair end up on a cliff side in the Monterey Bay. After revealing all she knows and becoming frightened, she runs to the water’s edge. Scottie holds her and they kiss and embrace each other. Scottie vows to protect her from whatever trouble she is experiencing as the waves crash against the rocks before the scene cuts to black.

Scottie is invited to Midge’s apartment and after asking where he’s been, she announces she has returned to her first love- painting. She then shows Scottie her painting which is Carlotta’s portrait with Midge’s face. Scottie is very unhappy at this and tells her that it isn’t funny before leaving. Midge breaks down crying at what she has done.

The next morning, Madeline appears at Scottie’s door upset as she has had recurring nightmares of her in a mission bell tower. Scottie realises she is talking about the San Juan Bautista’s Spanish Mission, south of San Francisco. Scottie takes her there and while wandering around she runs away from him into the bell tower. Scottie try’s to stop her but while climbing up the bell tower her suffers from Vertigo again and Madeline jumps from the top to her death.

The coroner holds a meeting about Madeline’s death and it is concluded that although Scottie was weak, it was a suicide. Elster apologises for what has happened and says he is finishing up in San Francisco and heading to Europe. After the hearing, Scottie is emotionally broken and after suffering from nightmares he is committed to a sanatorium. Midge visits and try’s to use music to cheer him up but Scottie is unresponsive. His doctor tells Midge it might take up to a year before Scottie is cured.

When Scottie is released, he wanders around San Francisco constantly mistaking women for his lost Madeline. One day, he spots a brunette lookalike of Madeline and follows her back to her hotel before asking to speak to her. The brunette reveals she is Judy Barton (Novak again) and after realising how broken Scottie is, agrees to a date out of pity with him. When he leaves, it is revealed in a voice over that Judy WAS Madeline. She was Gavin Elster’s mistress and agreed to impersonate his wife and to lure Scottie to the bell tower, where Gavin was waiting at the top with his already dead wife. They knew Scottie wouldn’t be able to make it up the bell tower due to his Vertigo and when ‘Madeline’ reached the top Gavin threw his dead wife off the tower while ‘Madeline’ screamed. However, Judy did genuinely fall in love with Scottie. But she is aware that Scottie is in love with Madeline, not Judy.

When they are at Ernie’s Restaurant, Scottie keeps getting distracted by a woman who looks similar to Madeline when they first met in the restaurant. After the date, Scottie asks if they can see each other again and after some persuasion agrees. The next day, Scottie presents Judy with some clothes that are exactly like the clothes Madeline wore. He obsessively tries to remake Judy over to be just like Madeline. Judy tries to win him over as herself but eventually agrees to wear the clothes because she loves him. She also agrees to dye her hair from being a brunette to a blonde. Scottie notices that she still doesn’t have her hair pinned back like Madeline had. She relents, goes into the bathroom and comes out as Madeline. Scottie and her kiss as he flashes back to the bell tower.

Later, Scottie and Madeline have a date planned and she is putting the finishing touches on her dress. As she asks Scottie to help her, he notices she is wearing the same piece of jewellery Madeline was. Scottie realises he has been tricked and instead of heading to the restaurant, takes Madeline back to the San Juan Bautista’s Spanish Mission. Madeline becomes panicked as Scottie drags her up the bell tower. By taking Judy up the bell tower he can save Madeline and cure his Vertigo.

When he gets to the top, he makes Madeline confess to her crimes. She says she only stayed behind in San Francisco because she truly loves Scottie but he says it is too late. He also notices that he made it to the top without suffering from Vertigo- he has been cured. As Madeline kisses Scottie, a nun comes out the darkness and frightens Madeline, causing her to fall out the bell tower to her death- again. In one of the greatest film ending of all time, Scottie steps out onto the ledge and looks down. He is cured of his Vertigo but his obsession with one woman and inability to accept anyone else has caused him to lose his love for real.