Vertigo (1958)

A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's much-younger wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Alec Coppel (screenplay), Samuel A. Taylor (screenplay),

Stars:

James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes

Top 250 #53 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
James Stewart	...	John 'Scottie' Ferguson
Kim Novak	...	Madeleine Elster / Judy Barton
Barbara Bel Geddes	...	Midge Wood
Tom Helmore	...	Gavin Elster
Henry Jones	...	Coroner
Raymond Bailey	...	Scottie's Doctor
Ellen Corby	...	Manager of McKittrick Hotel
Konstantin Shayne	...	Pop Leibel
Lee Patrick	...	Car Owner Mistaken for Madeleine

Storyline

John "Scottie" Ferguson is a retired San Francisco police detective who suffers from acrophobia and Madeleine is the lady who leads him to high places. A wealthy shipbuilder who is an acquaintance from college days approaches Scottie and asks him to follow his beautiful wife, Madeleine. He fears she is going insane, maybe even contemplating suicide, because she believes she is possessed by a dead ancestor. Scottie is skeptical, but agrees after he sees the beautiful Madeleine.

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Plot Keywords:

acrophobia | police | vertigo | police detective | hair | 

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Taglines:

Alfred Hitchcock engulfs you in a whirlpool of terror and tension!

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Genres:

Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 July 1958 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

'Vertigo'

Filming Locations:

1000 Mason Street, North Beach, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,479,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,486,818 (USA) (22 November 1996)

Gross:

$1,718,928 (USA) (20 December 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min 129 min (1996 restored)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.50 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Visa d'exploitation en France #21096

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Goofs

Scotty gives Madeleine a cup of coffee in their first scene together at Scotty's apartment. The high camera angle shows that the cup he hands her is empty.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Officer on rooftop: Give me your hand. Give me your hand.

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Crazy Credits

There is no end title on this film.

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Connections

Referenced in Unrequited Love (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Symphony No. 34 in C K. 338, 2nd Movement, Andante di Molto (piu tosto allegretto)"
(uncredited)
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Played as 'cue 10B' on a record in the psychiatric ward

User Reviews

A Standard Rave

Starting in 1958, Alfred Hitchcock directed a remarkable sequence of films in a row, each of them a classic; Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963). Never has a director made four such genuinely great movies in such a short space of time, either before or since.

The pick of this high standard bunch is undoubtedly Vertigo. From the opening titles, with their circling spiral imagery, to the dramatic final scene this is a movie that takes you to a different time and place. Specifically, to a San Francisco of the past; full of deserted parks, discrete rooming houses, oddly menacing art galleries and florists where the customers enter and exit through the back door. Through this landscape wanders Jimmy Stewart, towering in the lead roll as a former detective recently retired after a bungled arrest leaves him with chronic vertigo. Plot machinations lead him to the alluring Kim Novak (one of Hitchcock's famous "blondes"), the young wife of a friend who has started behaving rather oddly.

"To reveal more," as Leonard Maltin wrote, "would be unthinkable."

While the performances of Novak and Stewart are memorable, the movie is really set apart by the intelligent script and the stylistic touches provided by the director. Hitchcock is in his very best form creating hypnotic scenes and a general sense of unease and dread in even the most banal of situations. He is aided in this by the wonderful score of Bernard Herrman. A particular favourite of mine is the extended (largely silent) segment where Stewart follows Novak for the first time. Nothing much happens, but the atmosphere of these scenes is enough to keep you on the edge of your seat!

One of the all-time greats. They definitely don't make them like this anymore.