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Written by: Alec Coppel & Samuel A. Taylor (screenplay by), Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac (based on the novel "D'Entre Les Morts" by), Maxwell Anderson (contributing writer, uncredited)
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones
Rated: PG
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Plot
A former San Francisco police detective juggles his personal demons and his obsession with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.
Verdict
Watching Hitchcock's movies, it's easy to see how advanced they were compared to contemporary movies. They set a new bar for cinema, a formula that's been copied and mimicked so many times it can be difficult to see why they were groundbreaking. The innovations are so common now, but his movies remain timeless. A detective afraid of heights has to confront that terror while the movie manages to make his perceptions visceral. His vertigo and the case are distinctly linked.
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Review
This was the first movie to employ the dolly zoom to distort perspective for a vertigo effect. That created a visual disorientation to represent Scottie's (James Stewart) acrophobia.
Scottie, a detective, chases a criminal across roof tops. He ends up hanging off the edge of the roof, multiple stories about the ground, and paralyzed with fear. Another cop attempts to help but ends up toppling to his death. It's frightening, and the experience leads to Scottie developing acrophobia, a fear of heights.
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| James Stewart plays John "Scottie" Ferugson |
Scottie quits the force because of it, pivoting to private investigations. That's when his old friend Gavin (Tom Helmore) hires him to follow his wife Madeleine (Kim Novak). Scottie and Gaven both begin to suspect that Madeleine is somehow channeling her great grandmother. As Scottie rightfully points out, Gavin seems to know a lot about the situation. His response is that he needed Scottie to confirm his suspicions before taking action. Is this really a case of possession?
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| James Stewart, Kim Novak play Scottie, Madeleine |
Scottie falls for Madeleine. Part of it is that she's beautiful, the other part is that he saved her after she jumped in the bay and he's empathetic to her situation. He began investigating, now he's in the middle of it, too involved, and trying to help her regain memories. He hopes that bringing her to the location of the visions will unlock the past memories. They both admit their affection, but in what seems like a channeling, Madeleine runs up a bell tower. Scottie can't follow, his fear of heights becoming debilitating. That scene becomes a defining moment for the film.
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| The Golden Gate Bridge spanning the San Francisco Bay |
Scottie blames himself for the fallout of the case. It's not just his vertigo, but he became way too involved. When he sees a blonde woman that looks like Madeleine, he becomes obsessed with her. Scottie urges her to dress like and style herself similar to Madeline. I don't know why she goes along with it unless she's just sympathetic. It turns out this woman isn't just a manifestation of grief over the case borne into reality. Scottie was a pawn in the game. He wants to put the pieces together, and to do that Scottie has to face his fear of heights yet again, but it's not without devastating consequences.
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