Vertigo – The Movie Review

Vertigo (1958)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Written by: Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor
Produced by: Herbert Coleman and Alfred Hitchcock
Cimematography by: Robert Burks
Edited by: George Tomasini

Principle Cast:
James Stewart as John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson
Kim Novak as Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton
Barbara BelGeddes as Midge Wood
Tom Helmore as Gavin Elster
Henry Jones as Coroner
Raymond Bailey as Scottie’s Doctor
Ellen Corby as Mananger at McKittrick Hotel
Konstatin Shayne as Pop Leibel
Lee Patrick as Car owner mistaken for Madeleine

Story: based on the 1954 novel D’entre les morts by Boileau-Narcejac, John “Scotty” Ferguson (James Stewart) is a retired San Francisco cop. Hired by his old college friend. Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) to trail his wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak). John becomes increasing and dangerously drawn to Madeleine.

Plot: This psychological thriller deals with deception and deceit. John Ferguson realizes he has vertigo and retires from police work, only to be hired by Gavin Elster to follow and determine if Elster’s wife, Madeleine, is insane or possessed by her dead great-grandmother’s spirit. As John Ferguson follows Madeleine through 1950 San Francisco, he becomes intrigued by her and after saving Madeleine’s life falls in love with her. She seems to love him too; however, Madeleine jumps from a bell tower to her death. Here is where the plot twists begin. James, unable to withstand the loss of Madeleine, spends a year in a mental hospital. Midge Wood (Barbara BelGeddes), who is in love with John, his only visitor. Once released, John sees Madeleine everywhere, or so he thinks, until he truly sees a women, Judy, who bears a striking resemblance to Madeleine. In remaking Judy into Madeleine, James discovers a truth about Madeleine and the events that lead up to her death. In an effort to move past the past, James is able to overcome his vertigo but tragedy strikes one last time.

I have always loved Alfred Hitchcock movies; however, I have never really given thought to how techniques, such as foreshadowing, chronological order, editing and lighting effect the mood and development of a movie.

In Vertigo, there is a great deal of foreshadowing, as establishing the main character, James “Scottie” Ferguson (James Stewart) suffers from vertigo later plays part in Madeleine’s (Kim Novak) suicide. There is again foreshadowing, added by color, as we first see Madeleine in a green gown, then her car is green. This associates the color green with Madeleine for the audience. Later, when Judy is first met, she is wearing green, the awning to her hotel and the hotel walls are also green. Throughout this movie, there are instances where a blue hue is used, which one comes to associate with a foreshadowing of danger or intense emotional or psychological distress.

The movie, with the exception of Judy’s flashback to her part in Madeleine’s apparent suicide, is told in chronological order. This aids in character development as the audience can fully experience the journey taken by James Ferguson as he first falls in love with, then looses Madeleine. I do not believe telling this story in any other way would have led me to feeling empathy for the main character at the time of his mental break after Madeleine’s death.

One thing I did not know, this movie has a reference to necrophilia. There were some obvious illusions to sexual desire, as in the close up shot of the bun in Madeleine’s hair; however I would not have made the connection to necrophilia had I not watched an interview with Alfred Hitchcock about the movie Vertigo.

References

American Film Institute. (2008). AFI’s 10 top 10. Retrieved from http://www.afi.com/10top10/moreDetail.aspx?id=7892&thumb=1

WatersStillRunDeep (2011, April 5). SHOCKING Hidden Meaning of VERTIGO. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc2s9uSXWKM

Vertigo (10/11) Movie CLIP -Judy Becomes Madeleine (1958) HD. MOVIECLIPS. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tesqTwX7cpc