Vertigo

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

• Director: Alfred Hitchcock
• Genre:Drama / Mystery / Romance / Thriller
• Runtime:129 minutes

Cast

James Stewart : John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson
Kim Novak : Madeleine Elster / Judy Barton
Barbara Bel Geddes: Midge Wood
Tom Helmore : Gavin Elster
Henry Jones : Coroner

Detective John “Scottie” Ferguson (James Stewart) develops acrophobia (the fear of heights) after he witnesses a police officer (Fred Graham) fall to his death during a police chase across the rooftops of San Francisco. After the incident, Scottie decides to retire from police work, but a college acquaintance named Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) hires Scottie as a private investigator to decipher the peculiar behavior of his wife, Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak). Scottie follows Madeleine as she visits the grave, the former home and the museum portrait of a dead woman named Carlotta Valdes. Scottie learns that Carlotta Valdes had a tragic life that ended in suicide and that she was Madeleine’s great-grandmother. After following Madeleine to Fort Point, Scottie sees Madeleine jump into San Francisco Bay. Scottie rescues her and brings her to his home to recover. Madeleine eventually confesses that she feels like she may be going insane and has to repress suicidal impulses. Scottie comforts and reassures her and the intimacy between them grows.

When Madeleine recounts the details of a bad dream, Scottie identifies the setting as Mission San Juan Bautista and brings her there in an effort to ease her anxiety. At the mission, Madeleine suddenly runs into the church and up the staircase of the bell tower. Scottie chases after her, but his acrophobia prevents him from making it to the top of the staircase. Halted on the steps by vertigo and paralyzing fear, Scottie hears a scream and, through a window, sees Madeleine fall from the tower. The manner of her death was officially declared to be suicide and Gavin blamed it on possession by Carlotta Valdes. Read more