Vertigo
released in 1958
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“Vertigo” is an American, psychological thriller produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on a novel called “D`entre Les Morts” by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. The screenplay was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor. It stars a very talented cast that includes James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones, Raymond Bailey, Ellen Corby, Konstantin Shayne, Lee Patrik, David Ahdar, Margaret Brayton, Paul Bryar, Nina Shipman, Joe Garcio and of course cameo appearances by Hitchcock himself. It is considered one of the best thrillers and even Movies Hollywood has made to date and ranks right up there with “Citizen Kane”, “Rear Window” and “To Catch A Thief”, not just in my opinion either. BTW the fine music was done by Bernard Hermann.

Vertigo IMDb webpage

“Vertigo” is the story of retired detective John `Scottie´Ferguson, played by James Stewart, who while trying to conquer his fear of heights is approached by an old college friend to follow his wife Madeleine, played by Kim Novak, because he fears she is in danger. It´s also worthy to mention that a rooftop chase with his partner led to his partner´s death when Scottie´s Vertigo prevented him from helping his partner. The story unravels into a strange tale of deception, ghost stories involving possible possession, and a strange death. Scottie tries to make sense of everything in his impaired state and we, as the audience, go along for the ride.

This is a truly fantastic film that I had to see more than once to catch missed details. The way Hitchcock conveys a damaged but likeable character like Scottie is brilliant. He is a main character I really liked and the way Hitchcock shows us the film through the eyes of an unreliable but likeable character is just so brilliant. I was as baffled as Scottie as to what was going on the first time I saw it. Another thing to mention is the setting, San Francisco of the 1950s. Now I´ve never been but I found it so charming and I can see why other films have successfully imitated “Vertigo” for this.

This is definitely a film worth seeing and is among the best films Hollywood has made. So get yourself a copy and enjoy it folks.

Written by John

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