Vertigo (1958)

Only one is a wanderer; two together are always going somewhere.

— Madeleine

One of Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest films, Vertigo is currently#41 of the Top 250 of all time on IMDB. It was nominated for two  Oscars.

This is a simple “howcatchher” about a detective John “Scottie” Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart). He abruptly quits the force in the beginning of the film, when chasing a suspect on top of some apartment buildings he has a bout of vertigo and the second officer with him falls to his death trying to save him.

Feeling guilty and laid up in a back brace, Scottie seeks solace by his mousy best friend, Midge (Barbara Bel Geddes). When he gets the brace taken off, he is contacted by an old college friend of theirs, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) that wants to hire Scottie to follow his wife.

Gavin believes that his wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak) is possessed by a spirit of a dead woman that died a century before. Scottie reluctantly agrees to it. His decision leads to a dangerous road to heartache, loss and regret.

I was impressed by the way that Hitchcock would make the woman has a memorable entrance in a movie. There was no exception in this movie was Kim Novak in a gorgeous gown.

The visual look of the film was spectacular. In some instances, it was film noir and sometimes a Douglas Sirk bedroom drama. Wonderful filmmaking.

I was never bored. The pacing was perfect. The way that the camera shows Scottie succumbing to his agoraphobia and vertigo was great.

Judgment: A fabulous movie that should be seen to believe.

Rating: *****