Vertigo (1958)
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Kim Novak, (more)
- Director(s):
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Category:
- Mystery & Suspense
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Dismissed when first released, later heralded as one of director Alfred Hitchcock's finest films (and, according to Hitchcock, his most personal one), this adaptation of the French novel D'entre les morts weaves an intricate web of obsession and deceit. It opens as Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart) realizes he has vertigo, a condition resulting in a fear of heights, when a police officer is killed trying to rescue him from falling off a building. Scottie then retires from his position as a private investigator, only to be lured into another case by his old college friend, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore). Elster's wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak), has been possessed by a spirit, and Elster wants Scottie to follow her. He hesitantly agrees, and thus begins the film's wordless montage as Scottie follows the beautiful yet enigmatic Madeleine through 1950s San Francisco (accompanied by Bernard Herrmann's hypnotic score). After saving her from suicide, Scottie begins to fall in love with her, and she appears to feel the same way. Here tragedy strikes, and each twist in the movie's second half changes our preconceptions about the characters and events. In 1996 a new print of Vertigo was released, restoring the original grandeur of the colors and the San Francisco backdrop, as well as digitally enhancing the soundtrack. ~ Dylan Wilcox, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 128 mins
Complete Cast:
- James Stewart - John "Scottie" Ferguson
- Barbara Bel Geddes - Marjorie "Midge" Wood
- Henry Jones - Coroner
- Ellen Corby - Manager
- Lee Patrick - Older Mistaken Identity
- Sara Taft - Nun
- Margaret Brayton - Ransohoff's Saleslady (uncredited)
- June Jocelyn - Miss Woods
- William Remick - Jury Foreman
- Nina Shipman - Young Mistaken Identity
- Mollie Dodd - Beauty Operator
- Ed Stevlingson - Attorney
- John Benson - Salesman (uncredited)
- Kim Novak - Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton
- Tom Helmore - Gavin Elster
- Raymond Bailey - Doctor
- Konstantin Shayne - Pop Leibel
- Roland Got - Maitre d'
- Roxann Delman - Model
- Jack Richardson - Escort (uncredited)
- Don Giovanni - Salesman
- Paul Bryar - Capt. Hansen
- Buck Harrington - Gateman
- Fred Graham - Death Fall Officer (uncredited)
- Dori Simmons - Middle-Aged Mistaken Identity
- Director(s):
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Writer(s):
- Samuel A.Taylor, Alec Coppel
- Producer(s):
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Categories:
- Mystery & Suspense
- Closed Captioning:
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- Subtitles:
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- 1998 - Vertigo - American Film Institute - 100 Greatest American Movies
- 1988 - Vertigo - Library of Congress - U.S. National Film Registry
- 1996 - Vertigo - New York Film Critics Circle - Most Distinguished Reissue
