Vertigo (1958)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Alec Coppel (screenplay) &
Samuel A. Taylor (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 July 1958 (Brazil)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

A Hitchcock thriller. You should see it from the beginning!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Acrophobia | Shipbuilder | Police | Suicide | Unrequited Love

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

James Stewart	...	John 'Scottie' Ferguson
Kim Novak	...	Madeleine Elster / Judy Barton
Barbara Bel Geddes	...	Midge Wood
Tom Helmore	...	Gavin Elster
Henry Jones	...	Coroner
Raymond Bailey	...	Scottie's Doctor
Ellen Corby	...	Manager of McKittrick Hotel
Konstantin Shayne	...	Pop Leibel
Lee Patrick	...	Car Owner Mistaken for Madeleine

Also Known As:

'Vertigo' (USA) (poster title)
Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (USA) (complete title)
Darkling I Listen (USA) (working title)
Fear and Trembling (USA) (working title)
From Among the Dead (USA) (working title)
Illicit Darkening (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

128 min | USA:129 min (1996 restored version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.50 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS 70 mm (1996 re-release) (70 mm prints) | DTS (1996 re-release) (35 mm prints) | Dolby Digital (1996 re-release) (35 mm prints) | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #18867) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1983) (certificate no. 27072) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (1997) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) (original rating) (1983) | Spain:T | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Brazil:14 | Netherlands:12 | Iceland:12 (1984) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12/9 (1995) | Finland:K-12/9 (1997) | Finland:K-16 (1958) | France:U | Norway:11 (re-rating) (1997) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | West Germany:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

900 Lombard Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions

Trivia:

The film was unavailable for decades because its rights (together with four other pictures of the same period) were bought back by Alfred Hitchcock and left as part of his legacy to his daughter. They've been known for long as the infamous "Five Lost Hitchcocks" amongst film buffs, and were re-released in theatres around 1984 after a 30-year absence. The others are The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Rear Window (1954), Rope (1948), and The Trouble with Harry (1955).

Goofs:

Continuity: The book display in the bookshop window changes between the entering and exiting shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Officer on rooftop: Give me your hand. Give me your hand.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Prima della rivoluzione (1964)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 34 in C K. 338, 2nd Movement, Andante di Molto (piu tosto allegretto)

Among the very best.

In Boileau-Narcejac's French novel "D'Entre les Morts"= from among the Dead"),the revelation only comes in the last pages,but Hitchcock lets the cat out of the bag long before the end. Boileau-Narcejac's novel is a pure detective story,but the Master wanted more:the movie already outdistances the book in a first part visually wonderful,with memorable scenes,wrapped in mystery ,such as the one with the sequoia,symbol of immortality or the one down by the sea,to rival with the best romantic movies of all time.In the second part,Hitchcock explains in the Truffaut's book,we know but Scottie( James Stewart) does not .And he tries to recreate a dead woman,to transform Judy into Madeleine.This folie à deux ends where the first tragedy occurred ,which gives the movie a strength that the book had not.Read it and you'll realize how its end ,speaking in terms of cinema,had to be modified for the screen.That's Hitchcock's genius.

When Boileau/Narcejac learned that Hitchcock wanted to transfer "Celle Qui N'Etait PLus " (=les Diaboliques" )to the screen,they immediately wrote "D'Entre les Morts " on the same pattern for Hitchcock to direct.