Vertigo is a Murder Mystery that is One of Alfred Hitchcock's Best Films
After being introduced to the thriller world of Alfred Hitchcock, I knew that I had to keep watching more of his films this October. These stories hold a sort of horror feel to them, and the stories are so entertaining to watch. I keep finding myself trying to guess the twist, but I always end up shocked and mad, realizing that I can’t predict Hitchcock’s films.
Perhaps that is the main reason why I love watching his movies.
The characters are so fascinating, and the twists and turns of the story as it builds up to the ending is awesome!
Vertigo follows the story of a retired detective named Scottie, who is suffering from the fear of heights.
Credit to Vertigo (1958) — The Movie Crash Course
During a pass confrontation of chasing after a criminal, Scottie ends up falling and clinging to the roof of a building to avoid falling to his death. His partner attempts to save him, but he falls over, dying. This event traumatizes Scottie, and he ends up learning that he has a fear of heights.
He comes to accept his fear once he spends time with his friend Midge Wood, who he has a past history with. They test out his fear with a ladder, and his fear is proven once he looks down from the apartment window, startling him as Midge comforts him. Scottie later runs into an old friend, Gavin Elster, who asks him for a huge favor.
He asks Scottie to keep an eye on his wife, Madeline, who is currently experiencing a strange phenomenon of visions and dreams of another woman who died at the age of 26. Scottie follows her for a long time, and he interferes once he catches her jumping into a bay. He rescues her, and this outcome leads to an unexpected connection between them.
Scottie and Madeline fall in love.
Credit to Resource — Vertigo: Film Guide — Into Film
While Scottie is trying to help Madeline get through her madness, they fall in love. Scottie tries his best to help her, and he decides to take her to an area where she claimed she had seen in a dream. Madeline goes mad while Scottie is trying to calm her down, and she runs into a church, heading upstairs to the very top.
Scottie struggles to go after her, due to his fear of heights, and he witnesses a horrific sight. Madeline falls to her death, ending her own life. Scottie suffers a guilty conscience over her death, and he is placed in a place to care for him. Midge Wood goes over to spend time with him, and she appears heartbroken for her friend, thinking of his love for this poor woman.
A year passes, and now Scottie is back in society, still grieving Madeline’s demise. Then he runs into a woman that closely resembles Madeline, and he finds himself following her back to a hotel. The woman’s name is Judy, and she decides to give him a chance in dating, despite being kind of weirded out by him.
We then get an insane twist.
Judy is Madeline, and she had faked her death to have the real wife of Gavin Elster fall to her death.
Credit to Vertigo (1958) : r/TrueFilm
Judy was the mistress of Gavin Elster, and she had decided to help him fake his real wife’s death, in order to be with him. He had snapped her neck before throwing his wife over, and the scream that Scottie had heard had come from Judy, when she started to feel guilty over the murder. Gavin had thrown her away in the end, offering her money, and she accepted it.
Judy decides to play along for now, since she does harbor real feelings for Scottie. Even though she grows uncomfortable with Scottie wanting her to resemble Madeline, she still continues to do so, because she loves him. Scottie decides that he still needs some type of closure, and he takes Judy to the old place where the crime had been committed.
They go to the top of the church, and as Scottie confronts Judy, she confesses everything, telling him that despite her crimes, she still loves him. Scottie and Judy kiss, but they are interrupted by a nun who finds them. Judy goes into a panic, and she falls over, accidentally killing herself, giving a sort of poetic justice to the wife.
The movie ends with Scottie standing over the edge, in shock over her sudden death, his fear of heights now gone.
I thought this was such a bold move on the director’s part. Ending the movie after Judy straight up dies as Scottie stares down at her body is pretty brutal. While I was glad that Scottie was able to solve the case of the wife’s murder, I felt so sorry for him.
He did love Judy/Madeline in some way, and now he was going to have to move on without her in his life.
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