Vertigo (1958)

Release date: 1958-05-22
Country: USA
Language: English
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Production Co: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Rating: 8.3/10
Length: 2h 8min

Storyline

John "Scottie" Ferguson is a retired San Francisco police detective who suffers from acrophobia, and Madeleine is the lady who leads him to high places. A wealthy shipbuilder who is an acquaintance from college days approaches Scottie and asks him to follow his beautiful wife, Madeleine. He fears she is going insane, maybe even contemplating suicide, as he believes she has been possessed by a dead ancestor who committed suicide. Scottie is skeptical, but agrees to the assignment after he sees the beautiful Madeleine.

Plot Keywords

vertigo, 1950s, acrophobia, mental breakdown, deception, actress playing multiple roles, fear of heights, death, haunted by the past, cemetery, falling from height, golden gate bridge, police detective, mysterious woman, nervous breakdown, look alike, mistaken identity, murder, obsession, private detective

Short Review

It's doubtful that Vertigo can take equal rank with the best of the Hitchcock studies -- it has too many holes -- but it assays high in visual confectionary of place, person and celluloid wiles.