An old college friend (Gavin Elster) hires Scottie to watch his wife Madeleine who has reportedly become possessed by her ancestor's spirit named Carlotta. 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. San Francisco police detective Scottie Fergusson develops a fear of heights and is forced to retire when a colleague falls to his death during a chase. Here tragedy strikes, and each twist in the movie's second half changes our preconceptions about the characters and events. After saving her from suicide, Scottie begins to fall in love with her, and she appears to feel the same way. 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). Elster's wife, Madeleine ( Kim Novak), has been possessed by a spirit, and Elster wants Scottie to follow her. director of photography Film Editing by George Tomasini Casting By Bert McKay. On the surface, it's a love story with a mystery, bright and shiny, maybe his most sumptuous feast of the senses.
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). Vertigo PG 1958, Mystery & thriller, 2h 8m 93 Tomatometer 87 Reviews 93 Audience Score 100,000+ Ratings What to know critics consensus An unpredictable scary thriller that doubles as a mournful. Vertigo (1958) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Music by Bernard Herrmann Cinematography by Robert Burks. Alfred Hitchcock made a career movie with 'Vertigo,' one of several career movies of his, but maybe the most enduring. 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. Silver screen legend James Stewart reteams with the Master of Suspense to play a detective who falls in love with a tortured, beautiful woman (Kim Novak) he is hired to surveil. 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. Alfred Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' has taken its place as the director's most spellbinding and deeply personal achievement.