Despite the modern acclaim, Vertigo was not as beloved when
it was first released in 1958. It wasn’t hated, nor was it a financial
disaster; but given Hitchcock’s already monumental reputation it didn’t exactly
set the world on fire. This isn’t unheard of films which go on to acquire a
great reputation. The aforementioned Citizen Kane also arrived to muted
applause (often blamed on media tycoon William Randolph Hearst who, believing
the often unsympathetic main character, Charles Foster Kane, was based on him
ordered the film critics that worked in his newspapers to give the film bad
reviews). It wasn’t until critics began revisiting Vertigo in the 1960s and its
subsequent showing on television and releases on VHS in the 70s and 80s that
the film developed its reputation.
Vertigo stars Jimmy Stewart as John “Scottie” Ferguson; a San
Francisco cop who retires from the force when his partner (Fred Graham) falls
from a rooftop trying to save Scotty from falling himself. The incident leaves
Scotty with a fear of heights and attacks of vertigo (this film is probably
responsible for having many people falsely believing that vertigo is a fear of
heights). Now a private detective, Scotty is asked by an old friend (Tom
Helmore) to spy on his wife (Kim Novak) who seems obsessed, even entranced, by
a woman believed to be long dead.
The reason why Vertigo didn’t make a big splash in 1958 is
often laid at the belief that critics and audiences found the film too complex
and complicated. This might also be something of an asset to the film. As great
as the works of Hitchcock usually are, they aren’t known for complex stories.
Many of his classics are about a man becoming either a target for a group of
killers, a man falsely accused of committing a crime (a theme that is claimed
to be rooted in Hitchcock being locked in a police cell as a boy as punishment,
even though it always eluded Hitchcock what his actual transgression was),
sometimes both themes were part of a film’s plot. Vertigo is a much more
complex piece thematically. It’s a dark tale of obsession and possessiveness. This
is perfectly encapsulated by Hitchcock regular, Jimmy Stewart in his last role
in an Alfred Hitchcock film. The perennial Mr Nice Guy and everyman of both
Hitchcock and Frank Capra films transforms over the course of the film to a man
totally absorbed by his past personal demons. There’s also no exact moment that
can be clearly defined where the transition starts or stops. It is a truly engrossing
performance.
Scottie could be almost considered an avatar of Hitchcock
himself. Hitch has often been characterised as a man with obsessive control
over his leading ladies and having a particular fondness for icy blonde
bombshells, a category of which Kim Novak belongs in with other Hitchcock
luminaries Grace Kelly, Tippi Hedren, Janet Leigh and Vera Miles (Miles, who
later appeared in Psycho (1960), was in fact an earlier choice to play Kim
Novak’s Madeline in this film). Stewart’s later scenes with Novak particularly
reflect this idea.
On a technical level, the film easily ranks amongst the
director’s best work. A cavalcade of expressionistic light and colour, the sets
perfectly represent the ideas present in the film. The lurid reds of passion
and the shocking use of green provide remarkable heightening of drama whilst
Bernard Hermann provides a typically experimental score, topped with perhaps
some of Hitchcock’s most bizarre set-pieces. The bending images of Scotty’s
vertigo attacks and a surrealistic tinted dream sequence. The fact that two
years later, Hitchcock released the starkly monochrome and minimalist Psycho,
holds a particularly sharp contrast.
Is Vertigo truly the best film ever made? Well, as a piece of art its real quality is
subjective. Personally, it isn’t my favourite film of Hitchcock’s (that’s
probably The Birds (1963), although Vertigo still belongs in a top tier
alongside Psycho, The 39 Steps (1935) and Rope (1948)) but, regardless, Vertigo
is as complex, developed and experimental as Hitch ever got.
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