Plot
Detective John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart) develops acrophobia (the fear of heights) after he witnesses a police officer (Fred Graham), whom he tried to save, fall to his death during a police chase across the rooftops of San Francisco. After the incident, Scottie decides to retire from police work, but a college acquaintance named Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) hires Scottie as a private investigator to decipher the peculiar behavior of his wife, Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak). Scottie follows Madeleine as she visits the grave, the former home and the museum portrait of a dead woman named Carlotta Valdes. Scottie learns that Carlotta Valdes had a tragic life that ended in suicide and that she was Madeleine's great-grandmother. After following Madeleine to Fort Point, Scottie sees Madeleine jump into San Francisco Bay next to the Golden Gate Bridge. Scottie rescues her and takes her to his home to recover. Madeleine eventually confesses that she feels like she may be going insane and has to repress suicidal impulses. Scottie comforts and reassures her and the intimacy between them grows.When Madeleine recounts the details of a bad dream, Scottie identifies the setting as Mission San Juan Bautista and takes her there in an effort to ease her anxiety. At the mission, Madeleine panics and suddenly runs into the church and up the staircase of the bell tower. Scottie chases after her, but his acrophobia prevents him from making it to the top of the staircase. Halted on the steps by vertigo and paralyzing fear, Scottie hears a scream and, through a window, sees Madeleine fall from the tower. The manner of her death was officially declared to be suicide and Gavin blamed it on possession by Carlotta Valdes.
Scottie had fallen in love with Madeleine and is depressed after her death. As his emotional state improves, he begins to haunt the places that Madeleine had visited. On the street, he spots a young woman who, in spite of her very different looks, somehow reminds him of Madeleine. Scottie follows her to her hotel room and tries to persuade her to talk to him. She tells him that her name is Judy Barton and that she is just a simple girl from Kansas. Though initially hostile and defensive, she eventually agrees to join Scottie for dinner - but once Scottie has left, we learn of her true identity. She was, in fact, the woman that he knew as "Madeleine," but she was not actually Gavin's wife. Gavin had hired her to pose as his wife and pretend to be possessed by Carlotta Valdes. Gavin faked the suicide by hiding at the top of the bell tower and tossing over the body of his already-murdered wife. Gavin used Scottie as a witness to her apparent suicide by correctly predicting that his acrophobia would prevent him from following "Madeleine" to the top of the tower. But Judy had fallen in love with Scottie, so she chooses to hide the truth and attempts to establish a genuine relationship with him.
Scottie grows fond of Judy, but their relationship is hindered by his memory of "Madeleine." He gradually transforms Judy so that she bears an uncanny resemblance to "Madeleine." Scottie's suspicion is aroused when Judy wears a necklace that he remembered seeing in the portrait of Carlotta Valdes. Scottie takes Madeleine to Mission San Juan Bautista, revealing to her upon arrival that he wants to reenact the event in which he failed to save Madeleine, admitting that he has realized she is the same person. Scottie forces Judy up the bell tower while he recounts the incident and presses her for the truth. Scottie realizes that he has conquered his acrophobia and his ascent, therefore, is not impeded by vertigo. On top of the bell tower, Judy admits to the deception, but pleads to Scottie that she loves him. The two embrace, but Judy, startled by an approaching shadow (a nun), steps backward and falls from the tower to her death.
No comments:
Post a Comment