Vertigo (1958)

NEUTRAL

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95%

1958, Mystery & thriller, 2h 8m

RT Critics’ Score: 94% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 2 Oscars
8 wins & 7 nominations total

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Critics Consensus

An unpredictable scary thriller that doubles as a mournful meditation on love, loss, and human comfort.

Audience Consensus

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a classic thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Sure, some critics may say it drags on a bit, but they clearly don’t appreciate the art of suspense. James Stewart and Kim Novak deliver captivating performances that will have you questioning everything until the very end. And let’s not forget about Hitchcock’s impeccable attention to detail in every shot. It’s no wonder this film is considered one of his finest achievements. So grab some popcorn, turn off the lights, and get ready for a dizzying cinematic experience.

Storyline

Following his early retirement as a detective from the San Francisco Police Department, John Ferguson – Scottie to his friends – becomes obsessed with two women in succession, those obsessions which trouble his long time friend and former fiancée, Midge Wood, a designer of women’s undergarments. The first is wealthy and elegant platinum blonde Madeleine Elster, the wife of his college acquaintance Gavin Elster, who hires John to follow her in Gavin’s belief that she may be a danger to herself in thinking that she has recently been possessed by the spirit of Carlotta Valdes, Madeleine’s great-grandmother who she knows nothing about, but who Gavin knows committed suicide in being mentally unbalanced when she was twenty-six, Madeleine’s current age. The second is Judy Barton, who John spots on the street one day. Judy is a working class girl, but what makes John obsessed with her is that, despite her working class style and her brunette hair, she is the spitting image of Madeleine, into who he tries to transform Judy. The initial question that John has is if there is some connection between Madeleine and Judy. What happens between John and individually with Madeleine and Judy is affected by the reason John took that early retirement: a recent workplace incident that showed that he is acrophobic which leads to a severe case of vertigo whenever he looks down from tall heights.

Production Company(ies)
Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions,

Distributor
Paramount Pictures

Release Type
Theatrical

Filming Location(s)
Fort Point, Presidio, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, California, USA

MPAA / Certificate
PG

Year of Release
1958

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

Dolby
Aspect ratio:

1.50 : 1 (VistaVision, original & negative ratio)
Runtime:

2h 8m
Language(s):

English
Country of origin:

United States
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): May 9, 1958 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 25, 2001

Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller

Keyword(s)
starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones, Raymond Bailey, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Samuel A Taylor, Alec Coppel, mystery, thriller, box office, budget, reviewed by Jack Moffitt, Deborah Ross, Archer Winsten, Peter Bradshaw, Lillian Crawford, PG rating, produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aspect ratio, obsession, manipulation, fear, detective, fear of heights, death, double, madness, lies, love, loss, human comfort, North by Northwest, Rear Window, Lawrence of Arabia, The Great Escape, Brazil

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $7,797,728
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $90,949,461
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,066
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 9,918,153

US/Canada gross: $7,705,225
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $89,870,545
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 805
US/Canada opening weekend: $252,880
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $2,949,487
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,163

Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $2,479,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $28,914,027
Production budget ranking: 1,172
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $15,570,203
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $46,465,232
ROI to date (est.): 104%
ROI ranking: 917

Cast & Crew

James Stewart

Kim Novak

Barbara Bel Geddes

Tom Helmore

Henry Jones

John “Scottie” Ferguson

Madeleine Elster

Judy Barton

Midge Wood

Gavin Elster

James Stewart – John “Scottie” Ferguson
Kim Novak – Madeleine Elster, Judy Barton
Barbara Bel Geddes – Midge Wood
Tom Helmore – Gavin Elster
Henry Jones – Coroner
Raymond Bailey – Scottie’s Doctor

Alfred Hitchcock

Pierre Boileau

Alfred Hitchcock

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Alfred Hitchcock

Writer(s)
Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Samuel A. Taylor, Alec Coppel

Producer(s)
Alfred Hitchcock

Film Festivals

Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
8 wins & 7 nominations total

Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Jack Moffitt

Deborah Ross

Archer Winsten

Peter Bradshaw

Lillian Crawford

Hollywood Reporter

The Spectator

New York Post

Guardian

Little White Lies

VERTIGO
All Critics (86) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (81) | Rotten (5)
Alfred Hitchcock tops his own fabulous record for suspense with Vertigo, a super-tale of murder, madness and mysticism that stars James Stewart and Kim Novak.

May 13, 2022

Jack Moffitt
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
The storytelling isn’t up to much. It drags and drags.

May 18, 2020

Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
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.

September 21, 2018

Archer Winsten
New York Post
TOP CRITIC
Combines in an almost unique balance Hitchcock’s brash flair for psychological shocks with his elegant genius for dapper stylishness.

July 12, 2018 | Rating: 5/5

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
A dizzying cinematic experience.

July 12, 2018 | Rating: 5/5

Lillian Crawford
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” is an artistic triumph for the master of mystery.

May 9, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/4

Wanda Hale
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
This latest Alfred Hitchcock “thrillorama” offers further evidence of his mastery in mystery and suspense, for, despite its flaws, it grips one’s attention from start to finish.

March 24, 2022

P.S. Harrison
Harrison’s Reports
A motion picture of incomparable dramatic involvement and hypnotic filmmaking.

March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4

Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
It’s probably the most impeccably put together Hitchcock movie… but ultimately it’s men trying to control women, and that doesn’t ring very well right now.

September 10, 2021 | Rating: 3/4

Kevin Carr
Fat Guys at the Movies
Jimmy Stewart is an actor who always delivers, especially in the films he did with Hitchcock. Scottie isn’t my favorite character he played but it really is a wonderful performance.

March 24, 2021

Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
Hitchcock is often spoken about regarding his “perfectionism,” this way every shot is carefully arranged and the edits hit like a knife. That’s no less true here…

December 8, 2020

Scott Nye
Battleship Pretension
One of Hitchcock’s finest achievements, layering drama, a love story, adventure, and hair-raising suspense into a psychological murder-mystery that simply has no peers.

August 23, 2020 | Rating: 10/10

Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins…

Plot
Following his early retirement as a detective from the San Francisco Police Department, John Ferguson – Scottie to his friends – becomes obsessed with two women in succession, those obsessions which trouble his long time friend and former fiancée, Midge Wood, a designer of women’s undergarments. The first is wealthy and elegant platinum blonde Madeleine Elster, the wife of his college acquaintance Gavin Elster, who hires John to follow her in Gavin’s belief that she may be a danger to herself in thinking that she has recently been possessed by the spirit of Carlotta Valdes, Madeleine’s great-grandmother who she knows nothing about, but who Gavin knows committed suicide in being mentally unbalanced when she was twenty-six, Madeleine’s current age. The second is Judy Barton, who John spots on the street one day. Judy is a working class girl, but what makes John obsessed with her is that, despite her working class style and her brunette hair, she is the spitting image of Madeleine, into who he tries to transform Judy. The initial question that John has is if there is some connection between Madeleine and Judy. What happens between John and individually with Madeleine and Judy is affected by the reason John took that early retirement: a recent workplace incident that showed that he is acrophobic which leads to a severe case of vertigo whenever he looks down from tall heights.

Trivia