Genre Mystery

Vertigo (1958)

Item: Vertigo
Rating: 3.5
Author: Ross McLaren

★★★½ — Vertigo (1958)

Few films have had quite the second life that Vertigo has enjoyed. Released by Paramount Pictures in 1958, Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller arrived in cinemas to a reception that was, to put it mildly, lukewarm. Critics were uncertain what to make of it, audiences were not exactly clamouring for more, and Hitchcock himself reportedly moved on without treating it as a centrepiece of his career. For a long stretch it was even withdrawn from circulation entirely. Then, from the 1980s onwards, a critical reassessment took hold, and the film's reputation climbed steadily until, in 2012, it displaced Citizen Kane at the top of the Sight and Sound poll of the greatest films ever made, a position it has held since. That is quite a journey for a picture that was once considered an odd, slightly unseemly misfire.

The story centres on a retired San Francisco detective, haunted by a fear of heights, who is hired by an old acquaintance to keep watch on his wife. What follows is a film preoccupied with obsession, illusion, and the way memory and desire can warp a person's perception of reality. Hitchcock was working at the height of his commercial and artistic confidence in the late 1950s, with films like Dial M for Murder and Rear Window already behind him, and he brought that assurance to every technical decision here. The screenplay was adapted from the 1954 French novel D'entre les morts by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, and the production had the full resources of Paramount behind it, with location shooting across San Francisco giving the film a geography that feels both real and slightly dreamlike at once.

James Stewart had already proven with Hitchcock what he could do in a morally complicated role, and here he is asked to carry something considerably darker than his wholesome public image might suggest. Kim Novak, cast in a dual role that asks a great deal of her, brings a quality that is difficult to pin down, polished but unremarkable in some scenes, and then unexpectedly affecting in others. Barbara Bel Geddes, in the smaller but vital role of Midge, provides a warmth and groundedness that the rest of the film rather conspicuously lacks. The score was composed by Bernard Herrmann, whose collaboration with Hitchcock produced some of the most recognisable music in cinema history, and the cinematography was handled by Robert Burks, a frequent Hitchcock collaborator whose use of Technicolor here remains a reference point for film students and working cinematographers alike.

Vertigo is one of those films that’s now hailed as Hitchcock’s masterpiece, topping the Sight and Sound list, studied in film schools, praised for its psychological depth and visual brilliance. But it’s worth remembering that it wasn’t always this revered. Upon release in 1958, it was met with mixed reviews and modest box office; critics found it slow, strange, even sleazy. It took decades (especially a critical re-evaluation from the 1980s onward) for its reputation to grow into the towering classic it’s considered today. And look, I get why people love it. The cinematography is absolutely stunning, each frame feels like a lush, dreamlike oil painting. The use of Technicolor is masterful: the deep greens, hypnotic reds, and hazy San Francisco fog create a mood so thick you could cut it with a knife. The famous dolly-zoom effect, the spiralling score by Bernard Herrmann, the surreal dream sequences, it’s all visually groundbreaking, emotionally charged, and dripping with obsession. But personally I wasn’t particularly impressed. Compared to Psycho, Rear Window, or even Dial M for Murder, Vertigo feels messy, drawn-out, and at times, uncomfortable in ways that go beyond suspense. James Stewart’s performance is intense, sure, but his character’s descent into control and fantasy crosses into deeply unsettling territory that the film never fully reckons with. The pacing drags, the plot twists feel more predictable than thrilling, and Kim Novak’s dual role, while technically impressive, doesn’t quite land emotionally. Undeniably beautiful, brilliantly crafted, but for me, not Hitchcock at his most gripping. A film I admire more than I love. Its legacy is huge, but my heart still lies with his tighter, sharper thrillers.

I find myself in that slightly awkward position of sitting with a film that I can see, quite plainly, is a work of real craft and ambition, and still walking away from it feeling less than won over. The beauty of the thing is not in question, and Bernard Herrmann's score alone would earn a place on any shortlist of great film music. But admiring the furniture is not the same as feeling at home in the room, and for me Vertigo never quite made me feel welcome. If you want Hitchcock at his most controlled and propulsive, I think there are better places to start, including some of his earlier work that I have covered here, such as Rebecca or the comparatively lean and fleet-footed The 39 Steps. Vertigo will always have its devoted following, and fairly so. It just might not be the Hitchcock that keeps me coming back.

Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 1958 | Watched: 2025-09-13

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Trailer

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