starring Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak
directed by Alfred Hitchcock
128 minutes
John "Scotty" Ferguson is forced to retire from the San Francisco Police Department after he gets injured and develops a case of vertigo. He hangs out with Midge, a friend and artist, to whon he was once briefly engaged. Gavin, an old friend of John, asks John to do him a favor and keep an eye on Madeleine, his wife, who has been acting strange. Gavin thinks that she is possessed by the spirit of her great-grandmother.
John takes the job. He saves Madeleine once after she jumps into the San Francisco Bay in a trance like state. He isn't as lucky the second time around and is unable to prevent her from jumping from a church bell tower to her death. John is cleared of any wrong doing but the death of Madeleine causes him to break mentally and he is forced to spend some time in a mental facility.
John eventually gets out of the facility but then he starts thinking he sees Madeleine everywhere. Is he still around the bend or is she still alive?
I saw this movie once before, probably in the 1980s or 1990s. I wasn't impressed by it back then. I recently found out that it has been on all-time best of lists for years. I was surprised but I decided that I should give it another try. My baseline opinion of this movie has not changed. I was not impressed. I don't get why so many people think it is great let alone one of the best movies of all time.
The movie felt very long to me. I think the music, the performances, the lack of interesting characters all probably contributed to the way I feel about this movie. I think I can see what Hitchcock was going for but it would take a big stretch of the imagination for me to believe that he made it work.
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