Vertigo boasted several different themes. However, the "Ideal Woman - Lost" theme was the most prevalent ("Handout #1"). This theme was brought on by an obsessed "everyman" type. Jimmy Stewart, otherwise known as Scottie in the film, played this "everyman" type whose personality was maliciously twisted into an overly obsessive man. His cause for obsession was a beautiful, young woman played by Kim Novak, known as both Madeleine and Judy in the film. Madeleine drew Scottie in so deep, that he literally became a different person. This film mirrored Hitchcock's personal feelings and was considered to be his favorite film.

are many scenes that prove the above theme, the following are three specific scenes that clearly spell out Scottie's obsession. The scene where Scottie was sitting in his car alone after dropping Midge off at her home is a good first example. Midge and Scottie had just spent an afternoon together researching Carlotta Valdes' history. Before Midge got out of the car she told Scottie, much to his dismay, that she was going view Carlotta's portrait at the museum. As soon as Midge got out of the car, Scottie pulled out his brochure from the museum and turned to the page that hosted Carlotta's portrait. As he stared at her picture for several moments, he began to visualize Madeleine's face. Clearly this was one of the first signs of his growing obsession. An old college buddy hired Scottie to follow his wife, Madeleine, to discover where she was "wandering" off to. However, this job was consuming his life and Scottie was developing a serious intrigue for Madeleine, a very mysterious woman.

Handout #1: Alfred Hitchcock & Notes on Vertigo

Another good example is the scene where Madeleine jumped into the bay. Scottie rushed to her aid, and pulled her from the bay, saving her life. He immediately took Madeleine back to her car and placed her in the passenger seat. Then Scottie got very close to her face and whispered her name several times. Clearly he forgot that he was suppose to be a stranger to her. She was not suppose to know him and he was not suppose to know her. In addition, he had no reason to have known her name. His act of getting so close to her and calling her name was a clear sign that he deeply cared for her and was very concerned f

Some common words found in the essay are:
Carlotta Valdes', Scottie Judy, Madeleine Scottie, Please Stewart, Madeleine Judy, Hitchcock's Vertigo, Ironically Hitchcock's, Alfred Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart, Woman Lost, alfred hitchcock, kim novak, handout #1, scene scottie, example scene, midge car, scottie's obsession, carlotta's portrait, everyman type,
Approximate Word count = 1125
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)