Hitchcock's movies

Written by:
Samuel A. Taylor
Alec Coppel

Based upon the novel by:
Thomas Narcejac
Pierre Boileau

Cinematography by:
Robert Burks

Production design by:
Hal Pereira
Henry Bumstead
Sam Comer
Frank R. McKelvy

Costume design by:
Edith Head

Music by:
Bernard Herrmann

Film editing by:
George Tomasini

Produced by:
Alfred Hitchcock
Herbert Coleman

Cast

James Stewart (John 'Scottie' Ferguson)

Kim Novak (Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton)

Barbara Bel Geddes (Marjorie 'Midge' Wood)

Tom Helmore (Gavin Elster)

Henry Jones (Coroner)

Raymond Bailey (Doctor)

Ellen Corby (Manageress of Hotel)

Konstantin Shayne (Pop Leibel)

San Francisco police detective Scottie Ferguson suffers from a fear of
heights; when he is not able to save a collegue's life , Scottie decides
to retire.
An old college friend, Gavin Elster, hires him to watch his wife
Madeleine who suffers of a mental illness and wishes to commit suicide.
Scottie follows the lady and day after day he falls in love with her.
One day near a church, he kisses her; Madeleine seems to be shocked
and she runs in the bell-tower; Scottie runs after her but he cannot reach
the lady due to his heights fear.
Madeleine falls down from the tower and dies: Scottie feels guilty again.
Some time later, Ferguson meets a girl who looks like Madeleine, her
name is Judy and Scottie falls in love again. But who is Judy?
When the girl is going to leave him 'couse he is obsessed by Madeleine,
Scottie drives her on the bell-tower and forces the girl to confess the truth.
She was Gavin's lover and she was the lady that Ferguson met as Madeleine;
she runned in the tower 'couse she wanted to stop Gavin who was going to
kill his wife, but she didn't reach him in time and the true Madeleine died.
Scottie hugs Judy: he has overcome his heights fear and he has finally found
his love; but.... when a nun enters the bell-tower, Judy gets frightened and
falls down. Scottie cannot save her life.

Plot is twisted and full of suspense, but the murder, precisely Gavin's plan
to kill his wife, seems not to have a great importance in the story's development.
Scottie never manages to avenge against the friend who deceived him, he never
manages to accuse him; the man is involved in a big psychological troble and he
needs to overcome it.
He has to fight against the irrational fear which made him lose his work and
the girl he loved.
Thanks to Judy / Madeleine he is starting a new life and he is going to surmount
his heights fear which represents a sort of fear of living. But no happy end is
waiting for him; after he has broken "his wall", Judy dies and again he has not
the chance to save her.