Remember the Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV series that ran from 1955 through 1962? Each episode was a short thriller with a surprising twist. I'd never encountered its like, and have not seen anything that approaches it today. To this adolescent Spokane youth, he had a strange, name, and he talked like a snooty butler. I thought it was cool that he did not show respect for his own sponsors: "We shall continue in a moment, after a word about a much doubted product".
I noticed that Hitchcock directed movies. His films had name-brand actors, such as Cary Grant, Kim Novak, and James Stewart. The movies were the same twisted plot, suspenseful genre, as his TV show, but with extended imagery, symbolism, and musical scores. He always appeared in a comical cameo snapshot near the start of each film.
His first film for me, was Vertigo, a 1958 thriller starring James Stewart and Kim Novak. It also featured Barbara Bel Geddes, who later played Miss Ellie on the TV series Dallas, and Ellen Corby, who would eventually be cast as Grandma Walton on The Waltons.
The plot centers on a flawed San Francisco police detective who has psychological troubles, a previous investigative failure, and a fear of heights. He obsesses over a women played by Kim Novak. Understandable, except she is a whack job too, having an obsession with death. He gets mixed into a complex plot and tries to discover the truth behind it all.
We can view the plot from many angles: neurotic obsession, a police story, a murder mystery, or a love story,
The film uses complex imagery shot in great locations, such as Mission Carmel and the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. The musical score is excellent. There is a scene where Stewart follows Novak for ten minutes with no dialog - just music. I pick up something new on each viewing. To say more is to spoil this film. I think it is one of the best films ever made. Check out the restored DVD at your video store.