“Vertigo” in The Art of Alfred Hitchcock:

READING: “Vertigo” in The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His Motion
Pictures by Donald Spoto
Carefully read the assigned article and answer the following questions.
1. What does Donald Spoto cite as some of the mythological and artistic influences
on Vertigo?
2. Of Hitchcock’s decision to have Judy’s role in Madeleine’s murder revealed to the
audience shortly after the film’s midpoint rather than near the end, Spoto writes that
“Vertigo is, after all, a film concerned with the tortuous workings of the human mind and
heart under stress, and not with the unraveling of a thriller’s exigencies.”
a. How then does this affect our perception of and identification with Judy?
b. How can this statement be applied to other Hitchcock films?
3. The words “power” and “freedom” are spoken at three key moments in the film. What
significance does Donald Spoto ascribe their usage?
4. Spoto speculates that it is quite possible that Judy's slip of wearing Carlotta’s necklace
was no accident. Explain your agreement or disagreement with this explanation.