Starring San Francisco: The Desire for Mystery and Romance
Herbert Coleman, Vertigo's assistant producer, said that director Alfred Hitchcock would pick a place and then develop a story for that location. If that's true, then what did Hitchcock say about San Francisco in Vertigo? Surely the hills are steep enough to give someone vertigo, but there must be more to it than that.
In the beginning of the movie, old friend Gavin (Tom Helmore) tells John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart) that San Francisco has changed: "Things that spell 'San Francisco' to me are disappearing fast."
Scottie points to a picturesque landscape of green hills. "Like all these?" he asks.
"Yes," Gavin says. "I should have liked to live here then. Color, excitement, car, freedom."
It's 1958, and San Francisco is changing. Even the people are changing. The city is haunted by the past, Madeleine (Kim Novak) is haunted by Carlotta's ghost, Scottie is haunted by memories of Madeleine, and Judy is haunted by Scottie's obsession. The past lingers even as time goes on and new identities and paths take root.
Vertigo haunts and even teases local Hitchcock aficionados with its cinematographic past. Hitchcock shot on location for 16 days in 1957, featuring such landmarks as Coit Tower, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Legion of Honor, Fort Point, Mission Dolores and the Golden Gate Bridge. The film serves as an homage to the physical space and public symbols of the city. Consequently, it preserves a view into the San Francisco of the 1950s.
Some even capitalize on the Hitchcock connection. A Vertigo tour of the city will cost you $230 for four to five hours of visiting points of interest. Add a visit to Mission San Juan Bautista, and it's $480 for a full day's schlep (10 to 11 hours). Now Scottie's apartment has become a photo-op itself.
Others obsess over the minutiae: the trees that have grown over a view of the bridge, the dingy alleyway that's become boutique-central. We're not actually looking for how things have changed though. We're looking for what has remained the same from Hitchcock's touch, what has withstood the test of time and what can still haunt us from our city's past. It's a sense of comfort and mark of pride to know that some things never change (like Madeleine's grandiose apartment building or the flower stand around Union Square), especially when those some things were captured by a renowned auteur.
These comparative screenshots and extended tours attempt to capture exactly what Gavin saw in his painting. Even the painting of Carlotta Valdez, the woman supposedly haunting Madeleine, serves the same purpose. All are romantic, mysterious, and predicated on a nobler past. A simpler time, a flush time. While the past may seduce us, Hitchcock shows that its romance will only elude us in the end.
The present moment and its garish reality interrupt and overpower our desperate reach to experience the past. Judy (Kim Novak) represents this bluntness. She is neither mysterious nor noble. She's not charming or aloof or refined--nothing that would invite us to want to know more. She wears too much makeup, and worst of all, she's from Kansas. She lacks the rich connection to San Francisco's Spanish ancestry, the feel of old sophistication passed down from generation to generation.
Scottie's attraction to the polished Madeleine and obsession with digging her out of Judy reflects the desire to possess a mystery of the past. The mystery of the past is not specific to our city, but it has obviously taken hold. We are enamored with history's nostalgic factor and the idea of "before things changed." Hitchcock proves that San Francisco is a haunted city, even 50 years after he left his mark.
Vertigo is available on Netflix and iTunes. The Universal Legacy Series edition is available on Amazon.
Starring San Francisco is Appeal culture reporter, Christine Borden's, take on the city's cinematic past to illuminate today. Have a locally-set film you'd like to see featured? Tell her at christine@sfappeal.com
In the beginning of the movie, old friend Gavin (Tom Helmore) tells John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart) that San Francisco has changed: "Things that spell 'San Francisco' to me are disappearing fast."
Scottie points to a picturesque landscape of green hills. "Like all these?" he asks.
"Yes," Gavin says. "I should have liked to live here then. Color, excitement, car, freedom."
It's 1958, and San Francisco is changing. Even the people are changing. The city is haunted by the past, Madeleine (Kim Novak) is haunted by Carlotta's ghost, Scottie is haunted by memories of Madeleine, and Judy is haunted by Scottie's obsession. The past lingers even as time goes on and new identities and paths take root.
Vertigo haunts and even teases local Hitchcock aficionados with its cinematographic past. Hitchcock shot on location for 16 days in 1957, featuring such landmarks as Coit Tower, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Legion of Honor, Fort Point, Mission Dolores and the Golden Gate Bridge. The film serves as an homage to the physical space and public symbols of the city. Consequently, it preserves a view into the San Francisco of the 1950s.
Some even capitalize on the Hitchcock connection. A Vertigo tour of the city will cost you $230 for four to five hours of visiting points of interest. Add a visit to Mission San Juan Bautista, and it's $480 for a full day's schlep (10 to 11 hours). Now Scottie's apartment has become a photo-op itself.
Others obsess over the minutiae: the trees that have grown over a view of the bridge, the dingy alleyway that's become boutique-central. We're not actually looking for how things have changed though. We're looking for what has remained the same from Hitchcock's touch, what has withstood the test of time and what can still haunt us from our city's past. It's a sense of comfort and mark of pride to know that some things never change (like Madeleine's grandiose apartment building or the flower stand around Union Square), especially when those some things were captured by a renowned auteur.
These comparative screenshots and extended tours attempt to capture exactly what Gavin saw in his painting. Even the painting of Carlotta Valdez, the woman supposedly haunting Madeleine, serves the same purpose. All are romantic, mysterious, and predicated on a nobler past. A simpler time, a flush time. While the past may seduce us, Hitchcock shows that its romance will only elude us in the end.
The present moment and its garish reality interrupt and overpower our desperate reach to experience the past. Judy (Kim Novak) represents this bluntness. She is neither mysterious nor noble. She's not charming or aloof or refined--nothing that would invite us to want to know more. She wears too much makeup, and worst of all, she's from Kansas. She lacks the rich connection to San Francisco's Spanish ancestry, the feel of old sophistication passed down from generation to generation.
Scottie's attraction to the polished Madeleine and obsession with digging her out of Judy reflects the desire to possess a mystery of the past. The mystery of the past is not specific to our city, but it has obviously taken hold. We are enamored with history's nostalgic factor and the idea of "before things changed." Hitchcock proves that San Francisco is a haunted city, even 50 years after he left his mark.
Vertigo is available on Netflix and iTunes. The Universal Legacy Series edition is available on Amazon.
Starring San Francisco is Appeal culture reporter, Christine Borden's, take on the city's cinematic past to illuminate today. Have a locally-set film you'd like to see featured? Tell her at christine@sfappeal.com
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