Scripts: Vertigo (12/Sep/1957) - part 10
INT. SCOTTIE'S APARTMENT - (NIGHT) In the living room. There is a fire in the fireplace. Judy is seated on the floor before the fire, bent forward with her head and arms buried in the seat of the easy chair. She's been crying. Scottie enters from the kitchen carrying a bottle of cognac and two glasses. He looks down at Judy, then pours cognac into the two glasses and sets the bottle down. SCOTTIE Here, Judy. Take it straight down. It's medicine. Judy raises her tear-streaked face. JUDY (Pleading) Why are you doing this? What good will it do? She takes the glass from his outstretched hand. SCOTTIE I don't know. No good, I guess. But I don't know. She takes a large sip of cognac, makes a face, and puts the glass away. As she does: JUDY (Tearfully) I wish you'd leave me alone. I want to go away. SCOTTIE You can. JUDY No, you wouldn't let me. (Then, almost to herself) And I don't want to go... Scottie comes down to her and puts his hands on her arms and holds her and looks into her eyes intently. SCOTTIE Judy, I want to tell you: these few days have been the first happy days I've had in a year. JUDY (Sadly) I know. Because I remind you of her. The one that's dead. And not even that, very much. SCOTTIE (Meaning it) No, it's you too, Judy. Something in you. She looks at him with a new spark of hope, and her eyes are almost willing him to kiss her. But then he drops his hands from her arms, and the glow fades from her eyes, and she looks away. JUDY (Dully) You don't even want to touch me. SCOTTIE (Grimly) Yes. Yes, I do. He rises and walks away toward the window. She looks after him, then rises and almost runs to him. JUDY Couldn't you like me, just me, the way I am?! When we first started out it was so good! We had fun! And you started on the clothes! I'll wear the darned clothes if you want me to! If you just like me! They are face to face, and Scottie is studying her somberly. Beyond them, through the window, we can see that magnificent symbol, the Coit Tower. SCOTTIE (Studying) The color of your hair... JUDY Ah, no! SCOTTIE Judy, please it can't matter to you... She shrinks a little, and is defeated. JUDY The trouble is, I'm gone now. For you. And I can't do anything about it. I want you to love me. If I let you change me, will that do it? If I do what you tell me, will you love me? SCOTTIE Yes. JUDY All right. Then I'll do it. Because I don't care about me anymore. I just want you to love me. Long pause. SCOTTIE (Gently) I'll take you home. DISSOLVE TO: INT. ELIZABETH ARDEN SALON - (DAY) The first impact is of SOUND, of the buzz of hair dryers and the shrill cacophony of female voices talking and laughing. Scottie is leaning at the doorway leading into the inner salon. The CAMERA PANS AWAY from him through another door and comes to REST on a big head of Judy, covered with, soap suds, bent over a basin. One of the beauty operators looks out toward Scottie then walks out to him. OPERATOR I'm afraid it's going to be several hours. The young lady thought perhaps you'd like to go home, and she'll come there as soon as she's finished. SCOTTIE Oh! Well... no. Tell her I'll go to her hotel, and wait for her there. She starts to turns away. Scottie stops her. SCOTTIE Oh! You're sure about the color of the hair. OPERATOR 0h, yes. It's an easy color. SCOTTIE And the rest of -- He waves a hand over his face. OPERATOR Yes, sir. We know what you want. SCOTTIE All right. Thanks. He turns away after a last glance toward Judy. The last we see of the salon is Judy's head, as she turns to try to see through soap suds to where Scottie has been standing. DISSOLVE TO: INT. JUDY'S BEDROOM, THE HOTEL - (DAY) Scottie is wandering impatiently, smoking. Some of the Ransohoff boxes are piled in a corner. Then, abruptly he strides to the window. He looks, and becomes tense. EXT. THE STREET - (DAY) From Scottie's viewpoint. Judy is walking up the street. She wears the grey suit from Ransohoff's the high-heeled black shoes, and her hair is now blonde. But it hangs about her face in the usual way. She does not look up. She turns into the entrance of the hotel. INT. BEDROOM - (DAY) Scottie watches her until he loses sight of her directly below as she goes in the front door. He turns and looks looks toward the bedroom door and waits. Then, impatiently, he strides to the door and goes out into the corridor. INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR -(DAY) Scottie looks along the corridor. FROM HIS VIEWPOINT The corridor is empty. SCOTTIE tensely waiting. FROM HIS VIEWPOINT Judy turns the corner, moving towards him. AS SCOTTIE WATCHES CRITICALLY Judy comes up to him. He backs into the room, Judy following. INT. HOTEL BEDROOM - (DAY) As Judy comes into the room, Scottie closes the door without taking his eyes from her. She looks at him gravely -- and holds out her hand, as though hoping for praise for the transformation. Her eyebrows have been plucked, her makeup lightened, her lipstick changed and she now bears much more of a resemblance to Madeleine. JUDY Well? SCOTTIE It should be back from your face -- with a bun at the neck. I told them. I told you. JUDY We tried it. It didn't suit me. Scottie abruptly goes to her, takes her hanging hair with both hands pulls it to the back so that her ears show. Judy looks at him, half-angry, half-scared. Scottie, seeing the look in her eyes, takes his hands away. The hair falls forward again. SCOTTIE I'm sorry. They look at one another for a moment. Then Scottie asks, almost humbly: SCOTTIE Judy -- please -- Judy doesn't answer for a moment, then she draws a deep breath, and turns resignedly away. She crosses to the mirror over a chest of drawers. Scottie matches as she picks up a couple of pins from a glass tray, and scoops up a handful of hair. Scottie stands watching in silence. His eyes follow every move. We hear the tinkle of pins of the glass tray. FROM SCOTTIE'S VIEWPOINT Judy slowly turns from the mirror to face him. She looks exactly like Madeleine -- her hair pulled back and done in a bun at the back of the neck. She stands there looking at him. SCOTTIE looks at her in wonder, his eyes shining. JUDY takes a step towards him, rewarded by his expression. SCOTTIE moves over and takes Judy in his arms. BIG HEADS of the two of them, together. The CAMERA MOVES AROUND the big heads. Scottie holds her tighter and tighter. He looks past her shoulder and we see that his eyes are closed, because at last he holds Madeleine in his arms once more. He opens his eyes -- the CAMERA SWIMS AROUND the room. WE ARE NOW IN THE LIVERY STABLE AT SAN JUAN BAUTISTA with Scottie holding Madeleine tight in his arms, kissing her. We see this for only the briefest moment before it DISSOLVES AWAY T0: BACK IN THE HOTEL ROOM Scottie kisses her as he did in the livery stables. As he kisses her, and she turns his kiss, the CAMERA PULLS BACK SLOWLY and their two figures are held in the center of the room. DISSOLVE T0: INT. JUDY'S BEDROOM - (EARLY EVENING) The window shades are drawn, the lights in the room have been lit. Scottie is sitting, relaxed, thumbing through a magazine idly. The jacket of his suit is hung over the back of a chair. The bathroom door is open. There is a full length mirror on the back of the bathroom door, and we catch occasional glimpses of Judy as she moves about inside. Scottie looks up as she calls to him. Her voice is light and happy. JUDY Where shall we go for dinner? SCOTTIE Wherever you'd like... JUDY Ernie's? SCOTTIE You've got a thing about Ernie's, haven't you? JUDY Well, after all, it's "our place." She comes out of the bathroom happy and contented. She wears the black cocktail dress, her blonde hair is done up in the Madeleine way. She stops to pose and show off the dress and smiles across at him lovingly. JUDY Hello, my love. Like me? He regards her admiringly with a small, contented grin. SCOTTIE Mmmm. JUDY Is that the best you can do? She turns to the mirror over the dresser. SCOTTIE Come here. JUDY Oh, no. You'll muss me. SCOTTIE That's what I had in mind. JUDY Too late. I've got my face on. She has opened the candy box, rummages around in the jewelry, comes up with some earrings, holds one up to her ear to see what it looks like, decides against it, finds some other earrings, small and neat, and puts them on. During this: JUDY I'm suddenly hungry. Would you rather go somewhere else? SCOTTIE No, Ernie's is fine. JUDY I'm going to have one of those big beautiful steaks. And... let's see... to start... During this she has taken a necklace out of the box, and is trying to fasten it around her neck. But the clasp won't work. JUDY Oh! Help me with this, will you? She backs up a step, still holding the necklace in place, and Scottie rises from his chair and comes up in back of her. He takes the ends of the necklace from her. SCOTTIE I've got it. He bends down and bites the back of her neck. JUDY Oh! You're supposed to fasten it! SCOTTIE All in good time. He bites her again. JUDY Scottie! SCOTTIE How does it work? JUDY Can't you see? SCOTTIE Oh, yeah. There. As he is fastening it he glances into the mirror and sees the necklace clearly for the first time. His eyes are immediately startled with the shock of recognition, and he stares, wondering why. The CAMERA ZOOMS IN to a closeup of the necklace in the mirror; then, with a click, the closeup changes to a closeup of the necklace painted on canvas. The CAMERA DRAWS BACK to show the necklace around the neck of Carlotta in the portrait, the same necklace. Now the CAMERA DRAWS BACK to show the Art Gallery, with the Portrait of Carlotta on the far wall. The scene click-changes to a BIG HEAD of SCOTTIE, staring, and during this we hear Judy chattering away. JUDY'S VOICE Thank you, darling. Now I'm just about ready; I just have to find my lipstick. Where did I put it? I had it a minute ago. (Her voice fading) Did I leave it in here? Oh, yes, here it is! (Her voice fading in) All right, I'm ready. His eyes move in the direction of the voice, and now we see her, standing a few feet from him, smiling at him. She walks to him with a loving smile. JUDY But first... muss me a little. She puts her arms around him and presses against him, and lays her head against his chest with a happy sigh. JUDY Ah, Scottie... I do have you, now... He raises his arms as though to embrace her, moves his hands to her shoulders, and one senses for a moment that he is going to press her too hard or that he may move his hands to her throat. But then he lays his hands gently on her back, and closes his eyes wearily, and rests his head on the top of hers. SCOTTIE (Softly) How would you like to go somewhere out of town for dinner? Drive down the peninsula, somewhere? She moves her head, and he raises his and opens his eyes, and she smiles up at him. JUDY All right, if you'd like. She reaches up and kisses him briefly on the mouth. He smiles a small, enigmatic smile. DISSOLVE TO: EXT: HIGHWAY 101 - (NIGHT) - LONG SHOT Scottie's car headed south, in brilliant moonlight. INT. SCOTTIE'S CAR - (MOONLIGHT) Scottie at the wheel, Judy alongside. She glances at him, wondering. JUDY We're going awfully far. SCOTTIE I feel like driving. Are you terrible hungry? JUDY No, it's all right. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. HIGHWAY 101 - (NIGHT)
...continue to part 11