Scripts: Vertigo (12/Sep/1957) - part 4
INT. GAVIN ELSTER'S CLUB - (NIGHT) Elster and Scottie are seated in the lounge of a San Francisco Club - there are one or two members reading newspapers, etc., while a waiter moves by in the background serving drinks. Elster is studying the reproduction of the portrait of Carlotta in the catalogue that Scottie procured from the gallery. The waiter leans in and places two drinks before them. Scottie watches Elster, waiting for him, to speak. Finally: ELSTER (With a wan smile) You've done well, Scottie. You're good at your job. SCOTTIE That's Carlotta Valdes. ELSTER Yes. SCOTTIE There are things you didn't tell me. ELSTER I didn't know where she was going to lead you. SCOTTIE But you knew about this. ELSTER Oh, yes. You noticed the way she does her hair. He places a finger on the reproduction of the portrait to indicate the bun at the back of the neck. Scottie nods. ELSTER Something else. My wife, Madeleine, has several pieces of jewelry that belonged to Carlotta. She inherited them. Never wore them, they were too old-fashioned... until now. Now, when she is alone, she gets them out and looks at them handles them gently, curiously... puts them on and stares at herself in the mirror... and goes into that other world... is someone else again. SCOTTIE Carlotta Valdes was what: your wife's grandmother? ELSTER Great-grandmother. The child who was taken from her whose loss drove Carlotta mad and to her death - was Madeleine's grandmother. SCOTTIE (Confidently) Well, that explains it. Anyone could develop an obsession for the past, with a background like that. ELSTER But she doesn't know, about her background. (As Scottie stares, narrowly) She never heard of Carlotta Valdes. SCOTTIE Knows nothing of a grave out at Mission Dolores, or an old house an Eddy Street, or a portrait at the Palace of the Legion of Honor? ELSTER Nothing. SCOTTIE And when she goes to those places... ELSTER She is not my wife. The two men stare at each other directly, honestly. SCOTTIE How do you know all these things she doesn't know? ELSTER Her mother told me most of then before she died. I dug out the rest for myself, here. SCOTTIE Why did she never tell her daughter? ELSTER Natural fear. Her grandmother went insane and took her own life. And the blood is in Madeleine. (Pause) Scottie, I ask you to watch her closely. Scottie raises his glass and drinks slowly, thoughtfully. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. PALACE OF THE LEGION OF HONOR - (LATE AFTERNOON) The columns of the courtyard are back lit by the sun. There is no sign of life. Near the steps, standing alone and empty, is the green Jaguar. LAP DISSOLVE TO: INT. THE ART GALLERY - (LATE AFTERNOON) SHOOTING through the columns in the foreground, our view of the room is obscured momentarily by an elderly couple moving toward the door. They go by to reveal Scottie standing by a Rodin sculpture, looking into the room, and far beyond him, at the end of the room, Madeleine seated on the bench before the portrait staring at it. In her hand, resting at her side on the bench, is once again the nosegay. Now she rises and approaches the portrait and stands before it, the nosegay clasped in her two hands before her, and stares up almost as though in votive offering or in prayer. Finally she turns and starts toward the entrance. Scottie slips away out of sight. Madeleine walks slowly toward the CAMERA. LAP DISSOLVE TO: EXT. PALACE OF THE LEGION OF HONOR - (LATE AFTERNOON) Madeleine approaches the green Jaguar, gets in, and the car starts away. Scottie's car moves into the scene, following, DISSOLVE TO: EXT. SEA CLIFF DRIVE - (LATE AFTERNOON) We see the green Jaguar proceeding, the grey sedan at a careful distance behind. Beyond, looking northeast we see the Golden Gate Bridge in the late afternoon sun, and Richmond and Berkeley in the distance. DISSOLVE TO: INT. SCOTTIE'S CAR - (SUNSET) Scottie carefully looking ahead. EXT. PRESIDIO DRIVE - (SUNSET) Madeleine's car approaches along the drive to the gates of the Presidio, and passes through the gates and is swallowed by the trees. Scottie's car follows, and it, too, disappears. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. PRESIDIO - (SUNSET) The two cars driving along the wooded road. INT. SCOTTIE'S CAR - (SUNSET) Scottie looking ahead. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. FORT POINT - (SUNSET) Scottie's car is traveling down the slope toward the jutting point of old Fort Winfield Scott. It comes to a stop in the level clearing. The green Jaguar stands there, empty. EXT. BRIDGE - (SUNSET) - MEDIUM SHOT Scottie gets out of his car and looks off out of picture. EXT. BRIDGE - (SUNSET) - LONG SHOT Madeleine walking away round the dockside. The vast bridge towers above her. She carries the nosegay. Scottie moves into the f.g., and makes off in the same direction. Madeleine disappears round the corner of the old fort wall. Now she is out of sight, we see Scottie quicken his pace as he approaches the corner of the fort wall. EXT. BRIDGE - (SUNSET) - MEDIUM SHOT SHOOTING back, we see Scottie approach the wall and peer cautiously around. EXT. BRIDGE - (SUNSET) - SEMI-LONG SHOT From his viewpoint, we see Madeleine standing at the waters' edge. She is mechanically tearing off the lace-edged paper from the nosegay. EXT. BRIDGE - (SUNSET) - CLOSEUP Scottie watching her curiously. EXT. BRIDGE - (SUNSET) - SEMI-CLOSEUP Madeleine lets the paper drift away down to the water. She proceeds to unwind the wire around the flowers and begins to scatter them an the water. CLOSE SHOT OF FLOWERS FLOATING ON THE WATER EXT. BRIDGE - (SUNSET) - CLOSEUP Scottie watching Madeleine. EXT. DOCKSIDE - (SUNSET) - SEMI-LONG SHOT The full figure of Madeleine, scattering the rest of the flowers. Then she raises her head and stares up at the sky. A moment in which her body seem poised, and then she is gone, lost to view in the water. EXT. DOCKSIDE - (SUNSET) - LONG SHOT Scottie dashes around the wall and the CAMERA PANS him to the water's edge. He is throwing his coat off. EXT. DOCKSIDE - (SUNSET) - SEMI-LONG SHOT SHOOTING down into the water, we see Madeleine's upturned face as she floats away. She disappears now and again. EXT. DOCKSIDE - (SUNSET) - MEDIUM SHOT SCOTTIE, running down the few stone steps towards the water. When the water is up to his knees, he swims out towards her. EXT. DOCKSIDE - (SUNSET) - CLOSEUP MADELEINE Her eyes staring, sinks beneath the water. She is surrounded by the scattered flowers. Scottie swims in and grabs her. EXT. DOCKSIDE - (SUNSET) - CLOSEUP As he holds her, the two heads are pressed together. He turns and starts to swim back with her. The screen is filled with their two heads. Madeleine's staring eyes begin to close as she is moved away. LAP DISSOLVE: EXT. DOCKSIDE - (SUNSET) - MEDIUM SHOT We see Scottie coming up some stone steps. He is staggering with the weight of Madeleine's water-soaked body and clothes. He carries her over towards the green Jaguar. EXT. DOCKSIDE - (SUNSET) - MEDIUM SHOT Resting her for a moment, he throws open the door on the passenger's side. EXT. DOCKSIDE - (SUNSET) Scottie's head is close to hers. She is now breathing heavily. SCOTTIE (whispering) Are you all right? Her eyes open slowly. SCOTTIE (Calling softly) Madeleine... Her eyes show no sign of recognition or response; they move past his face and stare out. The CAMERA SLOWLY MOVES IN until her head fills the screen. She stares out as though in a trance. DISSOLVE TO: EXT.SCOTTIE'S APARTMENT - (DUSK) The empty green Jaguar is drawn up at the curb before the red door of a small, well-kept house. DISSOLVE TO: INT. SCOTTIE'S APARTMENT - (NIGHT) We are in the living room of a comfortable a bachelor apartment. There is a picture window that looks up to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. The room is softly lit. A fire is lit in the fireplace; the logs are blazing well, Scottie, in a pair of grey trousers and an old sweater, is wandering about the room, trying to think things out. Through an open door we can see into a small kitchen where Madeleine's clothes - all of them - hang, on a cord over the electric stove, drying. And through another open door we can see into the bedroom where Madeleine lies, in the larger-than-single bed, under the covers, asleep. She sighs and turns restlessly, and Scottie glances at her from the living-room as he wanders, and then she turns again, and the sigh becomes words, spoken in sleep, and he stops, and listens. MADELEINE (Faintly, distantly) Please... thank you... please... Scottie waits, taut, but there is no more. He starts to turn away and suddenly, still distant, but more clearly: MADELEINE (Appealingly) Where is my child?... have you seen my child...? Scottie stiffens with the shock of recognition and his eyes go wide with apprehension staring at the lost, eye-closed, troubled woman in the bed. And at that moment the telephone on the bedside table rings sharply. He makes a dash for it. The ringing brings the woman to with a sharp start, and she instinctively clutches the bedclothes to her chin and raises up a little and stares with wide-eyed fright at the man running towards her. Scottie takes the phone. SCOTTIE Yes?... No, it's all right; I'll call you back. Yes. Yes! He hangs up, and tries to smile down at Madeleine, who has not moved, but has followed his every move with fright and apprehension. SCOTTIE Are you all right? No answer, only the eyes staring at him. And then he realizes, with some embarrassment, that she cannot move, that she is naked under the bedclothes, and he reaches across to the dressing gown he has laid out for her on the bed, and moves it closer to her. SCOTTIE Oh... you'll want this... He gives her a reassuring nod and smile, straightens up and goes to the door, and goes into the living room, closing the bedroom door behind him. And she stares after him as he goes. In the living room, he moves to the fireplace, puts another log on, and watches it catch. The bedroom door behind him opens, and he turns to face Madeleine. She has the dressing gown belted tightly around the middle and holds it together with one band at her breast. And she stands there staring at him nervously, frightened, not wanting to admit that she does not know how she came there, but wanting very much to know. And she cannot help herself: knowing her own fears, she has to ask. MADELEINE Why am I here? What happened? SCOTTIE You... (Then, not liking the sound of the truth) ...fell into the Bay. She puts a hand slowly to her hair, understanding now why it is wet. SCOTTIE I dried your hair as well as I could. But you'd better come here by the fire. And now, knowing that he dried her hair, she realizes that he must have taken her clothes off, too, and she looks down at her body with deep awareness of her nakedness, and draws the dressing gown more closely to her, and looks back at him with frightened embarrassment. And her head begins to move quickly, the eyes darting about the apartment as though seeking a way of escape, and she sees the clothes hanging in the kitchen. And she looks back to Scottie appealingly. SCOTTIE They're almost at dry. Here. Why don't you come over here? He pulls a low-stool over before the fire. Madeleine crosses slowly, keeping her eyes always on him, and sinks down on the stool. He smiles a at her companionably. SCOTTIE Would you like some coffee? She shakes her head. SCOTTIE You'd better have some. Or would you rather have a drink? She shakes her head again. He pours a cup of coffee and places it on the floor next to her, along with a bowl of sugar cubes. MADELEINE (Wonderingly) ...fell into the bay... She looks up at him. He nods. MADELEINE ...and you fished me out... He nods. She gives him a small grateful smile. MADELEINE Thank you. Scottie is watching her intently. SCOTTIE You don't remember. MADELEINE No... SCOTTIE Do you remember where you were? MADELEINE (Childishly surprised) Oh, of course I remember that! But then I must have had a dizzy spell, and fainted! SCOTTIE (Quickly) Where were you? MADELEINE At... For that one slight, imperceptible moments it may seem that she is caught, but then she goes on. MADELEINE (Triumphantly) ...Old Port Point! Out at the Presidio! Of course I remember! I often go there! SCOTTIE Why? MADELEINE (Almost naively) Because I love it so. It's beautiful there. Especially at sunset. (She leans her head back sensually to the warmth) Ah... thank you for the fire. SCOTTIE Where had you been before? MADELEINE When? SCOTTIE This afternoon. MADELEINE Oh... wandering about. SCOTTIE Before? Where? Where had you been? There is a quick moment of blankness in her eyes that she tries to hide, and then: MADELEINE (Positively) Downtown, shopping. And Scottie sighs inwardly, having proved something. SCOTTIE Please drink your coffee. MADELEINE I will. You're terribly direct in your questions. SCOTTIE I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. MADELEINE You're not. Merely direct. What were you doing there? At Old Fort Point? SCOTTIE Wandering about. MADELEINE You like it, too. He nods. She smiles at him happily, enjoying the warmth and the coffee, enjoying his presence, seemingly almost to have forgotten her nearness to death. And Scottie is fascinated by this thing curled up before his fire. MADELEINE (Then with a wicked smile) And where had you been?... just before? A moment, as Scottie takes a deep breath, and then he decides to chance it and see the reaction. SCOTTIE The Palace of the Legion of honor. The Art Gallery. MADELEINE (Enthusiastically) Oh, that's a lovely spot, isn't it? I've never been inside. But it looks so lovely, driving past. At the words, "I've never been inside," Scottie is startled. He stares at her, and she looks at him with naive, happy inquisitiveness, and their looks are joined. Finally she drops her eyes and smiles timidly. MADELEINE (Softly) Lucky for me you were wandering about. Thank you again. I've been terrible bother to you. SCOTTIE No. She reaches up to feel her hair. MADELEINE When you... (And suddenly conscious of her nakedness again, and embarrassed) There were pins in my hair... SCOTTIE Oh! Yes! Here! He crosses the room swiftly, picks up an ash tray in which he had deposited her hairpins, takes her handbag from a chair, and brings them to her. MADELEINE Thank you. She proceeds to do up her hair. He watches her, held by the movement of her body under the dressing gown as she raises her arms and deftly sets about putting her hair in order. At one point, as she works, she looks up and flashes him a direct smile. MADELEINE You shouldn't have brought me here, you know. SCOTTIE I... didn't know where you lived. MADELEINE You could have looked in my car. Oh, but you didn't know my car, did you? SCOTTIE Yes, I knew which one it was. It's out there, now. But I didn't think you'd want to be brought home that way. MADELEINE No, you are right, (Pause, as she works) I'm glad you didn't take me home... I wouldn't have known you, to thank you... (Suddenly appalled) Oh, but I don't know you! And you don't know me! My name is Madeleine Elster. SCOTTIE My name is John Ferguson. MADELEINE That's a good, strong name. Do your friends call you John? Or Jack. SCOTTIE John. Old friends. Acquaintances call me Scottie. MADELEINE (Smiling) I shall call you Mr. Ferguson. SCOTTIE (Grinning) No, I wouldn't like that. And after what happened today I should think you could call me Scottie. Or even John. MADELEINE I prefer John. There, that's done. (The hair is in order) And what do you do, John? SCOTTIE Wander about. MADELEINE That's a good occupation. And live here... alone? He nods. A cloud comes over her eyes. She looks away. MADELEINE (softly) One shouldn't live alone. SCOTTIE Some people prefer it. MADELEINE No... it's wrong. Then she looks up with a small smile, and the cloud is gone from her eyes, and she speaks completely matter-of-factly. MADELEINE (Simply) I'm married, you know. Scottie nods almost imperceptibly with his eyes. He looks at her for a long moment. Then: SCOTTIE Will you tell me something? Has this ever happened to you before? MADELEINE (startled) What? SCOTTIE ...Falling... into San Francisco Bay? She laughs with relief, for it seemed to her, for a quick moment, that he was going to say "falling in love". MADELEINE No, never before. I've fallen into lakes, out of rowboats, when I was a little girl. And I fell into a river, once, trying to leap from one stone to another. But I've never fallen into San Francisco Bay. Have you? Ever before? SCOTTIE (Grinning) No... this is the first time for me, too. And they laugh together, with genuine warmth and friendliness in their eyes, and it is obvious they are very much taken with each other. And as they laugh, simultaneously, she reaches for the cup of coffee, to take another sip, and he reaches for it, meaning to take it and refill it. SCOTTIE Here, let me give you a lit -- And his hand falls on her outstretched arm and stays there, and with the contact made, the laughter dies suddenly, and he is looking down at her intently, and their eyes have met, and hers are anxious and wondering. And at that moment, the telephone rings sharply. Scottie races into the bedroom, closing the door behind him, and gets to the phone. SCOTTIE Hello. ELSTER'S VOICE Scottie, what happened? She's not home, yet. SCOTTIE No, she's all right. She's still here. But I'll get her home soon. ELSTER'S VOICE What happened? SCOTTIE She... went into the Bay. There is a long silence. SCOTTIE Hello? ELSTER'S VOICE Did she hurt herself? SCOTTIE No. She's in fine shape. Nothing to worry about. But she doesn't know. You understand that. She doesn't know what she did. Another long silence. ELSTER'S VOICE Scottie... Madeleine is twenty-six. Carlotta Valdes committed suicide when she was twenty-six. And now it is Scottie's turn to be silent. He hangs up slowly and moves across the room to the door. INT. THE LIVING ROOM - (NIGHT) Scottie enters from the bedroom, and stops, surprised. The room is empty. The clothes are gone from the in the kitchen. EXT. STREET OUTSIDE SCOTTIE'S APARTMENT - (NIGHT) A car is moving down the hill on the opposite side of the street. It begins to turn in toward the sidewalk and then comes to a sudden stop. EXT. SCOTTIE'S APARTMENT - (NIGHT) - CLOSEUP Midge is behind the wheel. She is staring out of the side of the window and we see what has made her come to a sudden stop. EXT. SCOTTIE'S APARTMENT - (NIGHT) From Midge's point of view; Madeleine, outside Scottie's door, hurries to the green Jaguar. INT. MIDGE'S CAR - (NIGHT) Midge watches Madeleine almost wistfully, and there is a small look of hurt in her eyes. But even to herself she has to cover, and she smiles ironically. EXT. SCOTTIE'S APARTMENT - (NIGHT) The Jaguar pulls away and passes out of view. INT. MIDGE'S CAR - (NIGHT) Midge is still staring across at Scottie's house, and the soft smile on her lips covers the hurt well. But there is still a shadow of it in her eyes. MIDGE (Softly) Well, now, Johnny-O... Was it a ghost?... And was it fun?... Then she suddenly changes expression. MIDGE Oops! She takes her foot off the brake, and turning hard on the wheel, straightens the car up and drives on. EXT. SCOTTIE'S APARTMENT - (NIGHT) The door to Scottie's apartment has opened, and Scottie stands in the doorway looking up and down the street for the Jaguar, his tall frame silhouetted in the light streaming from the room. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. BROCKLEBANK APTS. - (DAY) - LONG SHOT
...continue to part 5