Scripts: Vertigo (12/Sep/1957) - part 5
EXT. BROCKLEBANK APTS. - (DAY) - LONG SHOT The CAMERA is SHOOTING through the stone gateway across the small courtyard toward the front door of the apartments. We see Madeleine emerge. She is dressed completely different from the night before. She makes her way down to the Jaguar in the f.g. She gets in, starts up and swings the car round toward the CAMERA. She passes out of the picture. EXT. BROCKLEBANK APTS. - (DAY) - LONG SHOT Across the street, we see Scottie's sedan pull out and also approach the CAMERA. It too, passes out of the picture. INT. SCOTTIE'S CAR - (DAY) - CLOSEUP Scottie sitting at the wheel driving ahead. His eyes are satisfied. They hold Madeleine's car in view. EXT. SAN FRANCISCO STREET - (DAY) - LONG SHOT We see the Jaguar ahead. It turns a left down another street. It goes for a block and turns right. Then it turns left again, than it turns right, then it turns left again. INT. SCOTTIE'S CAR - (DAY) - CLOSEUP Scottie looks a little dizzy with the constant turning. We stay with him a little while and we can see from the scene behind him, that we are still turning left and right. EXT. SAN FRANCISCO STREET - (DAY) - LONG SHOT The Jaguar speeds up. It's going down a street, not turning any more. A few blocks off, we can see the Coit Tower coming into view. INT. SCOTTIE'S CAR - (DAY) - CLOSEUP Scottie seem a little mystified now, as the direction in which she is going. EXT. SAN FRANCISCO STREET - (DAY) - LONG SHOT The Jaguar turns right into a narrow curving street and finally comes to a sudden stop ahead. INT. SCOTTIE'S CAR - (DAY) - CLOSEUP Scottie now wears a look of great astonishment, as he pulls up hurriedly in the middle of the street. EXT. SAN FRANCISCO STREET - (DAY) - SEMI-LONG SHOT From his viewpoints, we see the reason for his astonishment. Madeleine has alighted and is approaching, of all places, toward his own red front door. EXT. SAN FRANCISCO STREET - (DAY) - MEDIUM SHOT Scottie pulls his car over to the curb and gets out. The CAMERA PANS him down. He stops short just before he reaches Madeleine, to see her take a letter from her handbag and put it into his letter box. He moves up to her. SCOTTIE Is that for me? Madeleine turns quickly, startled, and then sees who it is, and smiles. MADELEINE Oh! Yes. Hello. SCOTTIE Good morning. I worried about you, last night. You shouldn't have run like that. MADELEINE (Embarrassed) I... suddenly felt such a fool. SCOTTIE I wanted to drive you home. Are you all right? MADELEINE (Flashing a smile) Oh, yes. Fine. No after effects. (Then, ruefully) But as I remember now, that water was cold, wasn't it? (He nods. She looks away) What a terrible thing to do... and you were so kind... (With a gesture) It's a formal thank-you letter. And a great big apology. SCOTTIE You've nothing to apologize for. MADELEINE Oh, yes! The whole thing must have been so embarrassing for you! SCOTTIE Not at all, I enjoyed -- And he stops short, now truly embarrassed, and she looks at him with wide eyes, waiting for him to go on. SCOTTIE -- talking to you... MADELEINE (With small, contained amusement) I enjoyed talking to you. An awkward pause. Scottie turns abruptly to the door, getting out his key. SCOTTIE I'll get my mail... He opens the door and bends down to pick up the letter. As he is reaching for it, he turns his head and speaks almost without thinking. SCOTTIE Would you like some coffee? MADELEINE (Quickly) No! No, thank you! She says it so impulsively, and with such young vehemence, that they both start to laugh. He straightens up and opens the letter. MADELEINE I couldn't mail it; I didn't know your address. But I had a landmark. I remembered Coit Tower and it led me straight to you. SCOTTIE The first time I've been grateful for Coit Tower. He reads the letter as she watches him. He looks up. SCOTTIE I hope we will, too. MADELEINE What? SCOTTIE Meet again, sometime. MADELEINE We have. They smile at one another, and there is a nice moment of silent rapport. Then: MADELEINE Good-bye. SCOTTIE Good-bye. She turns and goes to her car as he stands watching her, and gets in behind the wheel. SCOTTIE (Suddenly walking) Where are you going? And he races to the car and leans in the window. She watches him, open-mouthed, as he crosses the sidewalk. Then: MADELEINE I don't know. SCOTTIE Shopping? MADELEINE No. SCOTTIE Well... anywhere in particular? MADELEINE No, I Just thought I'd wander. SCOTTIE Ah. (Then) That's what I was going to do. MADELEINE Oh, yes, I forgot: It's your occupation, isn't it? And she waits with a small smile. SCOTTIE Don't you think it's sort of a waste for the two of us to... MADELEINE Wander separately? Ah, but only one is a wanderer. Two, together, are always going somewhere. SCOTTIE No... no, I don't think that's necessarily true. And now he waits, hopefully. MADELEINE (With a smiling nod) You left your door open. He turns his head, startled and annoyed, than makes a dash for the door. As he goes, he turns his head to call back to her. SCOTTIE Don't move! And he hurries on to the door. She watches him go, and we are close on her face to see her genuine amusement, and then the laughter fades a little, and a troubled look comes into her eyes, a touch of concern. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. ALONG SKYLINE - (DAY) - LONG SHOT The green Jaguar moving south. INT. THE JAGUAR - (DAY) Madeleine is at the wheel, her eyes intent on the road, a sort, happy smile on her lips. Scottie is at her side, relaxed. He keeps looking at her as often as he can without seeming obvious. SCOTTIE (Finally) Do you know where you're going? MADELEINE Of course not! I'm a wanderer! (Pause. Then brightly) I'd like to go somewhere I've never been! SCOTTIE How can you be sure? MADELEINE If I've been there? That's silly! Either you've been to a place or you haven't. She flashes a quick smile of innocence at him, then returns her eyes to the road. He looks at her profile, wondering. EXT. SKYLINE DRIVE - (DAY) - HIGH SHOT The car turns a bend and approaches dark woods and moves into the blackness and is swallowed up. DISSOLVE TO: BIG BASIN REDWOODS STATE PARK - (DAY) The empty Jaguar in the foreground. The CAMERA MOVES to a long view of the grove of redwoods. In the distance we see the figures of Madeleine and Scottie wandering among the towering trees. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE REDWOODS - (DAY) Madeleine and Scottie near the massive trunk of a tree. Beyond them, the small stream, bridged by a wide flattened redwood log. MADELEINE How old? SCOTTIE Oh... some, two thousand years, or more. MADELEINE The oldest living things? Scottie nods and watches her, wondering, as she looks about thoughtfully. SCOTTIE You've never been here before. She shakes her head, lost in thought as she lets her gaze wander among the trees. SCOTTIE What are you thinking? MADELEINE (Searching) Of all the people who have been born... and have died... while the trees went on living. SCOTTIE (Agreeing) Their true name is Sequoia Sempervirens: always green, ever- living. MADELEINE (Flatly) I don't like them. SCOTTIE Why? MADELEINE (Simply) Knowing I have to die... She looks up at him with a shy, embarrassed smile. Then, seeing the wandering look in his eyes, she brightens quickly. MADELEINE But I like the stream! It's a lovely stream! She leaves him and moves quickly out onto the bridge and loans on the railing to watch the water rippling below. And then, as he approaches her, she turns and looks at him, wide- eyed. MADELEINE But it makes no sound! Listen! She listens intensely for a long moment, and looks at him anxiously. MADELEINE Do you hear anything? SCOTTIE (Shaking his head) Only silence. It's always like this. MADELEINE (Wondering) And no birds sing. SCOTTIE No birds live here. MADELEINE No. She turns away with gentle, somber, self-contained wonder, and they cross back to the path in silence, and wander on along the path in silence. We watch them move away in the distance, disappear behind a tree, then come into view again, and now there comes into view the cross-section of a redwood tree that is on exhibit, with certain of its rings marked to show what it has lived through, and they approach it. SCOTTIE Would you like a drink of water? MADELEINE No, thank you. Scottie moves to the small upright drinking fountain as Madeleine approaches the tree section and stands before it and studies it. Scottie gets a drink of water, then comes up behind Madeleine and stands, and she is seemingly unaware of his presence. Their backs are to the CAMERA. INSERT OF RINGS on the tree, marked with dates, beginning, near the center with the date 909 A.D. and ending with 1930 - tree cut down. EXT. RED WOODS - (DAY) - CLOSE SHOT We see the two profiles: Madeleine staring at the tree, Scottie staring at Madeleine. She raises one gloved hand and almost idly begins to trace a finger up along the white line that is marked: 1776 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. And as the hand moves a little to the left, Madeleine begins to speak, almost vacantly, oblivious of all but this piece of tree, and herself. MADELEINE Somewhere in here I was born... and here I died and it was only a moment for you... you took no notice... SCOTTIE (Almost sharply) Madeleine! She turns her head to him, only now aware of his presence, and stares at him without expression. Then slowly she turns and walks away, and the CAMERA, PANNING HER SLIGHTLY, brings the head and shoulders of Scottie into the foreground, and he watches her, wondering anxiously, trying to put things together in his mind. Madeleine walks on until she disappears behind one of the distant redwoods. EXT. RED WOODS - (DAY) - MEDIUM SHOT Scottie moves over, watching her. EXT. RED WOODS - (DAY) - LONG SHOT The CAMERA MOVES OVER as though it is Scottie looking. It MOVES far enough to reveal that Madeleine is no longer there. She seems to have disappeared. EXT. RED WOODS - (DAY) - MEDIUM SHOT Scottie comes forward, the CAMERA PANNING him, to get a better view of where Madeleine went. EXT. RED WOODS - (DAY) - SEMI-LONG SHOT The CAMERA in Scottie's position, moving around, shows that there is no sign of Madeleine whatsoever. EXT. RED WOODS - (DAY) - MEDIUM SHOT The CAMERA DOLLIES Scottie down toward the trees. EXT. RED WOODS - (DAY) - SEMI-LONG SHOT CAMERA is now among the trees where Madeleine was last seen. As it TRAVELS across them, it finally brings her into view. She's leaning against a tree with her head bent back. EXT. RED WOODS - (DAY) - CLOSEUP Scottie comes to a stop as he sees her. EXT. RED WOODS - (DAY) - CLOSEUP Madeleine leaning against the tree. Her eyes are closed and she is breathing heavily. In the background we see Scottie approaching her. As he comes up to her, the CAMERA EASES BACK and MOVES AROUND until it faces her and Scottie. SCOTTIE (Gently) Madeleine... She opens her eyes slowly, and looks at him, recognizing him, and yet not quite, as though she were slightly hypnotized. Scottie speaks gently. SCOTTIE Where are you now? MADELEINE (Softly, distantly) Here with you. SCOTTIE Where? MADELEINE The tall trees... SCOTTIE Have you been here before? MADELEINE Yes... SCOTTIE When? She shakes her head. SCOTTIE Where were you born? MADELEINE Long ago... SCOTTIE Where? She shakes her head. SCOTTIE When? Her head continues to move back and forth, gently denying. His voice is more positive, now, more urgently demanding. SCOTTIE Tell me. The head moves more rapidly, now, as though denying some inner compulsion. SCOTTIE Madeleine! Tell me! The rapidly moving head stops short, and her eyes open wide, and she cries out: MADELEINE No!... No! SCOTTIE (Low and urgent) Tell me what it is. Where do you go? What takes you away? MADELEINE No, don't ask me! They are both speaking quickly, now, the words cascading without pause. SCOTTIE When you jumped in the bay, you didn't know where you were. You guessed but you didn't know. MADELEINE I didn't jump, I fell! You told me I fell! SCOTTIE Why did you jump? MADELEINE No! SCOTTIE What was it inside that told you to jump? She is fighting it strongly, yet pathetically. MADELEINE No, I can't tell you! SCOTTIE What?! MADELEINE (Strongly) No! Please! Please, please, please, please, don't ask me! And her head drops, and she sags, and Scottie stands quietly watching her, knowing he can push it no further. MADELEINE (Softly, tired) Take me away from here? SCOTTIE Home? MADELEINE ...somewhere in the light. He takes her arm. She looks up at him with a tired smile. MADELEINE And promise you won't ask me again. Please promise me that. He looks down at her somberly, promising and refusing nothing. They start walking, holding together, and the two figures become small in the distance, moving away through the tall trees. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. CYPRESS POINT OR POINT LOBOS - (DAY) SAME DAY. Below the point of land, the sea pounds against the rocks. Madeleine stands alone, silhouetted against the sky. Scottie sits in the car, watching her. She does not move. Then slowly she starts to walk toward the sea, and as he watches he senses, without being sure, that her pace is increasing, and suddenly he opens the car door and jumps out and slams the door and begins to run. But then he sees something, and slows down quickly and walks, for Madeleine has stopped and turned and is waiting for him. There is a gentle, apologetic smile in her eyes. She waits, and he comes to a stop before her. MADELEINE Why did you run? He looks down at her searchingly. SCOTTIE (Finally, quietly) I'm responsible for you now, you know. The Chinese say that once you have saved someone's life, you are responsible for it forever. And so I'm committed. And I have to know. MADELEINE And you'll go on saving me? Again and again? He waits. She looks down. MADELEINE There is so little I know. It is as though I were walking down a long corridor that once was mirrored, and fragments of mirror still hang there, dark and shadowy, reflecting a dark image of me... and yet not me... someone else, in other clothes, of another time, doing things I have never done... but still me... And I can't stop to ask why, I must keep on walking. At the and of the corridor there is nothing but darkness, and I know when I walk into the darkness, I'll die. (Pause; she looks up) But I've never come to the and; I've always come back, before then. Except once. SCOTTIE Yesterday. She nods. SCOTTIE And you didn't know. You didn't know what happened. Until you found yourself there with me. She shakes her head. SCOTTIE You don't know where you were. She shakes her head. SCOTTIE But the small scenes, the fragments in the mirror: you remember them. MADELEINE Vaguely... SCOTTIE What do you remember? MADELEINE (Searching) A room... there is a room, and I sit there alone... always alone... SCOTTIE Would you know the room? MADELEINE No... it's in shadow. SCOTTIE What else? MADELEINE A grave... SCOTTIE Where? MADELEINE I don't know. An open grave. I stand by the gravestone looking down into it. And it's my grave. SCOTTIE How do you know? MADELEINE I know. SCOTTIE There's a name on the gravestone. MADELEINE No. It's new and clean, and waiting. SCOTTIE (Beginning to feel lost) What else? MADELEINE (Searching) This part is dream, I think. There is a tower and a bell and... a garden below... but it seems to be in Spain... a village in Spain. And then it clicks off, and is gone. SCOTTIE A portrait? Do you ever see a portrait? MADELEINE No. SCOTTIE Of the woman in the mirror. Would you know her if you saw her? MADELEINE But I'm the woman in the mirror! SCOTTIE (Desperately) No! She looks up at him, rebuffed, desperately lost, and her eyes well with tears. Scottie is looking away, lost in thought. SCOTTIE (To himself) If I could find the key... find the beginning put it together... MADELEINE (Quietly, lost) And so explain it away? But there is a way to explain it, you see. If I'm mad? That would explain it, wouldn't it? Scottie looks at her, and her eyes are big with fright and despair and a plea for denial, and suddenly she breaks, and the tears flow, and she turns her head away sharply and turns and runs toward the edge of the land. SCOTTIE Madeleine!! He races after her and catches her and holds her, and she is against him, clinging tightly, deep in his embrace, and sobbing fiercely. MADELEINE (Muffled, against his breast) I'm not mad. I'm not mad. And I don't want to die, but there's someone inside me, there's a somebody else, and she says I must die... Scottie, don't let me go! SCOTTIE I'm here, I've got you... MADELEINE I'm so afraid... (She looks up) ...you won't let it happen... Her face is close to his and they are clinging tightly together. He shakes his head, and then suddenly his mouth is on hers, and they are deep in a kiss. Their lips part, but remain close together. MADELEINE (Whispering) Don't leave me... stay with me... SCOTTIE All the time. They kiss again, passionately. And the wind blows and the waves dash against the rocks, throwing up a curtain of spray. DISSOLVE TO: INT. MIDGE'S APARTMENT - (NIGHT)
...continue to part 6