Scripts: Vertigo (12/Sep/1957) - part 8
EXT. A CEMETERY SOUTH OF SAN FRANCISCO - (DAY) It is grey and deserted. In the distance a figure comes into views walking slowly, approaching a grave. It is Scottie. EXT. A CEMETERY SOUTH OF SAN FRANCISCO - (DAY) - MEDIUM SHOT A closer view brings him to a stop before the grave, and he stares down at it impassively. The gravestone tells us it is Madeleine's grave. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. SAN FRANCISCO - (NIGHT) A foggy night, the city hidden in mist. The flash of beacons; fingers of fog; the spasmodic growls and ories of fog horns. INT. SCOTTIE'S BEDROOM - (NIGHT) Scottie in bed, sleeping restlessly. His head fills the screen, rolls from, side to side. In a SLOW DISSOLVE while his head remains on the screen, there comes into focus and is superimposed as it gets closer the head and shoulders of the portrait of Carlotta. The CAMERA PANS DOWN until it reveals the nosegay. The portrait is cleared from the screen, a new image is superimposed; the final scene at the inquest between Scottie and Gavin Elster. But this time, though it is not distinct, a woman's head can be discerned on Elster's shoulder. Elster turns to the woman and says: "Tell him he's not to blame; tell him." The woman turns her head to smile at Scottie. It is Carlotta Valdes again, dressed as in the portrait, with the necklace at her throats, and she is alive. The picture fades away. Scottie's restless head is alone on the screen again. Another scene dissolves to the screen: the graveyard at Mission Dolores. The CAMERA IS APPROACHING the grave of Carlotta Valdes. Now we see Scottie approaching the grave. Now the CAMERA REVERSES, MOVING closer to the grave. It is open; there is a great black abyss, with the headstone to mark it. A CLOSEUP OF SCOTTIE coming to a stop as he stares down. The black depths of the grave fill the screen, and now, suddenly we start to fall. A BIG CLOSEUP OF SCOTTIE, his hair windswept, staring down in horror as he falls. REVERSE ANGLE: he is still falling, but now from the tower of the Mission at San Juan onto the roof where Madeleine fell, and at the moment of impact the picture clears, and Scottie is sitting up in bed, staring ahead in horror, awakened by the sound of his own scream. The scream is echoed by a fog horn in the distance. DISSOLVE TO: INT. SANITARIUM BEDROOM - (DAY) We see a portable phonograph with a record on, and we hear Mozart at his gayest, most incisive, most sparkling. And then we find Midge standing nearby, smiling across at Scottie, who is seated in a wheelchair wearing a dressing gown over pajamas. His face is gaunt and expressionless. We are in a light and pleasant bed-sitting room. Through the window we can see a lovely garden, and a few patients accompanied by nurses strolling along the paths. MIDGE (Brightly) It's Mozart. Wolfgang Amadeus. I had a long talk with the lady in musical therapy, and she said Mozart's the boy for you, Johnny. The broom that sweeps the cobwebs away. That's what the lady said. You know, it's wonderful how they've got it all taped now, John. They've got music for melancholiacs, and music for dipsomaniacs, and music for nymphomaniacs... I wonder what would happen if somebody mixed up their files? There is no reaction on Scottie's face, and Midge makes a grimace of dissatisfaction at the weakness of her joke. She looks across at him uncertainly. MIDGE But I brought you a lot of other things. You can see what you like. And the thing shuts off automatically. She crosses to him swiftly kneels beside him. MIDGE Ah, Johnny, please try. Johnny, try! You're not lost. Mother's here. No reaction. Long pause. Then we hear the door open. Scottie does not seem to hear, but Midge turns her head. A nurse is looking in, with a significant look at Midge. MIDGE Time? Okay. The nurse goes out. Midge rises. MIDGE I'll be in again, John. Do you want me to shut that off? It shuts off automatically. Her eyes crinkle with anxiety. She nods and goes to the phonograph and shuts it off. She comes back to him slowly, and stands behind him, and puts her hands on his shoulders. MIDGE (Softly) Ah, Johnny-O... you don't know I'm here, do you? She leans down and kisses him lightly on the top of the head, and smiles gently. MIDGE But I'm here. She moves to the door, going out of the SHOT, and we hear the door open and close. Scottie has not moved, his face does not change expression. His head bends down, and his gaze is fixed on the floor. INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE SCOTTIE'S ROOM - (DAY) Midge, walking down the corridor, meets the nurse near the open door of an office. MIDGE Could I see the doctor for a moment? The nurse backs up a step and looks in the open doorway. NURSE Doctor...? The Doctor looks up and sees Midge in the doorway. DOCTOR Oh. Yes, Miss Wood? The nurse continues on up the corridor. Midge remains in the doorway. MIDGE Doctor, how long is it going to take you to pull him out of this? DOCTOR It is hard to say. Six months, at least. Perhaps a year. It depends to a certain extent on him. MIDGE He won't talk. DOCTOR No. We have ways of digging out knowledge. But it takes longer. He is suffering from acute melancholia, together with a guilt complex. He blames himself for what happened to the woman. And we know little of the background. MIDGE I can give you one thing: he was in love with her. DOCTOR Ah? That complicates the problem. MIDGE I'll give you another complication: he still is. The Doctor studies her carefully. MIDGE And you know something, Doctor? I don't think Mozart's going to help at all. She attempts a bright, gay smile but it comes out wrong. She turns and walks away down the corridor. FADE OUT: FADE IN: EXT. SCOTTIE'S APARTMENT - (NIGHT) Once again a foggy night. The street lights ringed in the mist, and Coit Tower barely discernible in the distance. The fog horns sound. DISSOLVE TO: INT. SCOTTIE'S APARTMENT - (NIGHT) The living room, is mostly in shadow. One light in a far corner is lit. There is a fire in the fireplace, but it is almost burnt out, and casts only a faint glow. An easy chair has been drawn up before the fire, and next to it is a small table on which is a bottle of whiskey, the remains of a highball, and an ashtray full of cigarette butts. There is no sign of life in the apartment. The telephone rings in the bedroom. It continues to ring. DISSOLVE TO: INT. ERNIE'S RESTAURANT, UPSTAIRS ROOM - (NIGHT) Scottie is seated at the bar, exactly as he was the first time he saw Madeleine. The dinning room is crowded. Scottie's glance wanders about the room as he drinks, but he does not seem to be so much searching as waiting. And then he stiffens. From somewhere across the room a man and a woman are making their way among the tables toward the exit, and their relative positions as they move recall exactly the way Madeleine and Gavin Elster moved toward him on that night. And as the woman moves toward him, difficult to see clearly because of the movements of the waiters crossing her path, he could swear that it is Madeleine, and so could we. Although she does not wear an evening dress. Scottie stares, fearing and hoping as the woman gets closer and closer. And then she is there, and pauses near him to wait for the man, exactly as Madeleine did -- but it is not Madeleine. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. BROCKLEBANK APARTMENTS - (DAY) Scottie in the foreground, and across the street the apartment building from which Madeleine used to emerge, with the forecourt of cars. A long moment, then a man emerges and crosses the street and walks toward the Fairmont Hotel. Another wait, and then a woman comes out of the apartment house. She has Madeleine's figure and Madeleine's style. Scottie freezes. The woman crosses the forecourt toward a car out of our sight. Scottie moves to follow the course of the woman, and we move with him, and now the car comes into sight, it is the green Jaguar. The woman opens the car door. Scottie races across the street and into the forecourt. By the time he gets to the Jaguar, the woman is in behind the wheel and has the motor started. Scottie races up to her, then stops short. The woman is not like Madeleine in features, and is a good deal older. She looks up startled as Scottie comes to a stop by the open car window. SCOTTIE Where did you get this car?! THE WOMAN (Startled by his vehemence) I beg your pardon? SCOTTIE This car...!! THE WOMAN Oh! Why... I bought it from a man who used to live here, in this apartment building. Mister Gavin Elster. I bought it from him when he moved away. As Scottie stares at her, she grasps the connection. THE WOMAN 0h! You know him! And his wife? The poor thing. I didn't know her. Tell me -- is it true that she really believed -- But by this time Scottie has turned and walked away, and she stares after him, a bit taken aback. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. PALACE OF THE LEGION OF HONOR - (DAY) Framed in the columns of the forecourt, Scottie wanders up the front walk and passes through the doors into the Art Gallery. INT. PALACE OF THE LEGION OF HONOR - (DAY) Scottie wanders to the entrance of the room in which hangs the Portrait of Carlotta, and stops and looks towards the far corner. Some people pass before him, but then as the vista clears he sees walking toward him from Carlotta's corner a woman who must surely be Madeleine. He stares, rigid, as she comes closer, and then she passes out of view as she heads for the exit. Scottie turns to keep her in sight, and as she passes through the doors to go out to the courtyard she turns a just a bit so that she is silhouetted slightly in profile against the cuter light, and once again surely it is Madeleine. Scottie heads for the door fast, pushes through the courtyard. He breaks into a run and catches up with her and puts out his hand to take her arm, and as he does she turns, startled by his sudden appearance at her side -- and they both stop and stare at each other. It is not Madeleine. A moment, as the woman stares at him, frightened. SCOTTIE I'm sorry. He turns away. The woman walks on. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. PODESTA, BALDOCCHI - (LATE AFTERNOON) Scottie stands before the window looking at the floral display. In the foreground is a group of madeup nosegays and one of them is exactly like the nosegay Madeleine carried to the grave, to the portrait, to the moment she threw herself into the Bay. A porter closes the shop door and locks it. A moment, then Scottie turns away to move down Grant Avenue. He stops short. Coming up Grant Avenue, headed for Sutter Street, is a group of shopgirls who have just come out of work, and among them is one who -- again -- must surely be Madeleine. Scottie watches them come closer, trying to get a clear view through the crowd of passersby, catching sight of the girl only in glimpses, and as the girls come abreast of him they stop to make their farewells. The one nearest to Scottie, seen in profile, might have the same features as Madeleine. He cannot be sure. This girl's hair is dark, where Madeleine's was light; her features on closer inspection seem heavier, and she wears much more makeup. And yet there is something about the way she carries herself. The other girls cross the street while the one nearest to Scottie goes on alone. He instinctively turns and follows. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. SUTTER STREET NEAR LEAVENWORTH - (LATE AFTERNOON) A trolley coach passes, heading west. The girl starts to cross the street in the middle of the block, waits for another trolley coach to pass, continues to the opposite side, and goes into the Empire Hotel, one of the typical inexpensive residential hotels of that neighborhood. Scottie remains on the opposite side of the street, watching, wondering what to do next. He waits, and then, in much the same way it happened to him long ago at the McKittrick Hotel, his attention is attracted to a window on the second floor. The girl appears and opens the window about eight inches, then pulls down the blind. Scottie stares at the window, calculates in his mind the geographical position of the room, then starts across the street. DISSOLVE TO: INT. UPSTAIRS HALL JUDY'S HOTEL - (DUSK) Scottie moves down the hall counting doors and comes to a stop. He knocks. The door opens, and the girl stands and looks at him, and waits. Scottie stares at her, searching for a sign of recognition, but there is none. JUDY Well? What is it? Her voice is flat and slightly nasal, in sharp contrast to Madeleine's low, husky voice. Scottie winces slightly at the sound of it. He keeps staring at her for a moment. Then: SCOTTIE Could I ask you a couple of questions? JUDY What for? Who are you? SCOTTIE My name is John Ferguson, and -- JUDY Is this some kind of Gallup Poll, or something? SCOTTIE No, there are just a few things I want to ask you, and -- JUDY Do you live here in the hotel? SCOTTIE No, I happened to see you come in, and I thought -- JUDY 0h, I thought so! A pick-up! Well, you've got a nerve, following me right into the hotel and up to my room! You beat it! Go on! Beat it! And she starts to close the door on him hard. Scottie holds it open against her. SCOTTIE No, please! I Just want to talk to you! JUDY (Pushing on the door) Listen, I'm going to yell in a minute! SCOTTIE I'm not going to hurt you! I promise! Please! She hesitates, impressed by the urgency in his voice. SCOTTIE Just let me talk to you. JUDY (Hesitating) What about? SCOTTIE You. JUDY Why? She is still holding on to the door, ready to slam it. SCOTTIE Because you remind me of someone. She laughs a short, ironic, skeptical laugh. JUDY I've heard that one before, too. I remind you of someone you used to be madly in love with, but she ditched you for another guy, and you've been carrying the torch ever since, and then you saw me and something clicked. (scornfully) Huh! SCOTTIE (With a rueful smile) You're not far wrong. JUDY Well, it's not going to work. So you'd better go. SCOTTIE Let me come in. Her mouth drops open with shock at his effrontery. SCOTTIE You can leave the door open. Please. I want to talk to you. A moment, then she backs into the room a little, and he follows. JUDY I warn you, I can yell awfully loud. SCOTTIE You won't have to. JUDY (Doubtfully) Well... you don't look very much like Jack the Ripper... But still she moves until she is next to the phone, her hand almost touching it. She eyes him carefully. JUDY What do you want to know? SCOTTIE Your name. And -- JUDY Judy Barton. SCOTTIE Who you are -- JUDY Just a girl, I work at Magnin's -- SCOTTIE -- and how you happen to be living here. JUDY It's a place to live, that's all. SCOTTIE But you haven't lived here long. JUDY About three years. SCOTTIE No, a year ago! Where did you live a year ago!!? JUDY (Puzzled) I told you! Right here! SCOTTIE (Strongly) But before! Where did you live before!?! JUDY Salina, Kansas! And that stops him dead, and he stares at her, denying. JUDY Listen, what is this? What do you want? SCOTTIE I want to know who you are. JUDY I told you! My name is Judy Barton! I come from Salina Kansas. I work at Magnin's! I live here! My gosh, do I have to prove it? She moves swiftly to the dresser and rummages in her bag. JUDY You've got to prove you're alive these days! All right, Mister. My Kansas driver's license. Judy Barton. Number Z296794. Four-Twenty-Five Maple Avenue, Salina, Kansas. She pulls out another card: a California license. She hands it to him. JUDY There! See the address on this one? This place here! California License issued May 25, 1954! Want to check my thumb print? Satisfied. (Pulls the card away) And whether you're satisfied or not, you can just beat it! A long moment as he stands before her, sagging a little defeated. She becomes remorseful and sympathetic. JUDY (Gently) Gee, you have got it bad, haven't you? Do I really look like her? He stares at her with an intensity that makes her crinkle her eyes in embarrassment. JUDY She's dead, isn't she. An almost imperceptible nod. JUDY I'm sorry. And I'm sorry I yelled at you. He turns away slowly toward the door. His eyes fall on some framed photographs on the dresser and he pauses, then moves closer to see them clearly. One is of a girl about sixteen standing with a woman in her late thirties; they have their arms about each other; they both have dark hair. Scottie stares at it, then glances at Judy. JUDY Yes, that's me. With my mother. Scottie's eyes move to another photograph, of a man in his early forties standing before a store. Above the store a sign says: A. M. BARTON, HARDWARES. JUDY That's my father. He's dead. My mother got married again... I didn't like the guy. (Smiles, wistfully) So... I decided to see what it was like in sunny California. (Pause) I've been here three years. (she grins) Honest! He smiles back at her, liking her directness. SCOTTIE Will you have dinner with me? JUDY (Immediately wary, the smile fading) Why? SCOTTIE Well, I feel I owe you something for all this... JUDY No, you don't owe me anything. SCOTTIE Then will you for me? JUDY (Warily) Dinner... and what else? SCOTTIE Just dinner. JUDY Because I remind you of her? SCOTTIE Because I'd like to have dinner with you. She smiles, pleased with the gallantry of his answer, and regards him thoughtfully. JUDY (Slowly) Well... I've been on blind dates before... Matter of fact, to be honest, I've been picked up before. (Grins) Okay. SCOTTIE I'll get my car and be back in half an hour. JUDY Oh, no! Give me time to change and get fixed up! SCOTTIE An hour? JUDY Mmm. SCOTTIE Okay. He flashes her a smile and goes, closing the door. She stares after him for a long moment, then moves slowly and sits down on the edge of the bed. She stares straight ahead, thinking, her face an impassive mask. The CAMERA MOVES IN until her head fills the screen, and her eyes are deep with dark memory. We DISSOLVE THROUGH to what she sees: THE MOMENT IN THE TOWER OF THE MISSION. MADELEINE IS RUNNING UP THE STAIRS OF THE TOWER: SCOTTIE STRUGGLING DESPERATELY AFTER HER. SHE REACHES THE TOP, OPENS THE DOOR, DARTS INTO THE BELL TOWER, SLAMS THE DOOR BEHIND HER AND LOCKS IT. SHE TURNS. GAVIN ELSTER STANDS NEAR THE OPEN ARCH, HOLDING HIS WIFE FAST; SHE IS DRESSED IN A GREY SUIT EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE MADELEINE WEARS. HER BODY IS LIMP. SHE IS OBVIOUSLY DEAD ALREADY. ELSTER LOOKS AT MADELEINE, THEN PUSHES HIS WIFE OUT THROUGH THE ARCH. MADELEINE MAKES A FUTILE GESTURE TO STOP HIM, AND SCREAMS. ELSTER COMES TO QUICKLY, PUTS HIS HAND ACROSS HER MOUTH, AND DRAWS HER BACK INTO THE SHADOW BEHIND A MASONRY ABUTMENT. THEY ARE LOST FROM SIGHT... DISSOLVE THROUGH to Judy, seated on the edge of her bed, staring with the memory of the horror of the moment. She sits very still. Then slowly she rises and moves to the window. She looks out, watching Scottie go down the street. She turns away and goes to the closet and opens the door. She pushes some clothes along the rack. We see the grey suit. She reaches into the closet and brings out a suitcase, lets it lie there, just outside the closet, and stares down at it. Then she turns back, goes to the writing desk sits down, and takes a sheet of paper. She picks up a ball point pen, clicks out the Point, stares ahead for a moment, then begins to write. As she writes, we hear her voice. JUDY'S VOICE Dearest Scottie ... and so you've found me. This is the moment I dreaded and hoped for, -- wondering what I would say and do if ever I saw you again, I wanted so to see you again. Just once. Now I'll go and you can give up your search. (pause) I want you to have peace of mind. You've nothing to blame yourself for. You were the victim. I was the tool, you were the victim of a man's plan to murder his wife. He chose me to play the part because I looked like her; he dressed me up like her. He was quite safe because she lived in the country and rarely came to town. He chose you to be the witness. The Carlotta story was part real, part invented to make you testify that Madeleine wanted to kill herself. He knew of your illness; he knew you would never get up the stairs of the tower. He planned it so well; he made no mistakes. (pause) I made the mistake. I fell in love. That wasn't part of the plan. I'm still in love with you, and I want you so to love me. If I had the nerve, I would stay and lie, hoping that I could make you love me again, as I am for myself... and so forget the other and forget the past. But I haven't the nerve to try... She pauses and looks up and thinks, and wonders, and tries to see into the future, and as she does, the fear in her eyes dissolve into anxious hope, and then resolve. She puts the pen down, rises slowly, takes up the letter and tears it into small pieces and drops the pieces into the wastebasket. She turns to the closet, pushes the suitcase back in with the toe of her foot, pushes the grey suit far back into darkness, and closes the closet door. She walks to the dresser, and stares at herself in the mirror. She opens a candy box in which we see trinkets and pieces of junk jewelry, and takes out two plain hoop earrings. She puts them on and looks to see how much change they make. She takes up an eyebrow pencil and slightly exaggerates the arch of her brows. She stares at herself impassively for a long time. DISSOLVE TO: INT. ERNIE'S RESTAURANT, UPSTAIRS ROOM - (NIGHT)
...continue to part 9