THE HOOK
When Madeline seems to vanish after entering the McKittrick Hotel, Scottie slips into a vortex of confusion which is best illustrated by Donald Spoto in his The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of his Motion Pictures.
“…we are as confused as Scottie. Any logical explanation offered in retrospect–that the two women were in collusion, or that Madeleine escaped through a rear door–is in no way supported by the text or the atmosphere at this point. Scottie wonders whether Madeleine is in fact a spirit or a figment of his imagination.”
At this point, Scottie has completely left reality behind and is prepared to accept any eventuality without question. We accept it as well. We too, have been enchanted by this chimerical beauty.
Madeline’s Car
Scottie drives to Elster’s address and sees that Madeline’s car is parked there. The nosegay she has carried with her can be seen set on the dashboard through the front window. Scottie decides he needs more information and when he asks Midge who she knows that could help with the history of the cities’ local color she responds, “You mean the gay old days of gay old San Francisco–who shot who in the Embarcadero in August 1879?” That is exactly what he is looking for as he moves into the past along with Madeline.
Midge in her Studio
Midge takes him to an expert on the comings and goings of old San Francisco, the man who runs the Argosy Book Shop, Pop Liebl. Pop Leible remembers, “Ah yes, I remember. Carlotta. The beautiful Carlotta. The sad Carlotta.” Learning that the McKittrick Hotel was actually a house built for Carlotta by an unnamed “…rich man, a powerful man,” that used her and took their child and, “…threw her away.” He gets the full story about Carlotta’s sad encounter with a rich and powerful man and a leg up on what it is that Madeline is being drawn into. Not for a moment does he stop to compare it to his encounter with Elster, who is also a rich and powerful man. Everything that Scottie encounters pulls him deeper into the romantic fantasy that has him mesmerized.
Pop Liebl at the Argosy Book Store
Scottie then goes to see Gavin and he gets the picture from his side, and everything that Scottie has turned up is verified by Gavin with bits of information about Madeline’s family including that she has old jewelry that was once owned by Carlotta.
Gavin & Scotty
Carlotta was Madeline’s Great Grand Mother and after she was deserted by the man whose child she bore (Madeline’s Grand Mother), she committed suicide. Gavin also tells Scottie that Madeline has no knowledge of any of this. It has been kept from her because of the fact that her Grand Mother took her own life and Madeline has her blood. Scottie’s increasing drinking is emphasized when he’s heard all that Gavin has to say, as he downs his drink and says, “Boy! I need this!”
Madeline
Scottie then continues his shadowing of Madeline and is led first to the Museum where she view’s Carlotta’s portrait, then to the Golden Gate Bridge. Getting out of his car, he watches as she throws petals from the nosegay into the water and then jumps. He immediately runs to jump in and save her. After he puts her into the car, she appears to be trying to say something, but is unconscious.
Madeline & Scotty
NEXT: Desire
Facts, Rumors & Hearsay
Costume designer Edith Head and Alfred Hitchcock worked together to give Madeleine’s clothing an eerie appearance. Her trademark gray suit was chosen for its color because they thought it seemed odd for a blonde woman to be wearing all gray. In addition, they added the black scarf to her white coat because of the odd contrast. But when Kim Novak reported for filming she had “all sorts of preconceived notions” about her character according to Hitchcock, including what she would and would not wear. She told the director she did not like the grey suit and black shoes she was slated to wear, thinking them too heavy and stiff for her character. Novak later recalled, “I didn’t think it would matter to him what kind of shoes I wore. I had never had a director who was particular about the costumes, the way they were designed, the specific colors. The two things he wanted the most were those shoes and that gray suit.” Hitchcock expressed to Novak that the visual aspect of the film much more important to him than the story, and insisted on her wearing the suit and the shoes that he Edith Head had planned several months ago. Novak complied, seeing it as a part of Madeline’s character.