Ken Russell’s pyrotechnic and more than a little hallucinatory biopic focuses on a night spent at Lord Byron’s Villa Diodati in Switzerland, and the antics of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin, Claire Clairmont, Dr. John Polidori , and their host, the enigmatic, Lord Byron. This was the night that a horror story contest was suggested which in time led to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Polidori’s Vampyre (1819). It is interesting to note that both the Frankenstein monster and the fictional vampire were born of the same night. Out of one night of revel, two horror tales were brought to life.
Natasha Richardson & Julian Sands in Gothic (1986)
It is a fictionalized telling, but much of it is based on the known facts and speculation about what went on at Villa Diodati on that singular night. The cast is well up to the task of portraying Byron and his guests. Byrne is both ingratiating and sinister; Shelley is nearly mad, and drinking laudanum during the proceedings with spectacular results; Mary is the rational yet jealous wife; Claire is entirely the mad mistress and spurned woman. Dr. Polodori is the very wild card. Certainly, much of it had to be imagined and that is where screenwriter Volk’s and director Russell’s own creative madness takes hold and spins a tale of lust, jealousy, guilt, and regret.
Polidori’s story was the first fictional vampire story; although vampires were mentioned in non-fiction writing as far back as 1718 in the Treaty of Passarowitz, where the local practice in Serbia and Ottenia of exhuming bodies and “killing vampires,” was mentioned. The first appearance of the word vampyre in English would be in 1732 in news reports about epidemics of vampirism in eastern Europe.
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:Julian Sands & Natasha Richardson / Myriam Cyr / Myriam Cyr & Natasha Richardson in in Gothic (1986)
The next vampire tale to be published would be Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 novella, Carmilla. It would be part of the influence for the German film, Vampyre (1932) which came out a year after Tod Browning’s, Dracula (1931). Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula was published in 1897 twenty-five years after Carmilla. It is certain that the creator of Dracula was influenced by his predecessors in terror.
Illustration from Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1872)
Frankenstein is the more famous of the two tales that gestated on that strange evening where a contest for the best horror story powered a kind of chilling paranoia that brought out the worst and the best from all in attendance. All of it is gleefully imagined and brought to life in Gothic.
This is an excellent film for anyone interested in the legend of George Gordon, Lord Byron as well as those curious about the influences that spurned such a young woman to create so imaginatively terrifying a novel in that particular time and place.
Facts, Rumors & Hearsay
Director Cameo: Ken Russell and his family are on the tour boat at the end of the film.
When Shelly comes down from the roof and expresses his obsession with lightning, Byron calls him “Shelly, The Modern Prometheus,” which would become part of the original title for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.
“Mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” Lady Caroline Lamb on Lord Byron.
Screenplay by Alec Coppel & Samuel A. Taylor based on the Novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejoc
Contributing writer Maxwell Anderson
CAST:James Stewart (John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson), Kim Novak (Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton), Barbara Bel Geddes (Midge Wood), Tom Helmore (Gavin Elster), Konstantin Shayne (Pop Leibel), Henry Jones (Coroner), Raymond Bailey (Scottie’s Doctor), Ellen Corby (Manager of McKittrick Hotel)
On any viewing of Vertigo, the work of Bernard Herrmann and Saul Bass is what introduces us to the film. Herrmann’s music and Bass’ titles pull us into an other worldly frame of mind. We see part of a woman’s face as Herrmann’s haunting music continues from the Paramount/VistaVision logo. Then to her lips, then her eyes that move left, and and then right, and then back to us, then we zoom in on the right eye as the screen goes red and the title, VERTIGO moves forward out of the pupil and up and out of the frame presumably over our heads as the movie sometimes does as the story spins from the reel as Saul Bass’ spirals accompany the remainder of the titles.
Every great artist has a flawed or unfinished or impenetrable masterpiece, and this is unmistakably Hitchcock’s. Impenetrable for many in a way that has made it one of cinema’s great mysteries. It is both an open book to the viewer and a puzzle box. It was not well received on its initial release, but time has refocused opinion. It is now not only considered Hitchcock’s masterpiece, but also one of the greatest films ever made displacing Citizen Kane from its long held spot in cinema history. It is a film that demands multiple viewings and gives ample reward to the time invested. Once Scottie accepts Gavin’s (Tom Helmore) case , we are slowly seduced by the beautiful Madeline (Kim Novak). Stewart’s performance as the unhinged Scotty is unequaled in film. Ray Milland in Lost Weekend or Humphrey Bogart in Treasure of the Sierra Madre come to mind, but their characters hit a bottom–Scotty is in free fall. He is still in free fall in the final frame.
In Vertigo, fantasy and reality are not clearly defined. In much of the film, we are seeing through Scotty’s eyes. Can his perception be trusted? Scotty is a police detective and good man, but he has something horrible happen to him as he is pursuing a suspect across the roofs of San Francisco. Discovering his ‘vertigo’ in a way that causes the death of a fellow police officer impacts him more deeply than he knows. The chase ends when Scotty doesn’t make a jump between two buildings and almost slides off of the roof only managing to save himself by grabbing the gutter. The gutter does not look like it will hold his weight. The officer that tries to save him falls to his death as Scotty watches, helplessly hanging on as the man falls.
James Stewart in Vertigo (1958)
It is important to note that when the officer cries out to, “gimme your hand,” he is on a slanted clay tiled roof. A very slanted clay tile roof with no way for him to anchor himself when Scotty grabs his hand. The officer falls before Scotty has (if he even could have) taken his hand. Watching closely, we realize that if Scotty had taken his hand–they both would have plunged to their deaths. Conclusion, there was no escape. In addition, we never see how Scotty gets down.
This is the first of several unexplainable scenes in the film. How did he get down? Could that bending gutter really have held his weight until help arrived? Most viewers don’t think about this at all on the first viewing because everything moves so fast up to this point.
Barbara Bel Geddes in Vertigo (1958)Midge’s Studio Apartment
And then we find ourselves in the apartment/studio of his friend Midge (Barbara Bel Geddes). The pace of the narrative drops to a near stand still. Scotty is very comfortable here. He is relaxed and at home as he explains to her why he can no longer work as a detective. It’s the vertigo. She tries to bolster his self confidence, and it becomes clear that she has feelings for him. He even asks her not to be so ‘motherly’. They have dated in the past, and were even engaged for three weeks. Although it is not clear why it ended, it was Midge who broke it off. Scotty seems oblivious to her feelings, engulfed in his new freedom yet unaware that he is still dangling from the rooftop. This is revealed when he tries to demonstrate that he can overcome the vertigo by slowly exposing himself to gradual increases in height. Midge assists by giving him a step ladder, and it seems to be working. That is, until he looks out of the window and the added height of the building causes the acrophobia to kick in triggering the vertigo. He falls from the ladder into Midge’s arms. As she says, “Oh Johnnie,” we realize that he is safe here, but not in the outside world.
Continuing the measured pace, we go to see his college friend Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), who has asked him to come to see him in the Mission District. When Scotty mentions Gavin to Midge as an old college chum, she does not recall him. We assume that this was during the time that Scotty and Midge were dating and engaged for three weeks while at university together. If she was as focused on Scotty even half as much at that time as she is now, it is no wonder that she doesn’t remember Elster. They assume that because it’s a Mission number, that Elster must be on the bum–and living on skid row. When Scottie arrives there, he finds that Elster has married into wealth and is working at his wife’s shipyard. Elster wants Scotty to follow his wife, Madeline. Elster tells Scotty, “it’s not what you think.” It certainly isn’t.
Alfred Hitchcock Cameo in Vertigo (1958) The Mission District, The Embarcadero Waterfrontnear Elster’s Shipyard Office
Elster relates to Scotty a tale that a staid, died in the blue cop would never believe. And to Scotty’s credit, he doesn’t. He does listen if not particularly patiently, at least earnestly. It seems a long dead woman named Carlotta Valdez has taken possession of Elster’s wife, Madeline. Scotty suggests a psychiatrist for both Madeline and Gavin. Gavin laughs it off and explains that is why he wants his wife followed. He wants to gather enough information before turning it over to a doctor. Scotty expresses his doubts about taking it on and even offers to get Elster a good private investigator. Elster’s argument is that it has to be someone he can trust. In the end Scotty gives in agreeing to go to Ernie’s Restaurant to observe Madeline without meeting her.
James Stewart in Vertigo (1958)The Bar at Ernie’s Restaurant
Next, we are moving toward the entrance of Ernie’s Restaurant still at the pace set in Midge’s studio. A lap dissolve reveals Scotty sitting at the bar, turned as though looking for someone. The camera pulls back panning to a wide shot where we think maybe we see Elster and a blonde woman on the far left. As the music comes up, we slowly move closer and realize it is Elster and the woman is wearing a striking black and emerald gown. At just that point the cut is back to Scotty at the bar and we realize that this was what he was turning to see when we entered. His expression is hard to read. Is it annoyance at having to be there at all? We now see Elster and Madeline from Scotty’s point of view as Elster signs the check and then cut back to Scotty who is still hard to read. Now we watch Madeline and Elster rise. Elster pulls out Madeline’s chair and we cut back to Scotty as he prepares for their exit by turning back to the bar.
Kim Novak in Vertigo (1958) Leaving Ernie’s Restaurant
Madeline is indeed magnificently beautiful as we see her walking toward us from Scotty’s point of view. Then she stops and turns back toward Elster as the maître d’ stops him and then she turns and continues, but then stops again as though waiting for Elster giving Scotty a chance to steal a glance as Elster rejoins her and they exit the restaurant. When we see Scotty again, there is a change in his attitude, it is subtle but it is there. This slow build up has an immediate effect. Scotty and the viewer are intrigued. Each step of the way, we are anticipating something. As is Scotty. We don’t know what yet, but we have been pulled in along with Scotty and now we can’t turn away.
