Last week Gail and I received the next movie on our Netflix quiche (that’s what we call it): Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. She had never seen it and I last saw it over 40 years ago so I didn’t remember much. I remembered it starred Jimmy Stewart. I didn’t remember Kim Novak. I forgot that it was set in San Francisco and I had no idea Mission Dolores was an important location in the film.
Gail and I were in San Francisco this past December for a conference. It was a quick trip but we did squeeze in a few touristy stops. Gail really wanted to see Mission Dolores, so we made sure that was one of them. Our weather was foggy and overcast that day, so we didn’t take as many pictures as we usually do. But I’m glad we took a few.
So, back to our movie. Vertigo was shot in 1958, when I was three years old, and only four years before Gail was born. It’s weird to think that the movie is now basically a period piece. I enjoyed seeing how people related to each other back in the late 50′s, the cars, the clothes, all that. It was even fun seeing how different the city of San Francisco looked 50 years ago. The movie itself is Hitchcock wonderful, but it is forgettable by today’s standards. I was a little disappointed that we got the colorized version. I’m certain it would have looked better in black and white.
Our favorite part of the movie, though, was to discover that Mission Dolores played such a big part in it! We had been right there just a few months ago! We walked the same steps that Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak and Alfred Hitchcock had 53 years ago! That was really cool!
A few pics off the web:
And a few of our own:
cool,thanks for sharing.
Thanks for always stopping by, Mike!
This must have been your recent trip to the city. When we met recent. How cool. There are lots of places in San Francisco that actors from days gone by have tread. Cool that you got to walk in some of those steps.
Have a terrific day. Big hug to you and Princess Gail.
Yes, Sandee! This was the recent trip when we met and had the memorable dinner at your club! I will always remember that evening, and you can bet we’ll call anytime we’re anywhere near your neck of the woods. We owe you one!
This is just a really neat post… so many dramatic photos and an awesome narrative! You did justice to one of my favorite movies!
Thanks, Linda! It is a good old movie, but not my Hitchcock favorite. I can see Rear Window and North By Northwest over and over again!
I “love” Vertigo. How neat that you got to visit the actual site. Hitchcock knew how to use every nuance of B&W film.
We went to the Mission for the Mission’s sake. It is a truly awesome part of California and American history. It was an added bonus to recently find out about it’s part in Vertigo!
And I so agree Hitchcock’s movies are a work of art in B&W. They should NOT have been colorized!
Absolutely no color for Hitchcock films! He was a master at making you use your imagination!!!
The Missions are amazing parts of California history, and that is truly a beautiful one!
Older movies did that in general: made you use your imagination. And yes, Hitchcock was a master, be it in a suspense scene, a moment of violence, or a sex scene. It is SO much richer when you let your imagination fill in the blanks, rather than the gratuitous, graphic shit we see in the movies today.
Thanks for stopping by, C!
It was fun watching this with you! I especially liked seeing Mission Dolores because we were there!
We’ll have to continue our Hitchcock film festival, and maybe start a little movie location visiting hobby. How ’bout it!?