"She falls into his arms for a passionate embrace and... Then, suddenly the a black-clad figure in the shadows startle Judy. She backs away from Scottie gasping: "Oh, no!" Terrified, thinking she is seeing the ghost of Madeleine Judy recoils, steps and falls backward through an opening in the tower and plummets to her own death (off-screen) in an emotionally-shattering climax. The figure, actually a nun from the mission, crosses herself and murmurs the last words of the film: "God have mercy." The nun pulls the bell rope and rings the mission bell. As the bell tolls Scottie, cured of his vertigo, emerges from the arched window of the tower onto the belfry ledge. He stares down in horror at her body far below - stunned, open-mouthed, shocked and glassy-eyed... the scene fades to black." This image and many others in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo are intensely shocking, disturbing, and captivating. Hitchcock was able to receive these desired reactions by mastering the style of film noir.
             "A scion of the burgeoning lower middle class in London," Hitchcock was born on August 13th, 1899 (Perry). During his early childhood, Hitchcock's father punished the then five year old boy by having him locked in a jail cell for a few minutes. Much older, Hitchcock regarded this event as making a lasting influence on his work and outlook on life. One can see the issue of the fear of incarceration present in some of his films. While receiving a Jesuit education under priests, he gained awareness of the force of evil. After some engineering training he became a technical estimator and enrolled for fine arts courses at London University. While learning about art he worked for the advertising department of Henley house magazine and remembered his passion for cinema. He began working for German studios in the 1920s and by the end of 1926, Hitchcock was the most sought after British Director. Beginning first with silent black and white films he was able ...