Line #48 Characters/Vertigo


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2	[[folder:John "Scottie" Ferguson]]
3	->'''Played By''': Creator/JamesStewart
4	* FirstNameBasis: When Madeleine says that she'll call Scottie "Mr. Ferguson," he says that acquaintances call him "Scottie," but true friends just call him "John." It's notable that Elster calls him Scottie and [[spoiler: ultimately is revealed to have manipulated him, so he was never a true friend.]]
5	* FlawExploitation: His fear of heights is taken advantage of by [[spoiler: Elster and Judy when they switch Elster's wife for Judy on top of the bell tower while Scottie couldn't follow up.]]
6	* HeroicBSOD: He suffers a severe one about halfway through the film.
7	* LovingAShadow: He never would have given Judy a second glance if she hadn't so strongly resembled Madeleine. And considering that the only Madeleine he ever knew was part of an elaborate con, this makes it all the more tragic. He never really loved a real person but a projection and a fantasy.
8	* PrivateDetective: He became one after he left the police, although he's not a professional and only does it as a favor to Elster.
9	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Has a phobia of heights that give him vertigo.
10	[[/folder]]
11
12	[[folder:Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton]]
13	->'''Played By''': Creator/KimNovak
14	* FiftiesHair: Madeline has cool, tightly pulled platinum blonde hair in a bun while Judy has her reddish hair in a style where some is pulled back and is wavy.
15	* AffablyEvil: Her occasional trances may have been fake, but her feelings for Scottie were genuine. Plus she even tried to write a letter confessing the truth about "Madeleine"'s "death", before tearing it up and hoping Scottie would appreciate her for who she really is.
16	* AlasPoorVillain: Judy helped orchestrate Madeleine's death by impersonating her and pretending to commit suicide, but she also regretted taking part in that murder and developed true feelings for Scottie who doesn't even acknowledge her as herself. As a result, it's hard not to feel bad for her when she dies the same way Madeleine does.
17	* BettyAndVeronica: The Veronica (Madeline is mysterious, wears couture, is an icy blonde, and very helpless; Judy wears sweaters with flashy makeup and is hopelessly in love with Scotty and ends up sacrificing her own self to please him) to Midge's Betty (she is down to earth, independent, not submissive to him, humorous, smart, and social) and also Betty (Judy as she is a woman from Middle America who has a less sophisticated albeit sexy style and yearns to please Scotty) and Veronica (Madeline as she is mysterious and given to trances while in neutral toned couture) within herself.
18	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Judy is so sweet and charming, it's easy to forget she spent the entire first half of the film cruelly manipulating Scottie as part of an elaborate murder plot.
19	* FemmeFatale: Played with: She still charms the hero and is very mysterious, but she also developed genuine love for Scottie and regrets taking part in the murder.
20	* FieryRedhead: She has light auburn hair and when we are introduced to her she is quick-tempered and acid tongued with a touch of the DeadpanSnarker. Later on, even after she dyes her hair, she is revealed to very emotional and impulsive.
21	* IJustWantToBeLoved: More specifically, she wants to be loved as herself and not "Madeleine".
22	* TheLostLenore: Judy's Madeleine identity becomes this for Scottie. [[spoiler:It turns out to be a {{Deconstruction}} because the "Madeleine" Scottie grieves for and obsesses over never actually existed.]]
23	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Judy gets cold feet at the last second and tries to stop Elster's murder conspiracy by screaming at the bell tower, but it is too late. She spends the rest of the film wracked with guilt and regretting her past actions.
24	* ParentalAbandonment: She said after her father died, her mother married a man she was antagonistic with and her mother always took his side, this spurs Judy into leaving Kansas for San Francisco.
25	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: She ends up falling for Scottie and regretting her actions, only to end up dying anyway.
26	* SexySweaterGirl: Judy Barton's standard bright-colored tight sweater ensemble contrast Judy's earthy sexuality with Madeleine the icy blond in the gray suit.
27	* WalkingSpoiler: Well, not "Madeleine" but Judy. She turns out to have been Gavin's partner in crime to kill the real Madeleine.
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Marjorie "Midge" Wood]]
31	->'''Played By''': Creator/BarbaraBelGeddes
32	* FiftiesHair: Has a wavy pageboy style fashionable to the era.
33	* AudienceSurrogate: Her down-to-earth and increasingly concerned about Scottie and his behavior, echoes our own reactions to him.
34	* BettyAndVeronica: The Betty to Judy's and Madeline's Veronica. She was Scottie's former fiancee from college, down-to-earth, independent, has an understated albeit stylish wardrobe in 1950s sportswear, and wears glasses.
35	* CanonForeigner: Her character is original to the film adaptation
36	* {{Foil}}: To "Madeleine". Both of them are women who are close to Scottie, but the main difference is "Madeleine" is mysterious, helpless, and constantly in trances. Midge on the other hand is independent, down-to-earth and smart.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Gavin Elster]]
40	->'''Played By''': Tom Helmore
41	* BigBadFriend: He was an old friend of Scottie's during his college days.
42	* BilingualBonus: "Elster" is the German word for magpie. Besides the Thieving Magpie stereotype, it's a bird that also symbolizes trickery and deception.
43	* FauxAffablyEvil: Pretending to be a good friend of Scottie's when in reality, he's a callous criminal plotting to murder his wife.
44	* FlatCharacter: He doesn't get a lot of screen time or a proper motive on why he wanted to kill his wife.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Spoiler character]]
48	!!The real Madeleine Elster
49	* ImpersonationExclusiveCharacter: She is never seen alive during the whole film; she is being impersonated by Judy.
50	* PosthumousCharacter: We never got to see her in action, but in a sense, she kick-started the entire plot.
51	* WalkingSpoiler: The fact that we never actually saw her alive isn't revealed until halfway through the film.

Context Characters / Vertigo