Vertigo plot holes—and did Judy commit suicide at the end?
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We have to talk about them…there are just too many of them not to notice—call them plot holes, loose ends, script errors, whatever you like, but there are plenty of them in Vertigo (1958) starring James Stewart and Kim Novak.
Despite Vertigo being one of our favorite Hitchcock films, (perhaps his best!) It’s hard not to watch it and wonder about the loose ends that never get tied up. If you haven’t yet seen Vertigo, you’ll want to stop and watch it now before continuing.
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How did Scottie get up from the rooftop in the beginning of the movie?
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Johnny and Midge’s age difference
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How did the real Madeline Die?
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Did Kim Novak’s character Judy/Madeline commit suicide? Or did she just fall?
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What happened to Gavin? Did the mastermind get away with his crime?
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What happened to Midge? Did she and Scottie end up together?
Continue on to read more details along with our theories of what might’ve happened (don’t pretend like you don’t have your own theories!).
1st Vertigo plot hole: How did James Stewart’s character “Scottie” character get up from the rooftop in the beginning of the movie?
What happens
Vertigo’s opening scenes immediately captivates the audience as the the mysterious and haunting Vertigo Prelude and Rooftop music establishes the mystery and suspense as the camera springs to life in the midst of a dramatic rooftop chase scene between two policemen and a suspect.
Jimmy Stewart aka John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson comes on screen in hot pursuit and the audience leans forward to watch them jump and climb high above the ground. The suspect takes a daring jump from one building to another; the first policeman immediately follows, and then Scottie hesitates for a second and then also follows. Unable to catch his footing or grip on the rooftop tiles, he slips rapidly to the edge of the roof, until he is hanging suspended about 6 stories above the streets below clinging desperately to the gutter.
His fellow policeman comes back to try to lend a hand to Scottie to rescue him from his predicament, and loses his footing, falling to his death. This dramatic turn of events is what triggers Scottie’s vertigo, key to the plot of the movie.
James Stewart as Scottie begins to slip down the roof until he’s able to catch the gutter. The police officer that tries to help him up falls to his death, resulting in Scottie’s Vertigo
So, we see Scottie (James Stewart) hanging on for dear life suspended hundreds of feet in the air and then suddenly Hitchcock cuts scenes, and Scottie has somehow made it up from the rooftop and is now chatting with his friend Midge (played by Barbara Del Goddess) complaining about his Vertigo, his body “corset” (cast of sorts from his accident) and looking forward to throwing away ‘this miserable thing’ (referring to the the cane he is so adeptly swirling).
He’s chatting about what he’s going to do with his life now that he’s had to quit the police force, due to his fear of heights, this acrophobia, and how the acrophobia gives him vertigo and he gets dizzy. Honestly, the scene changes so abruptly from him hanging to him chatting in his friend’s apartment, you almost wonder for a moment, if the dramatic vertigo was just a dream.
“Acrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear or phobia of heights, especially when one is not particularly high up. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort, that share both similar causes and options for treatment.”
The question is–how in the world did he got off the ledge? Especially when we just saw the police man trying to help him up go over? Hitchcock–how could you leave us hanging like that?!
Let’s figure this out together, so, to set the scene, he’s hanging there fully suspended at arms length, with his strength slowing giving out.
Theory 1:
Jimmy Stewart did a pull up, heaved his entire body up over the sagging gutter and onto the clay roof tiles, where he was able to then scramble to a safe spot on the roof.
Given both his age (he was 50) and the close-up we see of his hands slipping and he’s basically only hanging from his fingers, we’re a bit skeptical of this theory.
Theory 2:
The suspect being chased, hears the one policeman fall to his death, has remorse as he realizes another policeman is about to fall to his death in his pursuit and comes back to get Scottie back to safety on top of the roof…we’re thinking he would’ve gotten a reduced sentence?
The fact that both he and James Stewart experienced this harrowing life and death experience together actually bonds the two of them together and they become lifelong friends. But we don’t see anything of this friend, so this theory is probably even less likely than the finger pull-up stunt.
Theory 3
Scottie has strong fingers and is able to hang there until help comes…maybe the police officer that rushed in and saw the body…what we’re wondering is, how many cops went over the edge before they could haul him up to safety? No wonder he got vertigo after that night!
What are your thoughts; which theory do you believe best explains for how Jimmy Stewart made it safely off the ledge? Let us know in the comments below!
2nd Vertigo plot hole: Johnny and Midge’s age difference
It’s implied that Johnny/Scottie and Midge are supposed to be around the same age. They mention briefly that were engaged during college, but, ahem, given that James Stewart aka Scott “Johnny” (as Midge calls him) looks his age at 50, whereas she looks closer to her thirties, we’re puzzling over how this makes sense. 🤔
Not sure what our theory is for this one, or if it’s just a casting mistake, but let’s see if we can make sense of it.
Theory 1:
There was a brief mention of his being a lawyer before wanting to be a Chief of Police, so maybe he in law school and she was freshman at college?
Maybe the law school was next to the campus and they met somehow that way?
Theory 2:
We’re reading into this whole perceived age difference. She is actually also his age or only a couple years younger and just has some great skincare or has gotten a facelift.
3rd Vertigo plot hole: How did the real Madeline die? Was she already dead when they threw her off?
So, how did the real Madeline die? Was she already dead when Tom Helmore’s character Gavin threw her from the bell tower? Or did the fall kill her?
We do hear a quick reference in the very end of the movie when Scottie is figuring out what is going on, where he concludes that Gavin had already broken Madeline’s neck before throwing her from the bell tower.
But, how exactly was this done?
Theory 1
Did Gavin come up behind her and simply break her neck before taking her up the bell-tower? Then he would have to carry her up all those stairs by himself? Or did he somehow get the wife up into the tower and somehow do it here? Kind of grisly to think about. Thanks, Hitchcock!
Theory 2
It must’ve been only shortly before Scottie chase Madeline up the stairs, because the Police did assume that that the fall was what had killed her…but then again when there have been witnesses that “see” someone commit suicide, do the Police really investigate the time of death? It wasn’t like they had Sherlock Holmes on the case!
Also, on a similar note, was the real Madeline aware her husband was plotting her murder? Or did she she happily follow him up the Bell Tower not suspecting a thing?
4th Vertigo Plot hole: Did Kim Novak’s character Judy/Madeline commit suicide? Or did she accidently fall?
First, we have to say how startling and sad the ending was to Vertigo, with Kim Novak aka Judy aka Madeline falling to her death from the bell tower. She did such a great job of making the audience really identify with her and her struggles, and she truly seemed to be in love with Scottie…not to mention Scottie, who basically lost his love twice during the film.
So, now that we’re past that, let’s talk about her death. There seems to be rumors that she committed suicide?
Umm…we’re not exactly sure where this theory comes from?
Let’s go over the scene to review what happened. First of all, although extremely reluctant and scared to death, Judy does confess along the frightful climb up the bell tower about her part of the plot. Although honestly, she sounds like just a pawn in Gavin’s master plan.
Once they’re at the top of the tower, she’s crouched near the window, frightened and feeling overrun with guilt when a nun comes out of the shadows and frightens her so that she falls backward out of the window. Maybe she thought it was the real Madeline coming back which is why she got so startled?
What do you think? Do you think she accidentally fell out of the window or did she intentionally jump?
Why did she Judy to die at the end of Vertigo?
We believe Hitchcock made her die, in the same way as the real Madeline died as punishment for her part in Madeline’s death. A sort of ‘punishment for her sins,’ so to speak. It also provided a dramatic twist to the story, and might be one of the reasons it’s considered one of his best films today.
Alternative ending idea
We would’ve loved it if Hitchcock had somehow concluded Vertigo with a happy ending. Couldn’t Judy have turned on her cohort Gavin, who was the mastermind of the entire thing and who had actually committed the murder in exchange for reduced sentence?
What are your thoughts; did Madeline/Judy (Kim Novak) have to die at the end of he movie, or had she paid enough penance?
5th Vertigo Plot Hole: What happened to Gavin? Did the mastermind get away with his part of the crime?
Gavin, (played by Tom Helmore) the real mastermind behind the murder of his wife, the real Madeline…what happened to him?
The last we see of him is after Madeline’s death. At Scottie’s trial, Gavin mentions to him that he’s going to go travel for a while. After all, now that his wife is dead, he has plenty of money…but then we never hear from him again. And in the end of the movie, it’s Judy that has to pay with her life for the murder she helped him commit.
Um, hello? Not sure about you but we would’ve much rather have seen him go off the bell tower rather than Judy.
Alternative ending
Gavin is afraid Judy is going to spill the whole plot to Scottie and tries to throw her off the Bell Tower but somehow goes over himself.
6th Vertigo Plot hole: What happened to Midge? Did she and Scottie end up together?
We see Midge in the beginning of film quite a bit, then we see here again after Johnny’s trial when he is in the hospital…but then, after the tragedy and Kim Novak dies, what happens? I think we’re supposed to assume they ended up together—-or are we?
Come—on Hitchcock, you can do better with your endings! It seems like there is too much invested in Midge’s character for her to be just dropped near the end and there to be no continuation or conclusion to her part in the story.
Other posts you might like:
Vertigo Midge – The Most Underrated Female Character in Vertigo?
Other Vertigo plot holes?
What did you think of these plot holes from Vertigo? Where there any other ones that you noticed?
Do you agree with our theories on the possible outcomes?
Let us know in the comments below!
You need to fix this: "The last we see of him if after Madeline’s death, as Scottie’s trial he mentions to Scottie"
Meanwhile . . . I came here to see what people thought about the opening and how the hell Jimmy Stewart survives hanging from the gutter. You don’t mention what my assumption was — that he, too, falls, but somehow survives it with injuries and having to wear the "corset". But I have a lot of trouble believing he could survive that fall.
A plot hole you don’t mention, also in the opening, is when Stewart climbs to the top of the stool, then glances down and out the window and faints. What sort of faint could involve falling straight down into Bel Geddes’ arms, without really being caught, and landing on one’s feet, from a height of 30 inches or so? I don’t understand the physics of how that could happen.
Thanks for the correction!
I also had assumed that he couldn’t survive the fall from the gutter in the beginning… And good point about Johnny falling into Midge’s arms from the stool. So many plot holes!
Or Scottie falling into Midge’s arms could be a "foreshadowing" of what actually happens after the end of the movie.
I wouldn’t consider John falling into Midge’s arms a "plot hole" since a plot hole is literally a hole in the plot. Something that isn’t consistent with the rest of the story. This however had nothing to do with the story, rather was something that simply didn’t make sense for the scene.
Finished watching it today. As to some of your other plot holes:
The Midge / Scottie age difference is a puzzler.
I would assume Gavin whomped Madeline with a blunt instrument at the top of the tower. It’s the easiest way. Surely he didn’t carry her dead body all the way up.
Judy didn’t commit suicide. As you suggest, she was so upset that she backed up and fell, accidentally.
As to Gavin’s offscreen life, my assumption is that he got ahold of his wife’s evidently EXTREMELY substantial money, and left the country to avoid any possibility of being brought back to trial if someone figured out what had actually happened.
I don’t see Midge and Johnny getting together but then who knows?
One final arguable plot hole is — once Gavin throws his real wife off the bell tower, how do he and Judy escape detection? This is "explained" in the movie by a comment "Oh, then you hid behind here," but I mean, come on, the cops would be all over that small room up there, and there’s no way they could have escaped detection. How long would they have had to stay up there? Hours and hours I would think, even if they weren’t noticed. And people do have to go to the bathroom at some point. I don’t find that part very believable.
The funny thing is . . . even give all that, it is still an absolute stunner and classic of a film. Having not seen it in years I was once again bowled over. Great stuff.
Oh, I forgot one other plot hole. It’s very difficult to believe that shopgirl Judy could have credibly played upper-crust, ethereal Madeleine, with her posh accent and stylish ways. Kim Novak was able to, yes, but then she was a professional actress. Judy wasn’t. I find that a bit hard to believe, that Judy could pull that off.
. . . even given all that . . .
Oh and I noticed one thing that I thought was cute. Toward the end Scotty offers Judy some brandy or sherry, and when he hands it to her he says something like "Here drink this, just like medicine" — EXACTLY the same way he said it to Madeleine earlier in the film when he did the same thing. A nice touch I thought.
Yes, interesting… Kim Novak was incredibly talented to pull off the dual role performance… and from a story perspective, the shopgirl Judy was so very different from the ethereal Madeleine… was "the real Judy" possibly a mix of both characters–and her "borrowed" clothing, setting (using the real Madeleine Elster’s car, staying in her house, being with her husband), help Judy better pull off the plot that… at the time was utmost (i.e. bumping the real wife, so that she could be with her then-love Gavin)?
Love the callout on the medicine….!
I presumed that when the people found the dead cop on the sidewalk, they looked up to see the one dangling there and he was rescued. Or he at least called out. I assumed he had to hang there for a bit and maybe they got a mat or fire ladder or something. I agree that the other plot holes are up for question but how he got off the roof never bothered me.
Good points…! Also, he could also have hung there for awhile, which is how he strained and injured himself… or dropped a few stories into the fireman’s mat or ladder, to your points, and then somehow got caught by the firemen or other folks….
I’m mostly hung up on the McKittrick Hotel scene. Did she go in? If so, how did she get out? What is the significance of this scene?
That’s a really good point! We almost added that in as a plot hole too…. We think the hotel clerk was in on the scheme with Gavin Elster possibly….! What do you think?
Yeah, I’m hung up on it, too. But she definitely went in, because we see her (through Scottie’s eyes) at the window of her room.
The rooftops in the hanging scene is located at the 1302-1360 Taylor Street, San Francisco. If you look at pictures, you can see there are windows very close to the gutters where Scottie was hanging and a ledge all around. My theory is that Scottie managed to foothold and slowly sidewalked to the nearest window or someone grabbed from inside one of the apartment.
Oh interesting… good point… it was filmed in the hilly and scenic San Francisco, so that’s a very feasible explanation for how he got of the ledge!
Ok this isn’t really a plot hole, but I wonder why the decision was made to reveal Judy was Madeleine right after Scottie leaves after their first meeting- it might have been interesting for the audience to realize the truth when Scottie puts it together after seeing the necklace.
Also I think maybe Scottie was released from the mental institution too early and definitely was exhibiting some questionable behavior by making Judy become Madeleine. In fact, I was worried Scottie was going to push Judy off the tower. At any rate, even if Scottie never found out the truth I don’t think their relationship was headed for bliss.
I could see Midge blackmailing Gavin over his wife’s murder for a chunk of the estate OR Midge dresses up like Judy/Madeleine and drives Gavin crazy as the ghost of his murdered wife.
I’m still very confused as to which woman Scottie spent time with and feel in love with: Madeline or Judy, while she was impersonating Madeline. Can someone explain?
I can’t even read this, it’s so ridiculous. Here are the answers to your questions, which really don’t involve "plot holes" at all:
How did Scottie get up from the rooftop in the beginning of the movie?
The answer to this is irrelevant, since we know he survives. There are theories that this is where the "dream sequence" of the movie begins. (Look it up!)
Johnny and Midge’s age difference
Again, not really relevant. We don’t know either of their ages, so how could anyone discuss this? And they went to college together, so we can assume their ages are within a few years of each other. So, useless question. (This film raises so many /great/ questions, why bother with this stuff?)
How did the real Madeline Die?
The answer is right in the movie. Elster had broken her neck before throwing her from the tower.
Did Kim Novak’s character Judy/Madeline commit suicide? Or did she just fall?
This, I believe is left ambiguous for a bunch of reasons. I think Hitchcock wanted to have her kill herself, but that might not have played well in 1958. And having her slip, presumably frightened by the nun, is a bit silly, so he left it up in the air. Makes perfect sense to me. The ambiguity leads to greater meaning.
What happened to Gavin? Did the mastermind get away with his crime?
There is some history with this question. On some versions of the DVD, there is an extra scene that Hitchcock filmed only to satisfy foreign censors, who were uncomfortable with the "bad guy" getting away. However, the end is much better without it, and Hitchcock made a brief and not completely conclusive scene, and not a great one, as an F-you to those censors, IMHO. Look it up!
What happened to Midge? Did she and Scottie end up together?
Again, unimportant. Hitchcock repeatedly sets us up for one plot in his films, and then takes it away. Is the movie really in any way about Scotty and Midge? Do you need a Hollywood happy ending in this intense melodramatic thriller? It would be an utter distraction! And let’s face it, after what he’s been through, could he be with anyone, much less the doting, motherly, Midge?
Really a great site, as I’m a film maker and huge fan of Hitch. Brian makes good points, this isn’t reality, it’s a movie that’s meant to move you through an experience. For example, if you can come up with one plausible scenario for how our hero got off the rain gutter, go with that. I personally always thought Midge was gay, just based on how they interact, especially when discussing the engagement. Hitch’s use of locations is gorgeous and he uses it like another character, setting various moods. Hitch movies move along with brilliantly controlled pace, carrying the viewer along on a sumptuous ride. So just enjoy it.
Another possible hole: after Johnny rescues Madeline from the bay he somehow gets both cars back to his apartment. How??
Typical Hitchcock! Leaving you on the edge of your seat. "Rear Window" was a masterpiece also, with Jimmy Stewart and beautiful Grace Kelly. Kim Novak was a beauty too, I was sorry to see her go off the tower twice. But you get a creepy feeling with this film, I always felt something was going to happen to Judy. There was a dark feeling thruout that movie for me, especially seeing Madeline flying down to the ground. It felt weird the rest of the way, seeing Judy come into it. I had the feeling this film would leave you hanging. Actually I think that being a Hitchcock film, it had to end that way. He could weave brilliant plots! I loved his t.v. series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, always stories of strange twists, plots and endings. So I almost expected to see Judy fly off the tower. That nun was creepy!
Good Hitchcock movie, quite long, 128 mins.
I don’t get the whole Carlotta ghost theory ??
WHY did Madeleine/Judy go to Florist, graveyard, art gallery, hotel?
Was this Judy the impersonator of Madeleine? What did the real Madeleine Gavins wife look like.
The tombstone 1800’s Why ???
WHY did she say she’s not mad, and nearly jump into the reef and hug Jonny/J.St?
You kept thinking that it was the end of the movie, time and time again.
What accent did Madeleine/Judy really have, English or Texan ?
Was the blonde hair a Wig?
What did the large trees have to do with it?
I don’t get her dreams ..
And Carlotta s Ghost.
Thank you
Just actually mentioned when her and steward were in the tower at the ending that the husband snapped the real madelines neck before dropping her. I choose to believe Judy survived the fall and got healed- madelines husband gets conviceted but Judy gets acquitted and gets to love Scotty as herself Judy.
When Midge drives by Scottie’s apartment, it almost sounds like Midge knows about the plot. She says “did you have fun Johnny? Seeing a ghost?” How does Gavin know Scottie? Also a college chum?
One Plot Hole that no one seems to mention is….What happened to Scotty’s which was left at the Bay when he drove Madeline to his apartment? I guess that , like the rooftop hanging, we are to assume a solution…perhaps he took a cab to retrieve it the next day.
Scotty’s what? Retrieve what?
His car
Plot hole number one. There were other police involved in the chase but weren’t shown on screen. These other police were not shown to heighten the drama of Scottie hanging. Also, other emergency people were involved in the chase. That would include firemen and medical staff. As Scottie is hanging for his dear life all these other police and emergency workers converge on the scene to save his life at the last second. All this is plausible because Scottie is working with a uniformed officer. Once in harm’s way Scottie would have called or radioed the local precinct for backup. One other observation. Scottie was thin and in at least decent shape. I would think under fear of death Scottie could hang on for at least long enough for help to arrive.
Here’s a plot hole you…
How did Carlotta Valdes wind up buried in what I’m assuming is a Catholic cemetery? In the 1800s suicidal deaths were not allowed to be buried in sacred grounds. Hmmm
Scottie fell and died at the beginning of the movie. Movie is the imagination of a man about to die, some as in Point Blank (1967).
The entire story hinges on Scottie, after his release from the sanatorium, meeting Judy. We are to believe that meets her by a chance sighting on a busy San Francisco street? Such meeting would be a low probability (i.e. he and she are at the right place at the right time etc.) An equally less likely explanation, is that Judy wanted to re-connect with Scottie and she sets up a chance sighting on a busy San Francisco street. Based on this premise, she was aware of Scottie’s release and whereabouts and would continue to present herself until he noticed. Seems like a significant plot hole, but less than the flawed notion that the starship Enterprise can move 8 x the speed of light.
If the nun didn’t come up to the bell tower, Judy would not have fallen. Therefore the nun is directly responsible for Judy’s death.
What happened to Gavin?
What happened to Midge? Did she and Scottie end up together?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJBSSkn0Ldw
Another huge plot hole is when the melancholic Kim Novak character "try to kill herself" in the bay. This has no clear and plausible explanation other than Hitchcock’s ploy to create mystery and confusion to mislead the audience. It couldn’t have been because of her guilt because it happened before the murder scene at the bell tower. If it was a pure put on, it would have been a very stupid move, as 1. she would have to know that Stewart was following her, 2. Stewart was ready to jump into the water to rescue her, 3. that Stewart was able to swim at all.
This attempted suicide act is in in total contrast to her later character when she has a totally different persona, i.e. the one when Stewart meets her some time later by accident in the street.
Didn’t Scotty see Judy-as-Madeline at a restaurant with Gavin? Wouldn’t other people have realized that she wasn’t Gavin’s wife?
I have trouble with many of Hitcock’s "masterpieces". Many have illogical plots, poor timing and many continuity problems.
Could not Kim’s wealthy husband simply arrange her murder?
I f Kim was paid to be involved in the murder plot, why is she back looking somewhat cheap afterwards? Was she not paid for the crime?
Nobody looks so much like another to fool an intimate partner. Scars, moles and teeth would be a dead give away. Consider your personal habits as well.
An overrated director of very entertaining films.
You’re asking a lot of interesting Hitchcock plot hole questions…. Keep them coming!
Well, seeing as he couldn’t possibly survive the fall from the gutter–and he wasn’t flat-out rescued by other cops or somehow saved himself because he’s obviously injured–
I think the best guesstimate of how to fill the hole is that since we see other cops arriving below, they went to the trunk of one of the patrol cars and took out and unfolded one of those trampoline-like contraptions you see them use in other movies to save suicide ledge leapers (like 14 Hours with Richard Baseheart) and he was not killed but badly hurt.
Big assumption–but these all are and it’s the only one that really works.
Love it that suggestion to this Vertigo plot hole! and yes, that explanation could be totally feasible! 🙂
Jimmy fell and the rest of the movie is the part of his life that flashed before his eyes as he fell, which explains some of the subsequent problems in the plot. I didn’t read all of the responses below to see if anyone else proposed this, so I apologize if this has already been hashed over.
He falls and dies at the beginning…it is the story of a ghost…
How did college chum Gavin know that Scottie had a fear of heights, when Scottie didn’t know he had a fear of heights until many years out of college? Would a newspaper article at that time about the police chase at the beginning of the movie have mentioned Scottie’s acrophobia? That’s doubtful. Would Midge have lied about not remembering Gavin and given him the information about Scottie? Only if she was secretly evil, and in on the plot to kill Gavin’s wife so she and Gavin could marry — maybe Gavin didn’t run away alone…
None of what you’ve mention here are plot holes. A plot hole is a new event that would contradict previous events. The only odd thing is, how did Madeleine get inside the McKittrick Hotel and out again without being seen, with the key to the hotel room still on the rack?
How did Scotty get down from roof? The opening chase could be a dream/nightmare version of the incident that Stewart says he keeps having in the next scene with Midge. So maybe this isn’t the ‘reality version’ of the incident–it’s the nightmare/dream version….