Anyone can be possessed by the memory of a person or the idea of a person. Scottie Ferguson, the retired San Francisco detective played by Jimmy Stewart in “Vertigo”, becomes obsessed with the prototypical Hitchcock blonde, Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak).
He’s haunted by the loss of her, even when the brunette who embodied her, Judy Barton (also Novak), is staring him right in the face.The film’s title refers to the phenomenon brought about by a traumatic incident that has left Scottie with acrophobia, the fear of heights. It’s a momentary sensation of swirling that leaves him dizzy and scared of falling — into the past, as it were. Vertigo strikes when he is looking down but also when he is looking back at the steps that have led him to where he is.
Source: The Daily Stream: No Wonder They Say Vertigo Is The Greatest Movie Of All Time