#ALFRED HITCHCOCK VERTIGO SERIES#
Taylor began working on the screenplay in January 1957, although script meetings with Hitchcock were disrupted by a series of illnesses that saw the director hospitalised and then confined to bed for periods between January and April. Taylor was given a copy of Coppel's draft and story notes.
By the end of the year, a fourth and final writer was approached - Samuel Taylor had been recommended to Hitchcock by agent Kay Brown due to Taylor's knowledge of San Francisco. ĭuring December 1956, Hitchcock, Coleman and James Stewart carefully studied Coppel's screenplay but found it lacking - in particular, certain elements were too fantastical and unreal. After arguing with Anderson's agent, Irving Lazar, Coleman eventually paid a final $15,000 to the writer. According to Dan Auiler, Anderson was unwilling to contribute further and negotiated with Herbert Coleman to end his involvement with the project. Jimmy's makeover of Renée (Judy in the final film) and the memorable 360 degree kiss.ĭespite the earlier screenplay issues, Hitchcock then approached Maxwell Anderson and summarised Coppel's latest draft, asking for his input.Jimmy's nightmare which results in his nervous breakdown.Madeleine's fall from the tower at Mission San Juan Bautista followed by Jimmy leaving the Mission without aiding the recovery of the body.Madeleine and Jimmy's first kiss staged on a windswept shoreline.Use of the Palace of the Legion of Honor as a key location.An opening rooftop chase that ends with a uniformed officer falling to his death, which causes the hero's acrophobia - initially he is named "Kilrain" and then later, when James Stewart became attached to the project, "Jimmy".Amongst the contributions made towards the final film were: Hitchcock and Coppel worked for the remainder of the year and Coppel's completed draft was submitted at the end of November. Coppel was hired in late September on a salary of $1,500 per week. According to Dan Auiler's book about Vertigo, it is unclear exactly why Coppel was chosen, but some sources state that he had briefly worked with Hitchcock providing uncredited contributions to To Catch a Thief. The third screenwriter to work on From Among the Dead was Australian born Alec Coppel. Vertigo publicity still of Hitch and Alma In correspondence with Herbert Coleman, he wrote, "It is a fascinating story of course but it needs a real big imaginative contribution - which I simply couldn't provide just now." This would be the last screenplay MacPhail worked on before his death in 1962. Despite his initial enthusiasm, MacPhail was battling chronic alcohol addiction and felt unable to fully tackle such a large project. Hitchcock next turned to his old friend, Angus MacPhail, who had recently collaborated with the director on the aborted Flamingo Feather film.
However, according to Coleman, Hitchcock was so disappointed with Anderson's work that he told the producer to "burn it". Anderson submitted his screenplay - titled Darkling, I Listen - in September, by which point he had been paid $35,000. Pre-Production Screenplayĭespite objections from producer Herbert Coleman, Hitchcock initially approached playwright Maxwell Anderson in June 1956 to create a first-draft screenplay from the novel. Haunted by her death, he sees a woman who bears a strong resemblance to the dead woman, however, his attempts to get closer to this doppelgänger ultimately result in tragedy. The detective falls in love with the shipbuilder's wife but is unable to stop her committing suicide by jumping from a tower. The synopsis of the novel is essentially the same as the final film:Ī prosperous shipbuilder hires a former detective who suffers from vertigo to tail his wife Madeleine who is acting strangely.
After negotiations, the film rights were secured for $25,275 in April 1955. Keen to potentially acquire the film rights to any future Boileau-Narcejac stories, Paramount sourced their 1954 novel D'Entre les Morts before it had been translated into English and, after reading the studio's outline, Hitchcock instructed Paramount to purchase the rights.