Alfred Hitchcock's Best Film (sound)

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

"That's what Scottie himself would think as he was made to believe that his vertigo stopped him from saving the woman he loved. Only it didn't...Scottie's vertigo as a weakness turns out to have been a red herring."

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to say here?

I'm saying that Scottie was tricked into thinking his vertigo caused the death of the woman he thinks of as being Madeline. He can't forgive himself for that "weakness" the fact that he thinks he couldn't save her due to his debilitating condition. But it turns out that wasn't the case at all. His vertigo was exploited to facilitate Scottie becoming an unreliable witness and getting the murderer off free. The vertigo turns out to be a red herring around which the mystery of the plot revolves. Scottie is made to think his vertigo is a moral failing (not being able to save the life of "Madeline") but it wasn't, it was a con. Therefore it makes no sense that what is set up as a moral failing that ultimately isn't real, would be a metaphor for a real one.