MovieChat Forums > Vertigo (1958) Discussion > James Stewart's character was a pervert

James Stewart's character was a pervert


Creepy and TOO OLD. He was 58 if he was a day.

She was about 25.

This film has dated in my view. In those days old men with young women was considered 'normal' on films.

I think Humprey Bogart was about 40 years older than Lauren Bacall in one film.

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[deleted]

If you think that's bad, you should've seen Fred Astaire in the 1950s. He had nothing on James Stewart, what with stuff like Daddy Long Legs (ew) and Funny Face. (double ew)

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Some people around here are so judgmental.

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Alfred Hitchcock loved perverts, and tried to sneak them into films when it wasn't allowed! So yes, this is the story of a sick, twisted, destructive, perverse relationship.

But a totally believable one. This is one of the few films where I totally believe that a 50-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman can fall in love and form a really bad but genuine relationship, because he's the sort of guy who'd literally lose his mind over an attractive woman, and she's desperate for affection... and forgiveness. Remember, she's largely motivated by guilt.

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A sexual and/or romantic consenting relationship between 2 adults of the age of consent is not a perversion. You may consider it creepy, or icky. It may not appeal to you. But please know what words mean before your use them. Examples of sexual perversion include coprophagia, necrophilia, sadomasochism, pedophilia, golden showers and masochism. Also, wearing a Donald Trump mask while humping. Age-inappropriate relationships that involve consenting partners of the age of consent are not for everyone, but neither are they perverse. Keep in mind there some adult women who have a Daddy Syndrome.

I’m guessing that no one who’s posted here so far enjoys the Old Young genre of adult entertainment.

EDIT Sorry, Otter, I started mentally composing before you posted, then did not see your message till after I posted mine. You are exempt from any and all of my comments that you want to be exempt from!

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When "Vertigo" was filmed in late 1957, James Stewart was forty-nine (not fifty-eight) and Kim Novak was twenty-four, a difference of twenty-five years. Humphrey Bogart was a little less than twenty-five years older than Lauren Bacall (not forty years). In the case of the fictional relationship between Stewart and Novak in "Vertigo", and the fictional and real relationships between Bogart and Bacall, all of the participants were consenting adults. You might not find relationships involving a twenty-five-year age difference to your taste; however, there is nothing illegal or immoral about such relationships. They are not "perverted". It is entirely the choice of the people who are involved, and nobody else's business.

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Exactly. People need to stop being so judgy.

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It's not being judgmental it's critiquing the movie as to whether it's a five star four star three star etc, The color and the general filming sequences and camera work etc is excellent, as good as it gets. But Jimmy Stewart at 49 while he wasn't bad looking is not completely believable to be the lover of a really beautiful 25-year-old. Maybe an average looking 25-year-old would be believable. So it brings the movie down a peg or two. Then the story itself is a little bit unbelievable although much of the story the lady was lying so figures it would not be believable. Maybe Jimmy Stewart being so gullible is unbelievable. But everything but the older Jimmy Stewart is top notch. He does a good job acting in the film it's just his physical characteristics where you say woo this really can't be happening. But in real life it's certainly could happen, And he's probably good enough looking to make that happen considering maybe other things.

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What do you care what others consenting adults do with ther life? if a young woman want to be with an old dude or a young guy want nail some MILF how exactly that affect you? who are you to pass judgement in the private life of other people and impose them from who they should feel attracted to and from who they shouldn't? you just sound like a resent and frustrated ashole pretending to have the moral highground

Millenials always talk about respect and tolerance acting like today people are more wise and open that they were in the past, but this days and time people are so repressive and judgemental like they were in the 50's nothing have change

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A 50 year old cock looks much like a 30 year old cock

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I'll be sure not to use that pick-up line!

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Unlike Udo, I think I will try that pickup line, as I am a man of a certain age!

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Frankly, I always considered Stewart just about perfect for every role. When you think about it, yeah, he was a bit old for the role (if it had been filmed ten years previously, he would have been perfect). Hitchcock even blamed Stewart for the film's lack of success (who cast him, Alfred?). I'm one of those who is generally able to "sink into the dream" as they say. If a film is well made, has an engaging story and is well acted, I am caught up in it. I never think about things like "Gee, isn't he too old for this role?" or finding minor errors. Because of this controversy, I did think about it and considered it something of a stretch that Midge and Scottie were in college together because there is clearly a 20 years differences between them. However, the notion that Madeleine was too young for him is highly unconvincing. If a man find his absolute ideal and she falls in love with him, does anyone really think he is going to say, "Gee, it's too bad I'm 25 years your senior. Oh well, I guess I'll just stay alone." Nobody would do that. And Gavin Elster COUNTED on that (as Judy says, that was the plan, what was not part of the plan was for her, Judy, to actually fall in love with Scottie). This film is about obsession and how it can drive people to do fairly questionable (if not outright insane) things. The problem with Madeleine was not that she is younger than Scottie, but that she is NOT REAL. She is a fantasy, tailor-made for him by Gavin Elster. I once played this film, on dvd, for a visiting friend. His reaction at the end was to say, "I would have gone for the other girl. She was nice." (that's British for hot, not a comment of her personality). My initial condescending reaction to this comment was to think, "Wow, he really didn't get it!" In fact, he got it much better than I did. What's strange is not the age difference but the fact that Scottie cannot love a real, living, breathing woman. He can only chase after a chimera.

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Of some note is that before she got involved with the character played by James Stewart, Judy was involved with the character played by ..Tom Helmore(Gavin Elster.)

And Helmore was no spring chicken himself. So we can figure that Judy LIKED older men, possibly from daddy issues, possibly for the financial security (Elster is rich through his marriage to Madeleine; Scottie seems independently wealthy as a retired bachelor cop -- I always felt Scottie may have come from wealth, himself.) We can figure that rich Elster and hot Judy had a sexual affair, and Stewart growls in that flat Jimmy Stewart voice: "What happened? Did'ee DUMP ya?"

At some point in Vertigo, it is revealed that Judy came to San Francisco "from Salina, Kansas." Three years prior, in "Picnic," Novak played a girl from Kansas who, as I recall, had no father anymore. Whether dead or divorced he was GONE.

There has always been some "six degrees of fun" in imagining Judy's character as having been the young woman from Picnic transplanted with a new name(in the Vertigo tradition of different names.) Novak's character in Novak -- in a happy ending -- had chased after her n'er do well hunk of a lover, William Holden, after he left on a train. I can't remember where he was going -- California? Perhaps he dumped Novak just like Elster did.

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Adults are adults. There is nothing wrong with consenting adults having sex.
You being prudish or involuntarily celibate and jealous and gatekeeping that what you cannot have is of minor annoyance to us normal people.

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"James Stewart's character was a pervert."

---

From Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Colonel "Bat" Guano: You wanna know what I think?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Yes!
Colonel "Bat" Guano: I think you're some kind of deviated prevert. I think General Ripper found out about your preversion, and that you were organizing some kind of mutiny of preverts. Now MOVE!

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