Vertigo 

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• Photo Courtesy Of Paramount Pictures
• FREE FALL Acrophobia sufferer and private eye John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart) becomes obsessed with an old friend's wife, in Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1958 film, Vertigo, screening at The Palm Theatre of San Luis Obispo.

What's it rated? PG

When? 1958

Where's it showing? The Palm Theatre of San Luis Obispo on March 23 and 24 (1, 4, and 7 p.m.), and March 25 (7 p.m.)

Alfred Hitchcock directs this psychological thriller about a former San Francisco police detective turned private eye, John "Scottie" Ferguson (James Stewart), who's hired to follow an acquaintance's wife, Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak), who's been acting strangely and with whom he becomes obsessed.

Scottie's been suffering from acrophobia and vertigo ever since he was involved in a rooftop chase that resulted in another cop falling to his death. Scottie's ex-fiancée, Midge (Barbara Bel Geddes), who still harbors feelings for him, believes another emotional shock might snap him out of his affliction. She may just be right.

Filmed on location in and around San Francisco, Mission San Juan Bautista, 17-Mile Drive, and other NorCal areas, the movie is notable for the first use of dolly zoom, used to convey Scottie's fear of heights. It's visually stunning, and its thematic focus on obsession over a woman plays out in a surprising way.

The film underwent restoration in 1983, and though its initial response was mixed, it's now considered one of Hitchcock's finest. The Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry, calling it a "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant" film. Here's your chance to see it on the big screen. (128 min.) Δ