Did Hitchcock re-write opening scene?

Whenever I watch Vertigo, I wonder if the opening scene was originally
supposed to have the cop hanging from the gutter (rather than Scotty),
but Hitchock re-wrote it because it would be more dramatic to have
Jimmy Stewart's character in jeopardy.

The way it's filmed -- with Jimmy Stewart hanging -- makes a great
visual image, but from a plot standpoint it would make much more sense
if the cop had been the one hanging. When Scotty tried to rescue him,
Scotty had a vertigo attack and couldn't reach down to him, and the cop
fell. This would better explain Scotty's guilt over the man's death,
and why some other folks apparently blamed Scotty too.

In that scenario, Scotty definitely COULD have rescued the cop if his
vertigo hadn't kicked in. But the way the scene was actually filmed,
there's no way that anyone could think that Scotty could have reached
out and saved the cop.

Does anyone know if my hunch is correct?

James

JamesStep.TakeThisOut@gmail.com wrote:

> Whenever I watch Vertigo, I wonder if the opening scene was originally
> supposed to have the cop hanging from the gutter (rather than Scotty),
> but Hitchock re-wrote it because it would be more dramatic to have
> Jimmy Stewart's character in jeopardy.

I've never heard of the script being changed in this regard (and I'm
pretty sure it wasn't mentionned in Dan Auiler's brilliant book on the
making of the film) .. and the film itself is based on a French
'novelette' called 'D'Entre les morts', IIRC .. and I don't remember
reading anything remotely like the opening scene we get in Hitchcock's
work.

> The way it's filmed -- with Jimmy Stewart hanging -- makes a great
> visual image, but from a plot standpoint it would make much more sense
> if the cop had been the one hanging. When Scotty tried to rescue him,
> Scotty had a vertigo attack and couldn't reach down to him, and the cop
> fell. This would better explain Scotty's guilt over the man's death,
> and why some other folks apparently blamed Scotty too.
>
> In that scenario, Scotty definitely COULD have rescued the cop if his
> vertigo hadn't kicked in. But the way the scene was actually filmed,
> there's no way that anyone could think that Scotty could have reached
> out and saved the cop.

Interesting variation on what we've got .. and, IMO, would have
definitely worked just as well.

Fergal #.