Recently Kim Novak defended Hitchcock in The Daily Telegraph. “I feel bad about all the stuff people are saying about him now – that he was a weird character. I did not find him to be weird at all. I never saw him make a pass at anybody or act strange to anybody. And wouldn’t you think if he was that way I would’ve seen it or at least seen him with somebody? I think it’s unfortunate when someone’s no longer around and can’t defend themselves.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/9586303/Kim-Novak-tells-all.html

http://rushfieldbabylon.com/post/34038817062/kim-novak-on-hitchcock-no-creep-to-me-im

In August of this year, Vertigo was voted the number 1 film of all time. Shortly afterwards, Save Hitchcock interviewed Kim on August 31st 2012 in Los Angeles:

“It’s wonderful that Vertigo has been voted Number 1 film of all time, it’s only a shame that Hitch and Jimmy Stewart aren’t here to know it, but at least I’m here. I think people respond to Vertigo because there are so many layers, there is always something new to see. It’s not only a film, you never get bored watching, there are new nuances to find. Hitch used to say, ‘That’s why it’s a mystery’, he didn’t know all the answers himself.

“I loved playing both Judy and Madeline for different reasons. I identified more with Judy than Madeline and Hitchcock gave me freedom in playing Judy than Madeline. That was intentional on his part, making it more comfortable for me in the role. The character really was Judy (she’s playing Madeline), he let me choose the clothes she wore and Hitchcock was very agreeable.

“I had a shoe fetish at the time and I didn’t like wearing the dark shoes of Madeline, but that added to the character. They made me feel uncomfortable and that worked for me, it made me feel out of place. She was having to pretend all the time to be something that she wasn’t, and that part was helping me. I also wore a blonde hairpiece which was very pulled back and unnatural.”

Extracts from Alfred Hitchcock’s Movie Making Masterclass published in May 2013