Everybody has something their afraid of. Usually as adults, it's something abstract – fear of failure, perhaps, or a fear of dying alone. When I was in high school, I got a kick out of looking at names of phobias. Whole lists of bizarre words indicating a deep fear of something no rational person should be afraid of! But the human is not always a rational animal, and sometimes things are a little weird in the head. I have one of these phobias – I am afraid of mascots. Why? I don't know. It's been there since I was a kid. Disneyland is a minefield. In person, I'll happily explain my strange theories on the subject to you, including why I'm paradoxically cool with furries. Nothing in my explanation makes sense, but I did get one of my friends, who is one of the most reasonable people I know, to admit that he saw my point. There may have been alcohol involved, but still.
The point is: phobias. They're there, and one such is acrophobia, or fear of heights (this is a bit more rational than masklophobia), and this is, of course, the vehicle that drives Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece Vertigo, playing tonight, Friday, at the Louisville Palace as part of the Hitchcock movie series. James Stewart stars as Scottie Ferguson, a former cop who retired early after his fear of heights bungled a chase and resulted in the death of a fellow officer. Now a private detective, he is asked to look into the affairs of the wife of a friend, but things are not necessarily what they seem...
The series continues tomorrow night with a screening of North By Northwest, starring Cary Grant as Roger Thornhill, a regular ad executive. His world is thrown into chaos after being mistaken for a government agent and kidnapped by the bad guys. Narrowly escaping, he is pursued across the country as he tries to survive.
The films will screen at 8:00 on their respective evenings. Admission is $5. The Louisville Palace is located at 625 S. 4th Street. Further information and advance ticket sales can be found at the Palace website.
Image: Internet Movie Database
