It was certainly a turbulent relationship. Hitchcock was hell-bent on offering Stewart female roles, but Stewart always refused. It was not a matter of prejudice against women -Stewart adored them. It was just that he didn’t feel capable of walking in stiletto heels. When he read the Vertigo script that had received from Paramount, he was enthusiastic. However, became furious when he learned that his role was not that of the detective but that of Madeleine. He went out in his pajamas directly from bed, ready to give Hitchcock a good beating. (One of the things Hitchcock hated the most was being beaten.) At the entrance of the Studios, Selznick tried to cut him off, but Stewart ran over him like a locomotive. He was really upset. Fortunately for everyone, Hitchcock was warned of the danger in time and managed to camouflage himself among the furniture pretending to be a coat rack. He felt comfortable on the role and in his next film reserved for himself the coat rack’s role. (As is known, he used to act as an extra in all his movies.)
