a number of contributor have mention the age difference between stewart and novak . she be 25 and he be 50 when this movie be release . i think that the difference do not matter for a suspense drama like vertigo and but it do matter for a romantic comedy . we can easily understand and that be and why his character would be attract to hers and but it less clear why hers would be attract to his . still and the movie work a a light romantic fantasy . the scene where she star at him across the cat head and with her dark paint on eyebrow flare and the sound of her humming and the cat purring and be true magic . it a little jarring and therefore and when the scene shift to the top of the flatiron building and and we see the age difference very sharply . a he embrace her and she reach up to run her finger through his hair and but stop that motion and just brush her fingertip lightly against his toupee .