s left hanging in a new way now because he can no longer do his job, and while on leave, he takes the job offered by his old friend. Much of the first portion of the film is taken up with long tracking shots as Scotty follows Madeleine, the friend's wife, and learns much about her obsession with the long-dead Carlotta, her belief that she is the reincarnated Carlotta, and similar information, all revealed by Hitchcock without dialogue through the careful use of the camera, creating a mystery which Scotty sets out to solve.
Alfred Hitchcock pointed out many times in his career that he did not make mysteries but rather suspense films, and the difference is key in understanding his approach. Yet, there were elements of the detective or mystery film in his works, and these elements were used deliberately to play off the expectations of the audience and so to heighten the suspense. Indeed, Hitchcock plays against the expectations of the mystery genre in a number of wa
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