# Romance Movies That Feature Actual Stalking **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2014, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932 "2014-08-06T09:48:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932/41 "2014-08-07T18:05:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Thirty-eight (-nine!) posts, and no one so far has mentioned Jimmy Stewart in _ **Vertigo** _?!? :eek: I wonder just how far I’d get today by following a woman into her apartment and saying “Don’t be afraid; I just want to talk to you.” > > Perhaps I’m missing something, but how does _ **It Happened One Night** _ fit into the stalker category? 😕 Different times. Back then you could commandeer a woman’s bookstore (Funny Face) trash it, and then come on to her in one afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932/42 "2014-08-07T18:14:40Z")
Would Cary Grant’s initial moves on Irene Dunne in _ **Penny Serenade** _ (he buys an armload of records from her even though he doesn’t own a phonograph) also be considered stalking? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Osiris\_the\_1st](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Osiris\_the\_1st](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osiris_the_1st)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932/43 "2014-08-07T18:38:43Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > In _Victor/Victoria_, King Marchand becomes obsessed with the title character to the point of sneaking into her hotel room, hiding, watching her bathe… all to reassure himself that she’s actually a woman impersonating a man impersonating a woman. [Highjack] Is this scene in all versions of Victor/Victoria? When I saw the film version (James Garner and Julie Andrews) I wondered if that scene had been added to assure the audience that our nominally straight protagonist wasn’t falling for a female impersonator whom he actually thought was a man. I thought it would be a more interesting if you excise that scene. [/Highjack] ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932/44 "2014-08-07T18:53:23Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Thirty-eight (-nine!) posts, and no one so far has mentioned Jimmy Stewart in _ **Vertigo** _?!? Because Jimmy Stewart’s actions are not depicted as charming/romantic. He is depicted as a very disturbed sick sick man. Therefore, doesn’t qualify for this Thread. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932/45 "2014-08-07T19:09:13Z")
> [@Osiris\_the\_1st](#): > > [Highjack] Is this scene in all versions of Victor/Victoria? When I saw the film version (James Garner and Julie Andrews) I wondered if that scene had been added to assure the audience that our nominally straight protagonist wasn’t falling for a female impersonator whom he actually thought was a man. I thought it would be a more interesting if you excise that scene. [/Highjack] That’s the only version I’ve ever seen. It does undercut the later romantic scene where she says “I’m not a man” and he replies “I don’t care if you are.” This, after he was shown caring quite a lot and going to some trouble to find out for sure. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932/46 "2014-08-08T14:49:56Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Thirty-eight (-nine!) posts, and no one so far has mentioned Jimmy Stewart in _ **Vertigo** _?!? :eek: I wonder just how far I’d get today by following a woman into her apartment and saying “Don’t be afraid; I just want to talk to you.” > > Perhaps I’m missing something, but how does _ **It Happened One Night** _ fit into the stalker category? 😕 “Scotty” in\*\*\* Vertigo \*\*\*is definitely an obsessed stalker type. He’s obsessed with the girl he lost, the girl he saw die. But \*\*\*Vertigo \*\*\*is not supposed to be a romantic story. We’re not SUPPOSED to look at Scotty’s behavior and think, “Awwww… how sweet!” We’re SUPPOSED to see him as depressed, twisted, and (yes) a little bit dangerous. Hitchcock WANTS us to see Scotty’s behavior toward Judy/Madeleine as unhealthy. For the most part, we’ve been looking at conventional romances and romantic comedies and asking, “Is this supposedly sweet, lovable character a little sick and stalkerish”? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932/47 "2014-08-08T16:15:24Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Thirty-eight (-nine!) posts, and no one so far has mentioned Jimmy Stewart in _ **Vertigo** _?!? :eek: I wonder just how far I’d get today by following a woman into her apartment and saying “Don’t be afraid; I just want to talk to you.” Ditto on what other people have said, that Scotty’s behavior is supposed to be troubling. I saw this in a theater, and I remember everyone in the audience kind of backing up in their seats when he walked into Judy’s apartment. Also, FWIW, those of us who know how the movie ends know why Judy didn’t immediately call the police. > [@](#): > > Perhaps I’m missing something, but how does _ **It Happened One Night** _ fit into the stalker category? 😕 I guess because Peter is pursuing a woman who is engaged to someone else-- but by the time he is pursuing her romantically, she has made it very clear that she doesn’t want the life her family has laid out for her. I don’t think he is stalkerish at all, except maybe in a paparazzo way, but in the beginning, he is a reporter looking for a story. > [@Osiris\_the\_1st](#): > > [Highjack] Is this scene in all versions of Victor/Victoria? When I saw the film version (James Garner and Julie Andrews) I wondered if that scene had been added to assure the audience that our nominally straight protagonist wasn’t falling for a female impersonator whom he actually thought was a man. I thought it would be a more interesting if you excise that scene. [/Highjack] I saw this in the theater when it first came out, and it has always had that scene. Perhaps it has been cut from TV broadcasts for time, or even to make King Marchand look less creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932/48 "2014-08-11T00:24:59Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > In the Disney movie, Aladdin’s courtship of the princess is much less creepy than in the original folktale. In the book, she is engaged to marry another man before she even meets Aladdin. Aladdin’s treatment of his rival is just slightly short of homicidal. But, hey, it’s True Love, so all is forgiven. Yeah, Aladdin in the original story is a dick. It’s that way in a lot of old stories, though: the hero isn’t necessarily someone you’d want for a husband. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932/49 "2014-08-11T17:39:43Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Ditto on what other people have said, that Scotty’s behavior is supposed to be troubling. I saw this in a theater, and I remember everyone in the audience kind of backing up in their seats when he walked into Judy’s apartment. I haven’t seen the movie in years (the one odd fact I remember about the movie is that my wife’s maiden name was also the name of the dead Spanish noblewoman Kim Novak is obsessed with; it was weird to see her name on the grave stone!). But I seem to recall that Scotty had a nervous breakdown and spent some time in a psychiatric hospital after the “death” of Madeleine. Which means, again, his character’s sanity is definitely in question. His behavior toward Judy is not supposed to be romantic- if it strikes many viewers as creepy, even crazy, well, it’s SUPPOSED to! ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932/50 "2014-08-11T18:38:32Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Could someone provide a single legal cite that this qualifies as stalking? Hell anywhere on earth? > > Man sees woman upset and crying, arranges for anonymous flowers to be delivered to her office. He sees her late at night through an apartment window. He had to find out who she was and where she worked. Without Google. I think the movie glosses over how he does it. Stalking does require an ongoing effort, I suppose, but it really does ring my creepy-vibe alarm bells. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932/51 "2014-08-11T19:59:36Z")
Just thought of one… the homeless tramp played by Robin Williams in _ **The Fisher King** _ spends a lot of time literally stalking Amanda Plummer. But since it’s Robin, it’s depicted as adorable rather than as scary. I mean, what woman WOULDN’T want to be followed around by a lovesick homeless guy? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romance-movies-that-feature-actual-stalking/694932.md?page=2)