“Vertigo,” our final offering in this year’s “Best of Hitchcock” Classic Series, plays on Thursday, March 3 at 2 p.m.

Now critically acclaimed as not only one of Hitchcock’s most outstanding films but considered by many critics as one of the best films ever made, it is hard to believe that when “Vertigo” was first released in 1958, its performance at the box office was disappointing, and critics widely panned it.

Starring Jimmy Stewart as the troubled police detective, “Scottie” Ferguson, and Kim Novak as Judy, the “possessed” wife he is hired to follow, “Vertigo” takes the audience on a tangled, dizzying journey of obsession, betrayal, and loss. It utilizes the full array of motion picture-making techniques of which Hitchcock was so masterful — cinematography, editing, acting, direction, set design, and, of course, a haunting musical score.

As a special treat for this last in the classic film series, we will have some assistance in making our own conclusions about the revered “film noir” with an in-person, pre-film talk by Dr. Jon Cavallero, associate professor of Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies at Bates College. Cavallero has been delighting the audience with video commentary before each film in the series, and now we are pleased he will actually be with us for this last Hitchcock experience, guiding us masterfully through the film aspects that will pull us down and into Jimmy Stewart’s unraveling world.

Tickets are $10 ($8 for members). Please present your proof of vaccination at the ticket counter. Masks must be worn at all times, except when actively eating or drinking. We thank you for helping make Harbor Theater a safe environment in this time of public crisis. ADA-mandated Audio Descriptive (AD) and Closed Caption (CC) devices available for the visually and hearing-impaired. Inquire at the concession stand.