User Reviews

Let me start by saying that I am, and have always been, a fan of the villains. When I first started learning how to use Macromedia Dreamweaver, my test site was a shrine to the various villains in the various stories I've written throughout my life. The villain remains to this day the best way to advance the dramatic tension of the plot, and I hold a deep respect for them because of it.

That being said, this is possibly the first movie that has made me root for the hero to win, while still having a truly good (so to speak) villain. Gregory Peck's caring and responsible family man plays perfectly against Robert Mitchum's sleazy, cigar-smoking, prostitute-beating rapist. (It would've been nice if Mitchum could've done something like this seven years earlier in Night of the Hunter, but I'll gripe about that in its own review.) Peck plays one of those heroes that even a villain nut like me can't help but root for, and Mitchum couldn't have been a more despicably good villain if he tried.

Nearly everything else about this film is perfectly executed. The suspense, the relations between the characters, the script, the believability of the situations and actions, and of course, the acting...with one rather glaring exception. Where did Lori Martin learn to act? Talk about annoying! No, she wasn't bad enough that I didn't care about what would happen to her character, but it would've been nice if she had taken a few acting classes before showing up on set. I probably could've given a more believable performance as Gregory Peck's daughter when I was that age. And when I was that age, Gregory Peck was eighty-six.

But in the end, the movie came through. If you ask me, this, not Night of the Hunter, is the film Robert Mitchum should be remembered for. (And before anyone (because I know there are some of you out there) starts berating me about only saying that because I was disappointed by Night of the Hunter, I actually saw this movie first.)

Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) is a happily married lawyer with a teenage daughter, a quiet life and little worries to care for until released convict Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) moves near by seeking for revenge against him. Cady blames Bowden for his 8 years imprisonment because the lawyer failed to get him an innocent verdict in Court for a serious crime he was accused of (and he had committed). The man starts by stalking Bowden and his family while he waits for the appropriate moment to make his move. In the meantime, Cady does not hide his intentions and Bowden knows perfectly well they are in big trouble.

The film is tense all along and interest doesn't fall at any moment. There is a correct direction by J. Lee Thompson, a slightly more than average director who probably did here one of his best jobs (the other one "The Guns of Navarone" (1962) a very entertaining World War II adventure). Black and white shooting was a good idea and helps to create some sort of sordid and dark atmosphere when required as well as the musical score.

Casting is very good too. Gregory Peck is correct in one of his many common good guy roles. Polly Bergen is believable as the frightened wife and there is also good acting by Martin Balsam (as Bowden's chief of police friend) and Telly Savalas (as a private detective hired to help the family). But the major credit in this issue goes without doubt to Robert Michum's performance as the dangerous avenger. He looks calm and quiet -with few exceptions- all the way to the final climax sequences but you know perfectly the man is real mean and deadly. This surely was one of Mitchum's best appearances in his long film carrier.

The 1991 Cape Fear version with Robert de Niro -although a watchable movie- is not as good and thrilling as this one where evil doesn't appear clearly till the end but menace is always there.

A very good thriller indeed!

When Cady (Mitchum) slips into the water, it's like an alligator sneaking up on its prey. Except this is a houseboat with two vulnerable women in his sights. With those sleepy eyes, it's hard to know just what sadistic acts he's got in mind, but we know it's too grisly for the screen. Remember what he did to poor Diane (Chase), and he wasn't even mad at her. Cape Fear should have been named Cape Fear, Shudder and Sweat.

This is about the last word in stalker movies. More importantly, it shows how using less often produces more. Mitchum underplays the stalker role, but he also knows how to imply unspeakable evil, which is really more effective than blood splatter. It's what's in your imagination that's really scary. Ditto Peck, (Sam) whose on-screen reserve speaks volumes in grim determination-- he's got to protect his family. Only Bergen as the terrified wife gets to really cut loose. What a first-rate cast, plus expert pacing from director Thompson.

I guess the movie's moral is that if the law can't protect you, you've got to do it yourself. At that primitive level, there's no holds barred. So the tension really mounts as we discover Cady's animal cunning is too much for the law or even for hired thugs. In the end, then, it's going to have to be Cady vs. Sam, mano y mano. It's sort of like a modern morality tale of the nuclear family vs. a swamp beast. No doubt about it, the movie's a real nail-biter the whole way.

For the first time Hitchcock was decisively beaten at his own game. This is one of the tensest films ever made, and also one of the most perfectly crafted. There are so many things right about it I can afford to concentrate on just two:

(1) Sam Bowden is a firm believer in the sanctity of civil liberties until Cady starts to stalk his family - and he remains a believer even then. He is asked if he really wants the police to have the power to arrest citizens on suspicion alone; and, although his family is in danger, he cannot honestly answer yes. `Cape Fear' is clearly the product of a less bloodthirsty age. But it is the better for it: a clash between deeply held principles and deeply held desires isn't at all interesting unless it really IS a clash - unless the principles are strong enough not to give way at the first breath of wind. And damn it, Bowden is right. The police do NOT have the right to arrest Cady. The potential tragedy is genuine: not something that could be cleaned up if only so-and-so would drop a few pointless scruples.

(2) Robert Mitchum really alarms us. I think it's because his motivations are a little, but not entirely, opaque. When we first see him eyeing Bowden's teen-aged daughter, we don't know exactly what he's thinking any more than Sam does. Is he sexually attracted to her? Does he want to kill her? Rape her? Is he indifferent but just trying to get a rise out of Sam? Indeed: what, exactly, does he want to do to Sam himself? We don't know: and this uncertainty is worse than any precise knowledge.

I doubt I've said enough. `Cape Fear' is riveting from first frame to last. It's well shot, the acting is excellent, and Bernard Herrmann gives us his usual fitting score. It appeals to the intellect as much as to the pit of the stomach. Great stuff.

Mitchum was, if anything, even more powerful in "Cape Fear," possibly because his antagonist this time was the perfectly contrasting Gregory Peck…

Mitchum played a sex criminal, freed after eight years in prison, who returned to a sleepy little town to terrorize the witness (Gregory Peck) whom he blamed for his conviction…

The ex-con uttered no threats, used no violence, broke no laws – and the police were therefore helpless… But his very presence, the tone of his voice, the look in his eyes as he turned them lazily on Peck's attractive wife and adolescent daughter showed with unmistakable and cumulative menace that he would surely take his revenge…

Peck planted his wife and daughter on a safely moored houseboat to tempt Mitchum into a trap...

This psycho-thriller based on John MacDonald novel titled ¨The executioners¨ concerns about Max Cady an ex-con excellently played by Robert Mitchum ,he accuses a Southern advocate,a magnificent Gregory Peck,for his eight years imprisoned and schemes a malevolent vengeance on his wife(Polly Bergen) and daughter(Lori Martin).Peck is helped by the chief Inspector(Martin Balsam) and he hires an astute detective(Telly Savallas)to watch him.Meanwhile Mitchum plays to cat and mouse with his family which is increasingly menaced.

The film contains psychological characterization ,grisly triller,tense situations, and is pretty entertaining.It's brilliant,atmospheric and slickly developed,almost a masterpiece.Major asset are the continuous suspense and marvellous acting. Casting is frankly awesome with exceptional performances,especially by Robert Mitchum as a wacko with ominous purports. Musical score by the master Bernard Herrmann with a similar style from Hitchcock music films.Sensational black and white cinematography by Sam Leavitt.The motion picture is finely directed by J.Lee Thomson (Guns of Navarone,McKenna's gold),a good filmmaker,though in his final career, he only directed Charles Bronson vehicles(Ten to midnight,Newman law,St Ives).The film was remade by Martin Scorsese,an inferior remake with secondaries appearance by Mitchum,Peck and Martin Balsam. It's a must see for Mitchum and Peck fans.The film is one of the best thrillers from the 60s.Rating : Better than average.

Max Cady is fresh out of prison and down in Florida looking for someone in particular. That person is lawyer Sam Bowden, the man who Cady holds responsible for his years of incarceration. Once Bowden realises that Cady is out for revenge, and that his family are in serious danger, he turns to the police for help, but unable to get help from them, he goes outside of the law, and all parties are heading for the foreboding place known as Cape Fear.

Brilliant villainy, unnerving story and suspense pouring from every frame, Cape Fear is an abject lesson in how to produce a quality thriller that's borderline horror. Based on a novel called "The Executioners" written by John D. MacDonald, the piece is bolstered by some perfect casting decisions and by having a director able to pace with precision, thus it stands tall and proud as a highlight in a tough old genre. Robert Mitchum is Cady, a big hulking man with an immoral face, he terrifies purely by his undaunted objectives, with Mitchum clearly revelling in such a role. As Bowden we have Gregory Peck, playing it right as the uptight and stiff lawyer forced to find toughness from within. Backed up by excellent cameos from Martin Balsam, Telly Savalas and Polly Bergen, Cape Fear also features one of Bernard Herrmann's finest scores, a complete and utter nerve shredder with psychotic strings and brooding brass, it hangs in the ears long after the film has finished.

What lifts this above many of its thriller peers is that the dialogue is firmly accentuated by the character portrayals, watch as Cady calmly digresses about how he learnt the law in prison, or how he seeps with deviant sexual aggression when confronting the Bowden women, it's badness personified and literally a force of evil, so much so that the breaking of an egg is metaphorically a portent of pain unbound. Director J. Lee Thompson's career shows him to have been a steady if unspectacular director at times, but he directs this with no amount of zip and he deftly reins it in for a stifling last quarter at the Cape Fear bayou (his interview on the disc releases is full of love and insights). Along with his cinematographer, Sam Leavitt, Thompson expertly uses shadow and light to consistently keep the feeling of dread looming as much of a hostile presence as Bobby Mitchum is throughout the play.

By the time the finale reveals the denouement, it's hoped that you are as living on your nerves as this particular viewer always is when viewing this clinically sharp piece of thriller cinema. 9/10

So acclaimed was Robert Mitchum's performance as the amoral, animalistic Max Cady it probably escapes most people's attention that Cape Fear was produced by co-star Gregory Peck.

One film before was the one that united star Gregory Peck with director J. Lee Thompson. That would be The Guns of Navarone which was both a critical and box office success. Thompson and Peck enjoyed working with each other and decided the next film would be light years from The Guns of Navarone.

Both Peck and Thompson agreed that this story about a homicidal ex-convict terrorizing a man who was a witness against him and his family needed a star of equal stature for the part of the convict as well as the good citizen who Peck was playing. Mitchum was contacted and agreed.

I've always felt that it always showed what a class act Gregory Peck was in that even though it was his film and Mitchum got the acclaim for the film, Peck never betrayed one hint of jealousy about the plaudits Mitchum got.

Max Cady was about as nasty a creature as had ever been shown on screen up to that time. The Production Code was breaking down and Thompson and Peck took great advantage of that. Today it would be nothing, but when Cady smeared that egg matter over Polly Bergen's chest it was considered risqué at the time.

Polly Bergen was Gregory Peck's wife and Lori Martin his daughter in the film. Other performances of note are of Telly Savalas as a private detective, Martin Balsam as the town police chief, and Jack Kruschen as Cady's lawyer, one bottom feeding shyster. In the remake of Cape Fear which had Nick Nolte as Sam Bowen, Peck's part, and Robert DeNiro as Cady, Both Mitchum and Peck agreed to play some of the minor parts. This time Mitchum was in Balsam's old part as the police chief and Gregory Peck whose most famous role was as Atticus Finch, played the bottom feeder. After that remake you could definitely say Peck played the legal profession at both ends.

The story of Cape Fear is about an upright moral man, not unlike Atticus Finch who has to get down and dirty in order to deal with a totally amoral man who lives by no rules. Kind of like what the western world has to do in dealing with terrorists of all shapes and sizes. Their confrontation on the Cape Fear River where Peck has to catch Mitchum red handed in order to bring him to justice or kill him is one for cinema history.

I really hated the Martin Scorsese remake of this film, so much that I never had much interest in seeing the original. But I finally decided to give it a try, and hot damn what a good thriller it turned out to be.

Robert Mitchum is absolutely terrifying in this film, much more so than Robert De Niro, who gave an undisciplined and campy performance. Mitchum is understated, ominous, and sexy in pretty equal parts, and watching him makes one recognize what a shame it is that this underappreciated actor was only recognized with a single Academy Award nomination over his entire career, and that for a supporting role in 1945, before he had become a leading man. Gregory Peck is also exceptional in a part that fits him like a glove. J. Lee Thompson directs with flair, and even though I knew how things would turn out, his direction had me biting my nails.

I expected the film by necessity to be much tamer than Scorsese's version given how long ago it was released, which it is, but not by as much as I anticipated. This is a frank, shocking film for 1962, one that got under my skin and freaked me out.

Grade: A

J. Lee Thompson's black-and-white revenge thriller is still effective after its debut 45 years ago, perhaps even more so today with a growing awareness of sexual predators and child abductions. 'Cape Fear' was a very risqué film for its time, receiving numerous edits from the American and British censorship boards and nearly being slapped with an 'X' rating in the United Kingdom. But when all was said and done, the material for a good film was there, coming down to us with nail-biting suspense for which 'Cape Fear' is known.

The adaptation by James Webb of John MacDonald's novel 'The Executioners' was a perfect vehicle for all involved. J. Lee Thompson, recently off an Oscar nomination for 'The Guns of Navarone,' was still very much within his element after a series of British realist dramas that included 'North West Frontier' and 'Tiger Bay.' Robert Mitchum, one of the more underrated strongmen in film history, was physically and temperamentally ideal as Max Cady and Gregory Peck eased into the Sam Bowden mix of family man and protector. Peck actually teamed with Universal Pictures to make 'Cape Fear'; the entire cast and crew was hand-picked, resulting in this vintage gem.

'Cape Fear' boasts a plot that was extraordinary for its time and has been copied repeatedly. The story follows a Savannah layer named Sam Bowden (Peck) who is visited by Max Cady (Mitchum), an imposing man whom Bowden testified against in a Baltimore trial. Cady was sent to jail for raping a woman and, eight years removed from entering prison, he vows to make Bowden pay for his civic duty. He turns the Bowden family's life into Hell on Earth, following Sam, his wife Peg (Polly Bergen), and adolescent daughter Nancy (Lori Martin) around town. Along the way, he fatally poisons their dog and rapes a newcomer to Savannah, Diane Taylor (Barrie Chase).

Sam Bowden, a man of law and order, uses every legal tactic within his reach to drive Cady out of town. With help from police chief Mark Dutton (Martin Balsam) and a private detective named Charlie Seavers (Telly Savalas), he tries to drum up pretentious charges. Cady, however, has learned a great deal about the justice system while in prison, rambling off statute effortlessly. Bowden grows desperate, soon offering Cady hard dollars in exchange for leaving his family alone, hiring a band of enforcers to rough him up, and even considering murder. To make matters worse, Sam discovers that Cady is the lowest of all sexual predators, targeting his young daughter.

Shocking in 1962, 'Cape Fear' is no less effective today, in an age of Megan's Law and Amber Alerts. The social landscape has changed since this film was made - laws have been passed in an effort to restrict the movement of sex offenders - but the Bowdens, an ordinary family in an extraordinary situation a la Hitchcock, are still easy to associate with. The danger that Cady brings is excruciating and he also reveals the failures of law enforcement with his own disgusting brand of irony.

As J. Lee Thompson has said, Max Cady is the focal character, a sarcastic man with visibly bad intentions. Robert Mitchum, who is listed as 6' 1" in height, is such a dominant force both physically and emotionally, that he seems closer to 6' 5" or 6' 6". Because of this, Sam Bowden comes across as quite ordinary, although Gregory Peck's character takes on a bold dimension in the final half-hour. The film could not have managed without an excellent supporting cast and everyone delivers. Martin Balsam is quietly superb as usual, Telly Savalas does well as a slick private eye, and the portrayals of Bowden's family by Polly Bergan and Lori Martin fit like neat pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Jack Kruschen (as Dave Grafton, Cady's lawyer) and Barrie Chase are not asked for very much, but help in spurring the plot.

Cinematographer Samuel Leavitt ('Anatomy of a Murder,' 'Exodus') uses black and white filming techniques that give 'Cape Fear' a sinister edge not attainable in color. Part of what makes 'Cape' such an effective story is its use of shadow and the 'bare bones' feeling that is common in film noir. In the early 21st century, this film takes on an added gloominess, seeming to come from an innocent, bygone world and yet shattering our illusions. George Tomasini, an editor for several of Hitchcock's films including 'North by Northwest' and 'Psycho,' is a major complement to Thompson's well-paced direction. 'Cape Fear' is also not complete without the score of Bernard Herrmann, another Hitchcock regular. Writing on the orchestral scale of 50 years ago, Herrmann's music is notable for its use of ponderous strings and explosive brass. The score, in fact, was used almost verbatim in Martin Scorcese's 1991 remake.

Largely a potboiler, 'Cape Fear' has its flaws. There are plot holes, such as the willingness of Dutton to bend laws for Bowden's sake, and implausibility, such as how easily Cady pushes around the band of enforcers hired by Sam. The final scene taking place between a swamp house and houseboat is confusing at first and Sam swims downstream rather quickly to catch up with the villain. The circa-1960 attitudes towards violence against women are also painfully outdated. But none of this takes away from the core storyline, a twisted one for all times.

Universal has given 'Cape Fear' elite treatment on its DVD, offering anamorphic widescreen presentation with English captioning for the hearing impaired and subtitles in Spanish and French. The disc is chock full of bonus material that includes interviews with Peck and Thompson, photographs, posters, and the theatrical trailer. Peck and Thompson offer some fascinating insights, including censorship of the film and the original plan to cast Hayley Mills as Nancy. Bernard Herrmann's music is used throughout. The film itself is presented with clean visuals and Dolby-enhanced sound.

*** out of 4

I really like the movie. Not just because my Great Aunt is in it (who plays Nancy Bowden) but because I think it's a really good suspense film. All the Actors/Actress' do a great job!! The movie is about Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) who is a lawyer who a few years back had put Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) in jail. Well, Max is out now and seeks revenge on Sam. He will stop at nothing to get it. After Max kills the family dog, threatens wife Peggy Bowden (Polly Bergen) and terrifies daughter Nancy Bowden (Lori Martin), Sam Starts to take action. He starts a plan. He tricks Max into thinking he's leaving so Max will go for his family, but really he's hot on Max's tail. Well, I won't give the rest of it away so that you can see it for yourself. Like I said before, I personally think it's a great Suspense film. P.S. How old does Lori Martin (who plays Nancy) look? Well, actually she's 16!!! She's a very small person. Watch especially when Max Cady puts his hand around her mouth towards the end. His hand is about the size of her face!!!!! "Love You Auntie!!"

One perverse individual can exploit his freedom by using it to encroach on someone else's. That is the problem with a society which cherishes personal liberty. The community has the dilemma of deciding whose freedom it ought to protect. At what point should the state intervene?

Today, modern democracies have anti-harrassment laws which carry criminal penalties, and there is also the civil remedy of an injunction with power of arrest, but back in the early 1960's a man who chose to make a nuisance of himself enjoyed wide latitude. It was difficult for the law to step in without infringing his civil and constitutional rights.

Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) is a small-town attorney in the south-eastern United States. He has a lovely family and a nice home, and is well thought of by neighbours and colleagues alike. This American idyll is destroyed when a newly-released convict shows up, intent on harrassing Bowden. Some years back, the lawyer had appeared as a witness at this man's trial, and the convict bears an irrational grudge.

Max Cady is one of the cinema's great villains. Mitchum is irresistible as the heavy-eyed smart alec seething with sexual energy. Cady's sharp but warped intelligence is disturbing to behold (the way he obtains Bowden's vacation address is chillingly impressive). He begins to show up wherever Bowden goes, an ominous sarcastic presence to which no objection can be made, so long as he stays within the law. Cady's salient traits are placed before us right from the start of the film. He is completely callous (ignoring the girl who drops her books on the stairs) and a nasty sexual predator (picking up the waitress in the bowling alley).

"Cape Fear" is a taut, absorbing thriller. Mitchum's charisma fills the screen, and the dark eerie look (by Director of Photography Sam Leavitt) compounds the feeling of menace. The incidental music is excellent.

However, the film has some implausible ingredients. Why would a woman who has just been sexually degraded, and is clearly traumatised, be handed over by the police to the care of a private eye? (Charlie Sievers the gumshoe is played by Telly Savalas - with hair!) Would a criminal attorney really - no matter what the provocation - hire waterfront thugs to beat up a stalker? How come Sam's gun is still effective after being immersed in the river? Why doesn't Nancy's phone work? It is preposterous to suggest that Cady would waste time on the elaborate feint towards Peggy instead of pursuing his real victim. And how can it be that Cady can defeat three ruffians single-handed, overwhelm a police bodyguard with ease, yet fail to defeat Sam, even when armed with a stick?

Verdict - Allowing for the improbabilities, this is a well-made thriller with a magnificent performance by Mitchum.

Boy, this shows that you can still make a scary movie without a lot of blood, profanity and whatever. Hollywood didn't learn that, however, featuring all of it less than a decade after this was made. The Martin Scorcese re-make of this movie is exactly what I'm talking about.

This original Cape Fear was legitimately scary, thanks to the performance of Robert Mitchum, who doesn't need to resort to the f-word to be a tough, sick and really an evil character as he stalks Gregory Peck and his wife (Polly Bergen) and daughter (Lori Martin).

Bergan and Martin are two women I don't see too much in films which is too bad. They did a lot more TV work than movies. Another thing you don't see much anymore - a nice, sympathetic policeman - was also portrayed in here nicely by Martin Balsam.

The ending has some holes in it, to be sure, but overall it offers a good 106- minute suspense story.

Robert Mitchum is at his creepy best here, playing a villain than can easily rival his antagonist in "The Night of the Hunter". Mitchum is memorable as Max Cady, an ex-con who has never forgiven lawyer Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) for helping to put him behind bars for eight years. Now the ex-con is back, and is determined to constantly harass Sam & his family (Polly Bergen as wife Peggy, Lori Martin as daughter Nancy). Cady has something especially insidious planned for the females. It isn't long before Sam believes that his nemesis is capable of anything, and is resorting to desperate measures to remove this threat from his life.

"Cape Fear" is one of the all-time great black & white thrillers to come out of Hollywood, boasting a sharp script by James R. Webb, that is based on the novel "The Executioners" by John D. MacDonald. It may indeed lack the explicitness of later Hollywood films, but that actually adds to its power. What it suggests is already pretty powerful.

Overall, it has a very Hitchcockian feel, and in fact was scored by frequent Hitch collaborator Bernard Herrmann (one of the composers' most haunting and unforgettable soundtracks) and cut by George Tomasini, who'd edited "Psycho". It marks one of the absolute best efforts for the director J. Lee Thompson ("The Guns of Navarone").

It's clear early on that Cady is the more interesting role. As vile as he is, he has an unpleasantly sly, savvy quality about him, only enhanced by the fact that he's spent his time in stir studying up on the law. Now he knows just how much he can get away with in the name of making Sams' life a living Hell. And he has a man in his corner, a grandstanding attorney played by the great character actor Jack Kruschen.

In comparison, Sam is an ideal role for Peck, what with his All-American, model of decency type of character. And he becomes more intriguing as he relents and starts taking those desperate measures, like hiring some local toughs to try to gang up on Cady.

Not much is done with the wife and daughter roles; they're mostly just required to be stand around and be scared. But Bergen and Martin are appealing in their performances.

In addition to Kruschen, other notable cast members include Balsam (who, of course, played Arbogast in "Psycho"), Telly Savalas, Barrie Chase, Paul Comi, Page Slattery, and Edward Platt. But Mitchum towers over everybody with a performance of pure smarm and menace.

The finale is genuinely gripping stuff: it's quite tense and very atmospheric.

Famously remade by Martin Scorsese in 1991, with interesting new layers to the story, but an ultimately more over the top nature, with Robert De Niro's version of Cady coming off like a cartoon bogeyman.

Eight out of 10.

I watched the 1962 last night and was slightly disappointed, since I had seen this film before and enjoyed it a lot, but now seems a tad dated. Mitchum gives an outstanding performance, but the same can not be said of Peck who, as someone commented, seemed not to be into the story, giving a very bland performance (curious since this was a particularly good period in his career with his Oscar-winning performance in To Kill a Mockingbid, and his role in Guns of Navarone with the same director of this film). I also agree the daughter was miscast. You can't help comparing this film with Scorsese's, which has much more depth in character development, with bravura direction, photography and editing, and overall more accomplished in all production aspects (except music, of course) and De Niro's performance in that film, while it may be considered over-the-top, was to me bone-chilling. Notwithstanding, I prefer the ending in the 1962 version, compared to the ludicrous way Scorsese ended his film.

Max Cady is released from prison after serving an eight year sentence, when he gets out he has one single mission, revenge on Sam Bowden, a lawyer who helped to convict him.

I suddenly got the urge to watch the 1991 adaptation, but figured it was time I watched this version first. I find myself very conflicted, I love that film, I think this is the better film.

There is a real intensity about this film, you truly get the impression of malice and spite from Cady, he genuinely is a monster, and that laugh gives you chills.

The camera work and lighting are tremendous, giving the film a real intensity about the whole production, it's looks terrific.

The scene where the daughter is stalked, brilliant, it's a chilling sequence, talk about uncomfortable, and that ending, edge of the seat viewing.

The story is very cohesive, it's very easy to follow, it doesn't veer off for a moment, it's something it very much has one up on the remake.

Peck is excellent, Mitchum is truly captivating, he's utterly monstrous, the laugh, the swagger, the presence, phenomenal.

I still love the remake, but this one pips it at the post.

9/10.

There are films that are unfairly forgotten after the release of their respective contemporary remakes, and I have no doubt that this one can be included in that list. It was a film produced and starred by Gregory Peck, one of the movie stars of the 60s, and it has a great cast and a good script, with elements that remind us a little of the aesthetics of "noir" or some Hitchcock films. Unfortunately, most people have only seen the 1991 remake, which we'll talk about in due course. Perhaps this is, partly, due to the film's huge financial failure, which would dictate the end of Peck's production company.

The script is very good and is based on a novel called "The Executioners". It tells the story of a lawyer, Sam Bowden, who lives in a coastal region of Georgia or North Florida, who begins to be harassed and pursued, in a discreet but threatening way, by Max Cady, an ex-convict who, eight years earlier, was convicted thanks to Bowden's testimony, earning him a visceral hatred that he now intends to satisfy with revenge. At Cady's insistence, who does nothing more than show up wherever Bowden and his family choose to roam, the Police cannot act beyond close surveillance. However, he knows that it is only a matter of time before something really happens.

The script is very good, but I confess that I found some flaws. I don't know the laws of the USA, but in my country, it is possible for the laws to force two people away if one of them feels consistently intimidated or threatened by the mere presence or proximity of the other. Of course, the premise that this is not possible under American law ends up allowing the film to reach the conclusion it has, with the final confrontation of the two men. In any case, the film works and is effective in creating suspense and giving us a real sense of tension and threat.

Skillfully directed by J. Lee Thompson, the film stars Gregory Peck, who does a very good job, albeit not particularly remarkable, and is well assisted by Polly Bergen and Lori Martin. In fact, it's the great performance of Robert Mitchum, who brought us the villain, that enchants us and steals our attention. He is naturally menacing, with his seemingly peaceful presence always sounding tense and deceptive. The film has some good supporting actors, such as Telly Savalas and Martin Balsam.

Technically, it's not a pretentious or overpriced film. The cinematography is not particularly remarkable, but it makes the most of what it has and gives us some very well-executed close-ups, as well as some scenes with lighting and style that show the influence of "noir" and Alfred Hitchcock. The highlight is undoubtedly the visual and sound effects and the excellent and iconic soundtrack, composed by Bernard Herrmann, and later reused for the remake film.

Martin Scorsese's version of "Cape Fear" had its moments, but overall was something of a chaotic picture. Its "satire" (or lack thereof) didn't really have a point, and its over-the-top visuals seemed to be compensating for a lack of content. It seemed less like Scorsese and more like DePalma.

Thompson's original is better - more scary, more thrilling, more diabolical and realistic. Whereas De Niro's scenery-chewing performance in the remake was almost laughable, Robert Mitchum's spine-tingling turn here as Max Cady is one of the great human movie monsters - he's a demon at spirit, no in physicality.

He seeks revenge on Gregory Peck and his family after Peck puts him away in jail for a few years.

Scorsese's version was more updated and in that sense its general themes were more believable - Cady's psyche was more exposed, his violence exploitative - and the romance between Cady and Sam Bowden's daughter in the original is nonexistent. In fact, the extent of his harm towards her is when he chases her around an empty school.

Still, this is a better version of the movie because it has more strengths than the remake. Visually it's not as impressive but it makes more of an impact as a thriller.

Shockingly tough and dark suspense drama has recently paroled convict Robert Mitchum making life hell for Gregory Peck, the lawyer who put him behind bars. First-half of film is quite solid, with Mitchum full of scary bravado, but Peck is so rigid one doesn't wait for him to loosen up so much as simply become human. Final act makes a mess of the storytelling however, with Mitchum pulling a fast one and ending up alone with Peck's wife (a convincingly rattled Polly Bergen) and then just as quickly with Peck's daughter (Lori Martin, sporting an oddly mature flip hairstyle that looks like a wig). The kid has already shown us earlier to be a wise, fast-on-her-feet child who knows danger when she sees it--so why does she go all limp when Mitchum approaches her? It's one of the few clichés (in this case, the ninnyisms of females) which doesn't exactly derail "Cape Fear", but makes it simply a minor noir--not a timeless thriller. **1/2 from ****

There's nothing worse than a con who knows his way around the law,and exploits that knowledge to the hilt.Robert Mitchum does this very expertly in the original and best version of Cape Fear.You want to reach out and strangle him,but he is within the law,so you can't.This is the appeal of this film.It's the fuel that keeps it going from start to finish.Along with Mitchum,we have Gregory Peck as the tormented lawyer who sent Mitchum's character,Max Cady to jail for rape years earlier. Having studied law while behind bars,Cady's only intent with his gathering of this knowledge,is to torment Sam Bowden(Peck) and his family.It all leads to a classic finish.I truly believe that this film was a precursor to the thriller films of today.It was a sign of things to come in the cinematic world.It was way ahead of it's time.Worthy of note here is Robert Mitchum's ability to improvise almost to the point of becoming his character.The scene where he cracks the egg with his bare hand was not scripted,and the look of surprise on Polly Bergen's face was indeed real.Outstanding film.

After many years I was finally persuaded to watch this by daughter who likes it, if she'd reciprocate and force herself to watch All Quiet On The Western Front for me. It's a well made engrossing film with some tremendous eye-cutting black & white acetate film photography and a storyline that is still disturbing, for me at least. Cape Fear I mean.

Ex-con Mitchum hunts down lawyer Peck who nailed him 8 years before to revenge himself by raping his young daughter Nancy. Mitchum's plans and Peck's thwartings are the film. Favourite bit: Nancy running away from Mitchum out of the crowded street into the empty schoolhouse - such hokeyness would be laughed at by people today from a 1930's film, but here it's treated as gripping and essential. Peck beautifully photographed in the long grass in the dark reminded me of Shere Khan from The Jungle Book. I half expected Mitchum to try to applaud Peck's closing speech. The kind of censorship thankfully displayed in this film is mostly ridiculed nowadays but would this version have been as popular if it had been as graphic as possible and if remade again will they scrap the limit on how young the child can be to satisfy todays voyeurs artistic revenge lust?

Reading the other reviews it appears most people consider the remake as inferior, or certainly more "liberated", so I'll avoid that based on this. Also somebody put this should be seen once by all "crime/thriller" fans - I enjoyed the 102 minutes with reservations but am afraid that applies to me, I'll stick to The Count Of Monte Cristo (1934).

"A lawyer's family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail." That was this very website's official synopsis for the film. And guess what. There really isn't a whole lot past the very written down narrative on screen.

There is the fact a lot of scenes, perhaps three to four maybe five are totally unrealistic and help install a feeling of fictional cinematic experience rather than the atmosphere of poignant vivid suspense-driven thriller film than this Gregory Peck starring production promotes itself as being.

There is a feeling of inevitability and predictability in how the developments occur, and this from the start to the very end.

It holds up alright besides those points, but makes for too thick and unsubtle a viewing overall, and that can't be overlooked.