Cape Fear (1962)

A lawyer's family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail.

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

John D. MacDonald (novel), James R. Webb (screenplay)

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gregory Peck	...	Sam Bowden
Robert Mitchum	...	Max Cady
Polly Bergen	...	Peggy Bowden
Lori Martin	...	Nancy Bowden
Martin Balsam	...	Police Chief Mark Dutton
Jack Kruschen	...	Attorney Dave Grafton
Telly Savalas	...	Private Detective Charles Sievers
Barrie Chase	...	Diane Taylor
Paul Comi	...	Garner
John McKee	...	Officer Marconi
Page Slattery	...	Deputy Kersek
Ward Ramsey	...	Officer Brown
Edward Platt	...	Judge
Will Wright	...	Dr. Pearsall
Joan Staley	...	Waitress

Storyline

Small-town lawyer Sam Bowden's life becomes torturous when Max Cady re-enters his life. Cady went to jail for 8 years after Bowden testified that Cady attacked a young woman. Now that Cady has been released, he begins to terrorize Bowden and his family, particularly targeting Bowden's daughter, Nancy. Initially, Cady uses his newfound knowledge of the law (learned in prison) to annoy the Bowdens, then poisons the family dog... Who's next ?

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Plot Keywords:

neo noir | family in jeopardy | small town | stalking | psychopath | 

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Taglines:

Their ordeal of terror triggers the screen's most savage war of nerves!

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 August 1962 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Executioners

Filming Locations:

Armstrong Junior College, Savannah, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Melville Productions, Talbot Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Mitchum had a real life aversion to Savannah, Georgia, where as a teenager, he had been charged with vagrancy and put on a chain gang. This resulted in a number of the outdoor scenes being shot at Ladd's Marina in Stockton, Georgia, including the conflict on the houseboat at the end of the film.

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Goofs

When Nancy runs into the school, she knocks some papers off a desk. When the man pursuing her follows, the papers are back on the desk.

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Quotes

Diane Taylor: [after Cady has beaten her, she prepares to leave town] You can't help me.
Charles Sievers: But I can. Now you file an assault charge and Cady'll get six months in jail.
Diane Taylor: Six months! And after that... When he walked out of this room he said... he said to consider this only a sample. And from my limited knowledge of human nature, Max Cady isn't a man who makes idle threats.

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Connections

Edited into The Making of 'Cape Fear' (2001)

User Reviews

Robert Mitchum at his creepy best

I recently picked up a VHS copy of Cape Fear from a market and watched and found it an excellent movie. This is long deleted on video in Britain, so I was lucky to see it.

A lawyer and his family are terrorised by a killer he helped to put in prison. Released after eight years, he wants his revenge. He starts by poisoning the family dog and he kills a woman before picking on the lawyer's daughter. The family flee to their houseboat and the killer is finally arrested after he is set up and faces many more years in prison.

This is Robert Mitchum at his creepy best, in a role very similar to the one he played in Night Of the Hunter.

The lawyer is played by Gregory Peck and the movie also stars Polly Bergen, Martin Balsam and an early role for Telly Savalas (Kojak).

The excellent score is by the great Bernard Herrmann (The Day the Earth Stood Still, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Psycho).

This movie was rather creepy in parts and is a must for any movie fan.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5.