Cape Fear (1962)

Very best movie i ever watch

Sick Product of a Sick System

Great Film overall

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It's hard to feel too freaked out by this movie now, but the actors........everyman Gregory Peck and the ultimate scumbag Robert Mitchum are so compelling. This movie is so effective because of the implied actions. I'm glad we have film where the worst actions aren't seen on screen but suggested by the writers. Top notch thriller for it's day and still relevant today.........

For me, one of the best thrillers you could ever hope to see, Robert Mitchum somehow manages to top the sheer malevolence of his characterisation of the deranged preacher in the classic "Night Of The Hunter" with his portrayal of the vengeful Max Cady out to terrorise the family of the man whose testimony put him in jail, Gregory Peck's straight - arrow attorney at law, Sam Bowden.The difference between the preacher and Cady and what takes Cady's evil to a different level again, is his obvious intent to corrupt Bowden's young daughter as he sees her for the first time painting her parents' boat. Before that it's difficult to tell just what shape his revenge will take but once the idea fixes in his mind, impossible as it might seem in a Hollywood feature from 1961, he clearly intends to carry out his plan, although he's not above attacking Peck's wife as a diversionary tactic.Almost as much a study in how a good man can be brought almost to murder as in the psychopathic behaviour of a bad man, the story moves inexorably towards its nerve-shredding climax in the dark waters of the canal to where Peck unwisely lures Mitchum. We see Peck's Bowden gradually slip down almost to Cady's sub-human level, compromising in the process his years of legal training never mind his common decency as a happily married family man. In one of the great closing shots in cinematic history (in my opinion), he stops just short of this as he reclaims his humanity although just how he and his clearly traumatised family come back from this I personally couldn't imagine.Everywhere you look there are fine performances, from Polly Bergen who tries to be her husband's moral compass but who likewise goes all points west the closer Cady gets to her daughter, young Lori Martin is excellent as the terrorised daughter in question, while there are solid characterisations in support by a folically-gifted Telly Savalas as the Bowdens' appointed private detective and Martin Balsam as the supportive police chief with a special nod to the little known Barrie Chase, the bar-room floozy Cady casually picks up and uses / abuses almost as practice for what's to come. Peck as you'd expect is excellent but it's undoubtedly Mitchum's film. Bulked up and brutish, sodden and unkempt, with no qualms about beating up and presumably raping women as well as casually breaking the neck of the policeman sent to play family bodyguard, it's all in the nuance and intent as up until the climax you barely see him lift a finger against anyone. I defy your skin not to crawl as he smears the terrified Bergen's breasts with raw eggs on the houseboat.Credit director J Lee Thomson for a masterfully helmed thriller , one so good that Hitchcock himself could hardly beat it, the action and tension all the better for being filmed in "Psycho-esque" black and white and accompanied by another terrific Bernard Hermann soundtrack.

Overall, I think Gregory Peck is a better and more versatile actor than Robert Mitchum. But Mitchum was almost always very good, and here I believe he exceeds Peck. I would go so far as to say that this may be Robert Mitchum's masterpiece.But unlike a painting, a film masterpiece requires the efforts of many, and I must give equal credit to director J. Lee Thompson and screenwriter James Webb. They prepared the canvas and the paints, then Mitchum and Peck painted the picture.Peck as the lawyer-father whose family is threatened by Mitchum was perfect for the role, and plays the role to perfection. But it's Mitchum who steals the show. And what I admire most about this film is the director kept Mitchum's performance realistic and believable, instead of over-the-top, which would be a real temptation in a suspense film like this. And the reason it works better is that Mitchum seems even more calculating when things are kept more psychological than violent. That's not to say there's not violence here, but, for the most part, the suspense builds slowly to a violent (and logical) conclusion.For Mitchum's character, the task is to portray an obsession for revenge. AND Mitchum plays it as if his character knows everything will work out, he just has to plot things out carefully. On the other hand, Peck's character's motivation is the upstanding man having to go dirty to protect his family. He doesn't like it, but it's the only way he can accomplish his goal. Because he plays it deviously smart instead of violent, the role is more creepy.By halfway through the film we all know the outcome. The question is how will it all go down? Upon its release in 1962, this was a controversial film due to its sensationalism. Take the first murder scene by drowning...creepy. And, of course, the film is full of sexual tension as Mitchum stalks Peck's wife (well played by Polly Bergen), and even more so his teen-aged daughter (Lori Martin). And, perhaps I'm wrong, but in the scene where he is preparing to rape Polly Bergen, I could swear Mitchum had significantly more hair on his chest than in several earlier scenes. Very interesting.While I like this general type of suspense film, I would rarely give such a film more than a "7", but on the strength of Mitchum's and Peck's performance, this one gets an "8".

I have seen the 1991 remake of this on a number of occasions and so was interested to see how it fared against the original. Whilst not as violent or glossy as the remake this is a superior film due mainly to the acting ability of the cast. Robert Mitchum was a superb actor and genuinely chilling in this as the psychopathic Max Cady who wages war on the man who sent him down. Gregory Peck is a bit wooden but Polly Bergen is good as the mom and I preferred the more vulnerable Lori Martin to Juliette Lewis's 1991 version of the daughter. It's even got Terry Savalas in it for good measure. It is pretty much the same plot as the remake so you will know what's coming but this still manages to be an entertaining and tense ride from start to finish.