Cape Fear (1962)

Director: J Lee Thompson

Starring: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Martin Balsam, Telly Savalas

More Info: IMDB

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

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

My Rating: 9.5/10

From the first 4 notes of Bernard Herrmann's brutal score during the first 3 seconds of the film, you know exactly what you're in for and it ain't going to be pretty! To think this was made in '62 is as amazing as PSYCHO (with another fantastic Herrmann score) having come out just two years earlier and fucking all kinds of shit up.


It's been far too long since I've seen this but I could never forget Herrmann's score and the absolute career-best performance (that I've seen, at least) of Mitchum. GodDAMN, he's good!

I like Peck as an actor but I've never been able to get past his seemingly one-note performances. His style is always the same. Can someone please let me know of a film or two where he's actually "acting" as another character? It's not a gripe, really, but an observation. He does an excellent job of being Gregory Peck.

Suckin' in the 'ole gut...

There's lots of familiar faces here like Martin Balsam (also in PSYCHO), Edward Platt ("Chief" from GET SMART) and Telly Savalas!!! AND THIS BADASSMOTHERFUCKER HAS HAIR!!! Check it out!


That's a little something I had forgotten about. He's always fun to watch.

The guy to Mitchum's left, Jack Kruschen (playing Attorney Dave Grafton) turns in a brilliant performance as Cady's sleazy lawyer (sorry for the oxymoron).

The script is tight and brilliant and the direction is tense but nothing compares to shear brutality of Mitchum's performance as the sadistic Max Cady. From the opening scene finding Bowden (Peck) in the courtroom to the incredible finale, Mitchum delivers the goods. Cady is as devious as he is dangerous. He's a man who has lived every second of his eight years in prison thinking and plotting revenge to the man who is responsible for putting him there. Sure, Cady deserved it but that's irrelevant. And what revenge he has planned!

Nice shadow work with the smoke.

Naturally, a villain as juicy as this has some great dialogue. There's a wonderful scene in a bar where Cady eyes an attractive working girl across the room. His stare is, at the same time, disturbing and intriguing - for us and for her.


We sort of have an idea of 'who' he is but she's going to find out later 'what' he is. He's picked up by the fuzz in their routine harassment of Cady. As they pull him past the girl on the way out they have this little exchange...


Cady: I'm gonna give ya just one hour to get rid of your friends.
Diane: Are you trying to pick me up?
Cady: (slowly and nodding) Yes...yeah.

So what kind of man is Cady? Later on, they've gotten together and, after coitus, Cady re-enters the bedroom. Slowly, as if he's savoring every moment of anticipation of what's to come, he makes his way around the bed, like an animal circling it's prey. She slowly awakens, noticing his eyes and movements, until the point of realization. The music is deep, ominous and outright terrifying when combined with the careful precision of the moving camera and the effortless sadism of Cady's fluid movement and gestures. It's one of the most intense beatings you will ever see...and we don't see one blow struck nor do we hear what follows. It's horrific without ever being graphic. They couldn't show us. This is 1962 and I kept reminding myself from time to time that this movie, as intense and brutal as it is was filmed in 1962 in Hollywood.








There's no fucking way I'm spoiling this film. Even seeing these images can't ruin one of the most incredible scenes I've seen in a Hollywood picture. The finale is simply brilliant. I rarely praise my faulty memory but it was welcome as I couldn't recall how it finished and I was better for it. It was most exciting and did not disappoint one bit.


Save the Martin Scorcese (whom I LOVE) for another day. Watch the original. Not only is it, in many ways, a better film but it's a remarkable film that deserves your attention. I will not wait another 15 years to see it again. It's shocking, it's beautiful, it's thrilling and it's a worthy example of what happens with what the right talented people can do with the right material.