Rent Cape Fear (1962)

The original - better than the 1991 remake with Robert Di Niro - Cape Fear review by RP

Remade in 1991 starring Nick Nolte and Robert De Niro, this is the original 1962 version with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum.

Max Cady (the baddie, played by Robert Mitchum) is released from prison after serving 8 years for rape [Aside: the words 'rape' or 'rapist' are never mentioned in the film, courtesy of the censor. The words 'attack' and 'attacker' are used instead - but from the context it is always clear what is meant]. Baddie begins to stalk attorney Sam Bowden (the goodie, played by Gregory Peck) and his family. Bowden testified against him in his trial for an 'attack' leading to Cady's conviction.

The law can't protect Bowden's family from the stalker and neither can taking matters into his own hands. The climax comes on a houseboat on the Cape Fear River, North Carolina - or in this version, on the river bank as the two main characters fight. Clearly, it is always going to be the goodie who wins, but nevertheless the tension is maintained until the end.

Of the two versions I much prefer the original. Filmed in black and white, the acting is more restrained, the baddie more realistic - and equally as menacing. In the remake, the Robert De Niro baddie is just too over-the-top - here, while still relentlessly threatening he appears far more menacing when acted by the more restrained Robert Mitchum.

Telly Savalas (with hair!) has a small part as a private eye.

The film was given a X certificate on its release in the UK and the BBFC site lists the film as some 3 minutes shorter than the video version. Quite what was cut is not clear - by today's standards the violence is restrained, even though the subject matter is still disturbing.

Directed by British director J. Lee Thompson and well lit and photographed, this is an excellent film with a score by Bernard Herrmann that adds to the air of menace. 4/5 stars. Highly recommended.

Family Threat. - Cape Fear review by Steve

Violent action thriller set on the bayou of southeast Georgia. It's a confrontation between a progressive lawyer (Gregory Peck) and the vicious thug (Robert Mitchum) who was sent down by his evidence. The hoodlum strolls into town straight from prison to destroy the family of his nemesis. 

The noirs of the 40s/50s were liberal films, but this is an update of a conservative frontier western. The law won't help. Legislation protects the criminal. The women can't protect themselves. A killer can't be reasoned with. He isn't a psycho because of the failure of urban planning projects. He's just a human devil and a man must defend his family with the means available.

Which is ultimately a handgun. This is remembered for Mitchum's performance as the repulsive, inexorable head case. He spends the last part of the film bare chested. We believe completely in his brawny depravity. The men hired to beat him up scatter in horror. His menace is muscular, but also also malevolently psychological.

J.Lee Thompson was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock, but this leans more on Mitchum's malign charisma than techniques of suspense. Though he does have a score by Bernard Herrmann! By '62, the dogs of censorship were being called off. The threat of rape and paedophilia are explicit. Today, thrillers about a father protecting the domestic bubble from omnipotent malice are everywhere.