Cape Fear (1962 film)

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Cape Fear
Cape Fear movie poster
Directed by	J. Lee Thompson
Produced by	Sy Bartlett
Written by	John D. MacDonald (novel The Executioners) James R. Webb
Starring	Gregory Peck Robert Mitchum Polly Bergen
Music by	Bernard Herrmann
Cinematography	Sam Leavitt
Editing by	George Tomasini
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	April 12, 1962 (U.S. release)
Running time	105 min
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Cape Fear is a 1962 film about an attorney whose family is stalked by a criminal whom he helped to send to jail. It stars Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum as Max Cady, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin, Martin Balsam, Jack Kruschen, Telly Savalas and Barrie Chase.

It was adapted by James R. Webb from the novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald. It was directed by J. Lee Thompson, and released on April 12, 1962.

Peck, who also served as a producer, was originally offered the role of Max Cady, the bad guy. However, he was so against playing a villain at the time that he steadfastly refused the part. He went on to say that he felt audiences would not accept him playing a ruthless character so he, instead, sought the role of the hero. This casting has lead to some of the biggest criticisms of the movie by some fans. At a strapping 6'3, Peck is clearly the physically more powerful of two leads, although he plays the less aggressive of the two characters. This is in staunch comparison to the smaller 6'1 Robert Mitchum. Although by no means a scrawny or short man, Mitchum is noticeably smaller in height and frame than Peck. Mitchum later stated that, in the final fight scene of the movie, that Peck once accidentally punched him for real. Mitchum went on to say that he felt the impact of the punch for days afterwards.

It was remade in 1991. Peck, Mitchum and Balsam all appeared in the remake. Most fans of horror cinema regard the original Cape Fear as the scarier of the two^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Trivia

• The British censors attempted to ban the film from showing in cinemas. After making 161 cuts, it still nearly garnered an X rating.

• Robert Mitchum, who plays the villain Max Cady, had a real-life aversion to Savannah, Georgia, where the film is set. As a teenager he was charged with vagrancy in Savannah and put on a chain-gang before escaping.

• The scene where Mitchum attacks Polly Bergen's character on the houseboat was almost completely improvised. Before the scene was filmed, the director suddenly asked a crew member: "Bring me a dish of eggs!" Mitchum rubbing the eggs on Bergen was not scripted and Bergan's reactions were real. She also suffered back injuries from being knocked around so much. She felt the impact of the 'attack' for days.

• The outdoor Savannah scenes were filmed first. The indoor scenes and Cape Fear scenes were done at Universal studios.

• Barrie Chase, who plays a drifter picked up by Cady, was a popular dancer and TV personality of the 1950s, and a current dancing companion of Fred Astaire.

• The word 'rape' was entirely removed from the script.

• The film enraged the censors, who were worried that "there was a continuous threat of sexual assault on a child". The censors also were concerned that Max Cady looks "too lasciviously" at Bowdon's pre-teen daughter.^{[citation needed]}

• Lori Martin, who plays Bowdon's daughter, reported having nightmares for weeks after filming the scenes where she is menaced by Cady at school, and when he confronts her in a cabin.

• Hayley Mills was originally considered to play the daughter, but she was on a contract with Disney and was unable to do so.

• When approached to play the villain, Mitchum turned down the role. Convinced Mitchum would still make the perfect Cady, Thompson and Gregory Peck sent him a bottle of bourbon. A couple of days later, Mitchum sent a telegraph to Thompson, which read: "I've had your bourbon. I'm drunk. I'll do it."

• Peck was originally attached to the project as a producer, not an actor. However, he was sought for the role of Max Cady by the studios. Peck, who initially did not consider acting in the film, agreed to appear in the film, but instead asked if he could play the hero. The studios, so happy to have Peck agree to appear in the film, granted his request.

• Thompson had always envisioned the film in black and white prior to production. Being a Hitchcock fan, he wanted to have Hitchcockean elements in the film, such as unusual lighting angles, an eerie musical score, closeups of serious faces, and indicating very little of the violence that Cady has in mind for the family.

• This film was #36 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.