Cheap Cape Fear (DVD) (Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum) (J. Lee Thompson) Price

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Customer Reviews of Cape Fear

Purely classic!
The 1962 version of "Cape Fear" is a classic horror movie in every sense of the word, with its high-pitched, screaming soundtrack, its acting, and the story that strays away from the violence seen in today's movies, but still takes a daring step for its time. Director J. Lee Thompson weaves suspense into every moment through his pacing, and with the help of gifted actors Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, who play the cat-and-mouse battle exquisitely.

Peck is Sam Bowden, an attorney who begins to suspect that recently released convict Max Cady, played by Mitchum, is after his family in a game of revenge. Bowden testimony against Cady is what put him away for eight years, and Cady is out for more than just a monetary payoff. As he watches the Bowden family, he is careful not to overstep the boundaries of the law, which makes it increasingly difficult for Bowden to bring him up on any charge.

Bowden soon realizes that the only avenue of protection for his family is to set a trap for Cady, prove that he is out to harm his wife and child, and have him either arrested or killed on the spot. This leads to the famed showdown on Cape Fear, in which Cady brings out the family's worst nightmares.

It's interesting to watch thrillers from this day and age, and compare it to the tactics used in such movies as "Cape Fear." In a society where we resort to such violent and gruesome tactics in movies, sometimes it's nice to escape that and find something out of the norm. The scene in this film in which Cady physically oppresses Bowden's wife only gives off the impression that rape is almost inevitable, but to see her face frozen in that moment of utter fear is as frightening and eye-opening as anything Hollywood can dish up.

The movie plays with the audience on many occasions, with effective results. A scene involving Bowden's daughter running from the pursuing Cady is charged with suspense, though in the end, he was not the one coming after her. Much like it's main protagonist, we are left in the dark as to solid evidence to convince us of Cady's guilt in such crimes as poisoning the family dog, leaving us to invest our own opinion in the characters.

This is an easy task, given the stellar acting from the two male leads. Gregory Peck portrays a man driven to the end of his rope quite well, and the inner collapse we see in Sam Bowden is given a believable complexity. It is Robert Mitchum, however, who steals the show with his heart-stopping performance as Cady, evoking a subtle chill that permeates the entire movie. His ability to portray a character who remains calm in the most disturbing moments makes his performance a stand-out, one to be heralded for its authenticity and true-to-life nature.

"Cape Fear" will go down as a classic, and deserves such a fate. It is the ideal model of a classic thriller, and it proves at many times that there is such a thing as subtle terror instead of big gross-out effects that will keep the audience in the mindset of the movie. I look at the picture as nothing more than a suitable thriller that's a bit risky for its time period, and it works well.

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Tight thriller with great acting.
I have decided to write reviews for both the original and remake of the fabulous film back to back.
Gregory Peck play's Sam Bowden an lawyer with a nice family and a good structure around his life. He is unprepared however when Max Cady,Played with fantastic menace by Robert Mitchum, is released from prison and shows up in Bowdens life. Cady is angry with Bowden becouse he testified agianst him at a assault trial that resulted in Cady's incarceration.
Two of the most different actors stay in this fantasticlly paced thriller. Mitchum is scary and itimmidating as Cady while Peck's Bowden is so reserved you wounder just what would happen if they got into a life and death struggle. This movie delivers on all leavels. You care about all the charators and feel a real sense of dread whenever Mitchum comes onto the screen.
I also reviwed the other Cape Fear but forget the remake and see this one instead.

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"Max Cady isn't a man who makes idle threats!"
Prior to his Oscar-winning role as lawyer Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird", Gregory Peck portrayed another attorney in 1962's "Cape Fear", a psychological thriller also starring Robert Mitchum in one of his most despicable roles.

No two actors were better suited than these two. Their characters are a definite study in contrast. Peck's Sam Bowden is a civilized intellectual forced to resort to some underhanded means to protect his family and himself from the treacherous taunts of Mitchum's crude, rude antagonist. Tension builds as the two men make a final confrontation at the location of the film's title.

Polly Bergen and Lorie Martin as Peck's respective wife and daughter are quite good a show a strength of character rare for women in the early 60's. They are not just "screaming Mimi's".

Martin Balsam, Jack Krushen and a pre-Kojak Telly Savalas round out a superlative cast; Barrie Chase is also quite memorable as a woman that runs afoul of the Mitchum's sadistic Max Cady.

Southern locations and crisp cinematography provide a picturesque yet menacing background and look.

To top off the film off is another remarkable score from Bernard Herrmann. Music by the late composer elevates this already superior thriller to a higher level.