Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Scott LeBrun Robert Mitchum is at his creepy best here, playing a villain than can easily rival his antagonist in "The Night of the Hunter". Mitchum is memorable as Max Cady, an ex-con who has never forgiven lawyer Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) for helping to put him behind bars for eight years. Now the ex-con is back, and is determined to constantly harass Sam & his family (Polly Bergen as wife Peggy, Lori Martin as daughter Nancy). Cady has something especially insidious planned for the females. It isn't long before Sam believes that his nemesis is capable of anything, and is resorting to desperate measures to remove this threat from his life."Cape Fear" is one of the all-time great black & white thrillers to come out of Hollywood, boasting a sharp script by James R. Webb, that is based on the novel "The Executioners" by John D. MacDonald. It may indeed lack the explicitness of later Hollywood films, but that actually adds to its power. What it suggests is already pretty powerful.Overall, it has a very Hitchcockian feel, and in fact was scored by frequent Hitch collaborator Bernard Herrmann (one of the composers' most haunting and unforgettable soundtracks) and cut by George Tomasini, who'd edited "Psycho". It marks one of the absolute best efforts for the director J. Lee Thompson ("The Guns of Navarone").It's clear early on that Cady is the more interesting role. As vile as he is, he has an unpleasantly sly, savvy quality about him, only enhanced by the fact that he's spent his time in stir studying up on the law. Now he knows just how much he can get away with in the name of making Sams' life a living Hell. And he has a man in his corner, a grandstanding attorney played by the great character actor Jack Kruschen.In comparison, Sam is an ideal role for Peck, what with his All-American, model of decency type of character. And he becomes more intriguing as he relents and starts taking those desperate measures, like hiring some local toughs to try to gang up on Cady.Not much is done with the wife and daughter roles; they're mostly just required to be stand around and be scared. But Bergen and Martin are appealing in their performances.In addition to Kruschen, other notable cast members include Balsam (who, of course, played Arbogast in "Psycho"), Telly Savalas, Barrie Chase, Paul Comi, Page Slattery, and Edward Platt. But Mitchum towers over everybody with a performance of pure smarm and menace.The finale is genuinely gripping stuff: it's quite tense and very atmospheric.Famously remade by Martin Scorsese in 1991, with interesting new layers to the story, but an ultimately more over the top nature, with Robert De Niro's version of Cady coming off like a cartoon bogeyman.Eight out of 10.

TheLittleSongbird Comparisons with this and the 1991 Martin Scorsese film are inevitable. Both are worth watching in their own way, but am of the general consensus that the 1962 film is superior.Scorsese's film may be slicker, bigger and with more character complexities and expansive themes. However, the 1962 film while more subtle in comparison is more chilling, more tense and more suspenseful with the much better portrayal of Max Cady. A brilliant film in all respects, and a near-masterpiece.The cinematography is eerily stark yet also beautiful, while there is clever use of light and shadows that enhances the suitably uncomfortable atmosphere and the sets handsome but also atmospheric. Bernard Hermann, responsible for penning some of the all-time great film scores ('Vertigo' and 'Psycho' being big examples), provides a score that's sometimes lush but often unsettlingly haunting that increasingly adds to the growing and intensifying dread deftly.'Cape Fear's' script is taut and thoughtful, while the story is a master class of the gripping, genuinely shocking and the tension-laden, showing that one doesn't need violence and swearing to make an impression. Not just the nail-biting stalking scenes, but also the bowling alley scene that shows wonderfully how sadistic a character Cady is and especially the ending that still sends up chills up the spine and a brilliant mix of sexual tension and knuckle quivering. The cracking of an egg touch is improvisation at its finest.J. Lee Thompson directs adroitly, especially in the use of light and shadow and how effectively he allows the tension and suspense to mount up. A good cast helps which the film has. Robert Mitchum's performance has been praised for very good reason, but it is easy to overlook everybody else. Found myself appreciating Gregory Peck's quietly confident and subtly heroic performance (that contrasts very well with Mitchum's Cady), and while Polly Bergen and Lori Martin don't have as much to do in roles that are nowhere near as meaty (the film's sole weak spot to me actually) but they still fare well regardless, Bergen being especially powerful at the end.It is Mitchum's film all the way though. Even when smooth and subtle, Mitchum disappears into the role and gives one of the most sadistic, downright scary and memorably vicious human monsters on film.All in all, a brilliant film that just falls shy of being a masterpiece. 9/10 Bethany Cox

SnoopyStyle Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) is a southern defense lawyer. Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) gets out of prison after spending over 8 years for an attack on a young woman after Bowden intervened and testified against him. Cady starts harassing Sam, his wife Peggy and young daughter Nancy. Sam's friend police chief Mark Dutton (Martin Balsam) is powerless to stop him. On Mark's suggestion, Sam hires private detective Charlie Sievers (Telly Savalas). He can't get rid of his stalker culminating in a life-and-death struggle.Director J. Lee Thompson is able to bring a Hitchcockian style to the movie. Robert Mitchum is great at being creepy. It's a tense crime drama from start to finish. Gregory Peck is the proper gentleman being pushed to the limits. It has a steady dark tone that is unrelenting with a constant sinister dramatic score.

MattyGibbs 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.