A lawyer's family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail.A lawyer's family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail.A lawyer's family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail.
Tom Newman
- Lt. Gervasi
- (as Thomas Newman)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGregory Peck later said regarding Robert Mitchum, "I had given him the role and had paid him a terrific amount of money. It was obvious he had the better role. I thought he would understand that, but he apparently thought he acted me off the screen. I didn't think highly of him for that."
- GoofsAfter Sam and Max have a drink together, Sam gets up to leave. While he is putting money on the table, Max is smoking his cigar but as Sam leaves, Max's cigar has disappeared.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Max Cady: [Bowden has shot Cady and is holding the gun on him] Go ahead. I just don't give a damn.
Sam Bowden: No. No! That would be letting you off too easy, too fast. Your words - do you remember? Well I do. No, we're gonna take good care of you. We're gonna nurse you back to health. And you're strong, Cady. You're gonna live a long life... in a cage! That's where you belong and that's where you're going. And this time for life! Bang your head against the walls. Count the years - the months - the hours... until the day you rot!
- ConnectionsEdited into The Making of 'Cape Fear' (2001)
Featured review
Delivers the Goods
When Cady (Mitchum) slips into the water, it's like an alligator sneaking up on its prey. Except this is a houseboat with two vulnerable women in his sights. With those sleepy eyes, it's hard to know just what sadistic acts he's got in mind, but we know it's too grisly for the screen. Remember what he did to poor Diane (Chase), and he wasn't even mad at her. Cape Fear should have been named Cape Fear, Shudder and Sweat.
This is about the last word in stalker movies. More importantly, it shows how using less often produces more. Mitchum underplays the stalker role, but he also knows how to imply unspeakable evil, which is really more effective than blood splatter. It's what's in your imagination that's really scary. Ditto Peck, (Sam) whose on-screen reserve speaks volumes in grim determination-- he's got to protect his family. Only Bergen as the terrified wife gets to really cut loose. What a first-rate cast, plus expert pacing from director Thompson.
I guess the movie's moral is that if the law can't protect you, you've got to do it yourself. At that primitive level, there's no holds barred. So the tension really mounts as we discover Cady's animal cunning is too much for the law or even for hired thugs. In the end, then, it's going to have to be Cady vs. Sam, mano y mano. It's sort of like a modern morality tale of the nuclear family vs. a swamp beast. No doubt about it, the movie's a real nail-biter the whole way.
This is about the last word in stalker movies. More importantly, it shows how using less often produces more. Mitchum underplays the stalker role, but he also knows how to imply unspeakable evil, which is really more effective than blood splatter. It's what's in your imagination that's really scary. Ditto Peck, (Sam) whose on-screen reserve speaks volumes in grim determination-- he's got to protect his family. Only Bergen as the terrified wife gets to really cut loose. What a first-rate cast, plus expert pacing from director Thompson.
I guess the movie's moral is that if the law can't protect you, you've got to do it yourself. At that primitive level, there's no holds barred. So the tension really mounts as we discover Cady's animal cunning is too much for the law or even for hired thugs. In the end, then, it's going to have to be Cady vs. Sam, mano y mano. It's sort of like a modern morality tale of the nuclear family vs. a swamp beast. No doubt about it, the movie's a real nail-biter the whole way.
helpful•373
- dougdoepke
- Apr 27, 2012
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $3,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 46 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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![Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Polly Bergen, and Lori Martin in Cape Fear (1962)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzg2M2ZmYTUtY2RjZS00YTU0LThmZjctY2EyYzFmYmE3NzE3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjc5NjEzNA@@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,1,90,133_.jpg)