Cape Fear movie storyline. A man (Robert Mitchum) enters a courthouse and asks for Sam Bowden. He watches Sam (Gregory Peck) in a trial, then follows him to his car, re-introducing himself as Max Cady. Max makes vaguely threatening comments as Sam drives off.
Later, Max watches Sam and his family bowling, and makes a pass at the waitress. Sam calls police chief Dutton (Martin Balsam) and tells him that Max is being creepy. He explains that Max is an ex-convict who may have a grudge against Sam, and that Sam’s family may be at risk. Dutton calls his deputies and tells them to pick up Max for vagrancy. Max cooperates and obviously knows the law, so they release him.
The next day, Sam finds their dog, poisoned. Sam suspects Max but cannot prove it. His wife Peggy (Polly Bergen) and daughter Nancy (Lori Martin) are distraught, and Sam explains about Max. Max hires a fiery lawyer, Dave Grafton (Jack Kruschen), who accuses the police of harassing Max.
Dutton tells Sam he cannot do anything until Max commits a crime, but advises Sam to hire private detective Charles Sievers. Sievers (Telly Savalas) starts following Max. He calls the police to have Max picked up for lewd vagrancy, but by the time they arrive, Max is gone, and the woman he was with (Barrie Chase) is beaten up. She refuses to help them and leaves town, fearful of Max’s revenge. Sievers suggests Sam hire a dock thug, but he refuses.
Cape Fear is a 1962 American neo-noir psychological thriller film starring Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Polly Bergen. It was adapted by James R. Webb from the 1957 novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald. It was directed by J. Lee Thompson and released on April 12, 1962. The film concerns an attorney whose family is stalked by a criminal he helped to send to jail. Cape Fear was remade in 1991 by Martin Scorsese. Peck, Mitchum, and Martin Balsam all appeared in the remake.
About the Production
Thompson had always envisioned the film in black and white prior to production. As an Alfred Hitchcock fan, he wanted to have Hitchcockian elements in the film, such as unusual lighting angles, an eerie musical score, closeups, and subtle hints rather than graphic depictions of the violence Cady has in mind for the family.
The outdoor scenes were filmed on location in Savannah, Georgia; Stockton, California; and the Universal Studios backlot at Universal City, California. The indoor scenes were done at Universal Studios Soundstage. Mitchum had a real-life aversion to Savannah, where as a teenager, he had been charged with vagrancy and put on a chain gang. This resulted in a number of the outdoor scenes being shot at Ladd’s Marina in Stockton, including the culminating conflict on the houseboat at the end of the movie.
This scene where Mitchum attacks Polly Bergen’s character on the houseboat was almost completely improvised.[citation needed] Before the scene was filmed, Thompson suddenly told a crew member: “Bring me a dish of eggs!” Mitchum’s rubbing the eggs on Bergen was not scripted and Bergen’s reactions were real. She also suffered back injuries from being knocked around so much. She felt the impact of the “attack” for days. While filming the scene, Mitchum cut open his hand, leading Bergen to recall: “his hand was covered in blood, my back was covered in blood. We just kept going, caught up in the scene. They came over and physically stopped us.”
In the source novel The Executioners, by John D. MacDonald, Cady was a soldier court-martialed and convicted on then Lieutenant Bowden’s testimony for the brutal rape of a 14-year-old girl. The censors stepped in, banned the use of the word “rape”, and stated that depicting Cady as a soldier reflected adversely on U.S. military personnel.
Cape Fear (1962)
Directed by: J. Lee Thompson
Starring: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin, Martin Balsam, Jack Kruschen, Telly Savalas, Barrie Chase, Cindy Carol, Alan Wells, Paul Levitt, Allan Ray
Screenplay by: James R. Webb
Production Design by: Ernest B. Wehmeyer
Cinematography by: Sam Leavitt
Film Editing by: George Tomasini
Costume Design by: Mary Wills
Set Decoration by: Oliver Emert
Art Direction by: Robert F. Boyle, Alexander Golitzen
Music by: Bernard Herrmann
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: April 12, 1962 (Miami, Florida), May 28, 1962 (United States)
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