Cape Fear

UK Release Date. 10 January 1963
Certification. X

Running Time. 1 hour 46 mins

Director. J. Lee Thompson
Cast. Martin Balsam, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Telly Savalas.
Rating. 70%

Review.

Bernard Herrmann's - now iconic - four ominous, opening notes proclaim the impending menace in the neo-noir psychological drama Cape Fear. From there, director, J. Lee Thompson masterfully escalates the tension and suspense over the next hour and 46 minutes.

The success of Cape Fear is entirely due to Robert Mitchum's spellbinding portrayal of the laconic psychopath, Max Cady. The main characters - Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck) and his wife Peggy (Polly Bergen) - are weak and the performances are a little staid. But not Robert Mitchum. He excels in an understated portrayal of the cold-blooded tormentor. There is a scene towards the end of the film when Max Cady enters the water in the most reptilian manner imaginable; like a crocodile sinisterly sliding from the bank into the river to ambush its unsuspecting prey. Mitchum's Max Cady is only rivalled by his earlier appearance as the religious fanatic Reverend Harry Powell in The Night Of The Hunter. An equally repugnant character.

In his day, Mitchum was underused talent, who never took the profession too seriously. "I gave up being serious about making pictures around the time I made a film with Greer Garson and she took a hundred and twenty-five takes to say no."

There is an air of unease with a film that is essentially suggesting that one of the main characters is more than capable of abuse, rape and even child molestation. However, the 1963 release of Cape Fear is the perfect illustration of a director who understands that less is more. The tension is brought about by what the audience doesn't see...but instead imagines.