After an eight-year prison term for rape and assault, Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) is set free. Immediately making a beeline to Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck),
the former prosecutor responsible for Cady's conviction, Cady
laconically informs Sam that he intends to "pay back" the attorney for
his years behind bars. Conducting a meticulous campaign of terror, Cady
is careful to stay within the law. Sam, realizing that Cady intends to
wreak vengeance by raping the attorney's wife (Polly Bergen) and daughter (Lori Martin), tries to put the ex-criminal behind bars, but has no grounds to do so. Chief Dutton (Martin Balsam)
tries to help Sam with a few strong-arm tactics, but succeeds only in
having the courts take Cady's side in the matter. Things come to a head
when Sam moves his family to the "safety" of a remote houseboat on Cape
Fear river. Cady shows up unannounced and is about to ravage Bowden's
wife and daughter and when Sam turns the tables.
Cape Fear (1962) ,J. Lee Thompson
After an eight-year prison term for rape and assault, Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) is set free. Immediately making a beeline to Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck),
the former prosecutor responsible for Cady's conviction, Cady
laconically informs Sam that he intends to "pay back" the attorney for
his years behind bars. Conducting a meticulous campaign of terror, Cady
is careful to stay within the law. Sam, realizing that Cady intends to
wreak vengeance by raping the attorney's wife (Polly Bergen) and daughter (Lori Martin), tries to put the ex-criminal behind bars, but has no grounds to do so. Chief Dutton (Martin Balsam)
tries to help Sam with a few strong-arm tactics, but succeeds only in
having the courts take Cady's side in the matter. Things come to a head
when Sam moves his family to the "safety" of a remote houseboat on Cape
Fear river. Cady shows up unannounced and is about to ravage Bowden's
wife and daughter and when Sam turns the tables.
