On C List of Movie Reviews

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Cape Fear (1962)

Rate: 6
Viewed: 5/06, 3/25

5/06: Now, I can see why Cape Fear was remade.

The 1962 version is nice-looking but has slow pace and can be boring to sit through. Given the interesting premise, it often lacks suspense. Although Dirty Harry has been proclaimed to be the earliest known film that's concerned with the rights of a criminal, Cape Fear actually got there first.

Robert Mitchum seems to find his fit as Max Cady. However, Robert De Niro's rendition is so much better. As usual, Gregory Peck is stiff as the worried father/husband. I wasn't sure if he cared. Look at how his daughter keeps getting left alone all the time.

All in all, I prefer the 1991 version of Cape Fear over the original.

3/25: I thought I would check out the original version of Cape Fear again.

The movie is too slow, but Robert Mitchum is the man and comes alive in the final thirty minutes. Although the setting takes place in Savannah, Georgia, the climax was actually shot at a marina in California because Mitchum had been arrested there and was placed in a chain gang. When he crushed an egg, that was done on the spur of the moment. On the other hand, Gregory Peck has done a good job and is the one who came up with the film title. The rest of the cast is fair.

The biggest issue is the concept. It doesn't make sense. If Sam Bowden is able to part with $20,000, then surely he and his family can move out, sell the house, and change their names. Max Cady will never be able to track them down. Problem solved, and no violence is ever needed.

All in all, Cape Fear is worth watching because of Robert Mitchum, but the remake is better.

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