Cape Fear

With Cape Fear, the menace of film noir moves from shadowy city streets to the home and family. Robert Mitchum’s Max Cady is one of the actor’s most chilling villains, recalling his murderous preacher in The Night of the Hunter. Bernard Herrmann’s tense score adds to the film’s sense of mounting dread. Martin Scorsese would remake Cape Fear nearly thirty years later, casting both Mitchum and Gregory Peck in supporting roles, and the story returns again in a new television series, with Scorsese among its executive producers.

After an eight-year prison sentence for rape, Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) targets Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck), one of the lawyers who sent him away. When Max finds Sam and his family, he begins a terrifying stalking spree, intending to ruin Sam’s life. Desperate to protect his wife and daughter, Sam makes every effort to send Max back to jail. But when his attempts fail, Sam realizes that he must take matters into his own hands if he wants to rid his life of Max for good.