Rating: 
Summary: Excellent thriller
Review: This "original" is very well crafted excitement. Gregory Peck gives excellent performance trying to stay one step ahead of stalking Robert Mitchum. Excellent addition to any film library.
Rating: 
Summary: MITCHUM'S MIGHT
Review: An incredible performance by Robert Mitchum who, I think it is fair to say, was never properly appreciated in his lifetime. One cannot watch this film and not be profoundly disturbed by Max Cady's cunning, misogyny and general contempt for humanity; in film, he is perhaps outdone only by "Brandon Shaw" and "Charles Oakley" of the Hitchcock genre. He plays the role as if it were written for him alone. Robert DeNiro is a fine actor, but his Cady pales in comparison. Note Mitchum's eye contact, elocution and sly grins as he is interrogated by police; his calm reserve as his "girlfriend" badmouths him about what a savage he is. Peck is serviceable in this film. Fine performance from Martin Balsam (Psycho) as the good-old-boy police chief; look out for Telly Savalas as the private eye. Background score deserves top marks, as it ads a sinister element to this noir classic. A must have!!
Rating:
Summary: FREAKY!
Review: This movie is so freaky. Robert Mitchum is so good at playing Max Cadey, it's almost frightening, I mean it IS frightening! This movie is so much better than the lousy remake with Robert DeNiro. If you are a big Robert DeNiro fan, then right off the bat you'll probably like the remake better. Mitchum's Max Cadey is so much better. This movie is very realistic and watching this movie takes you inside the mind of a stalker and finding out what makes him tick and how freaky obsession can be!
Rating:
Summary: Worth Buying
Review: In this film, viewers can see what was possibly Robert Mitchum's greatest role and regrettably Gregory Peck's weakest. In my opinion, this film shares honors for greatest screen villain with: Blue Velvet (Dennis Hopper), M (Peter Lorre), Leon the Professional (Gary Oldman) and This Boy's Life (Robert DeNiro).Repeated viewings only offer more and more insights. It is recommended that viewers also buy and screen Scorsese's remake of the same title. One can then see how much Scorsese admires J. L. Thompson's 1962 direction; Scorsese creates fascinating dialogues between the two versions, and reprises the original, unbeatable score. Acting students might do well to scrutinize Mitchum's subtle poses and gestures that speak volumes. He impresses with minimal force... just amazing.
Rating:
Summary: I liked the remake better, but I still enjoyed the original
Review: After I saw the remake years ago, I had to check out the original. I preferred the DeNiro/Nolte version, but this version was enjoyable, too. I had to keep remembering that this movie was made in 1962, and back then it was considered kind of daring just to even SPEAK of the crimes that ex-con Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) committed. But for its time, it was risque. I thought Gregory Peck seemed a little wooden in his role as Sam Bodden, but Robert Mitchum was a real sleazeball (I mean that in a complimentary way, if there is such a thing). He made this movie worth looking at. Also great was the musical score...so very chilling, that they used it in the 1991 version. Worth checking out.
Rating:
Summary: Not as tense today, but still very good.
Review: This film is not quite as tense or edgy as it was when it was first released, but is still very good. Robert Mitchum is believable and creepily good as the back-woodsy ex-con who stalks a lawyer and his family, and Martin Balsam and Gregory Peck do a good job with their roles too. Some of the dialogue is cheesy (very cheesy) but the noir atmosphere and good performances help you overlook it. If you are in the mood for a good suspense/noir thriller, it is definitely worth a look. But if you are expecting the explicit gore and violence of the 1991 DeNiro version, don't bother.
Rating:
Summary: More subtle then he De Niro version!
Review: Whilst the 1991 re-make had to show everything to the audience, the original with Peck and Mitchum leaves allot more up to the viewers imagination. In fact, I find that the original movie delves deeper into the realms of psychology and the issues of guilt.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: Robert Mitchum gives a great performance in this classic, Gregory Peck was equally good. They made a remake a few years ago but this one is a lot better. Watch this one before the remake.
Rating:
Summary: Subtler and creepier than Scorsese's
Review: Some men like a naked woman, and some like her in a little lingerie-- to leave something to the imagination. That is the difference between the original Cape Fear and the 1991 remake. I am not a big Mitchum fan, but he played Cady to infuriating perfection in this noir, and Peck, who had the (perhaps more challenging) role of the good guy being stalked by Mitchum's psycho, managed to convey just the right balance between anger and mortal fear. The theme of this movie is especially chilling in today's world, in which some places still do not have anti-stalking laws. I have friends who have been stalked by people like Max Cady and could do nothing until gunfire broke out and someone was wounded or killed. In comparison, the later Scorsese remake, with Nick Nolte's attorney being almost as much of a sleazebag as Cady himself, left me frightened and a little disgusted. I watched it for the cameos by Mitchum and Peck, but by the time the family was headed for Cape Fear for the final showdown, I had to shut it off--it was overwhelming. Glad to see two Peck films in the 10 Picks! Great!
Rating:
Summary: Mitchums Magic
Review: J. Lee Thompson went to Mitchum, who did dot want to make this film and asked him again by saying" your,e the only one who can do it" ..How right they were.( Peck co produced) Mitchum gives again one of "those' performances that you just dont forget. Edward Dmytryk said that Mitchum was one of the very best at giving these performances. More sullen and frightening than any absurd remake..with mega millions of Fx, Mitchum simply creates havoc by just being "there" Max Cady calmy drowns one of the guards on his way to his goal at the houseboat...as one reviewer said..Mitchum appears "serpant like" in the water ...thats acting!
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