If it gets a remake by Martin Scorsese, and a classic Simpsons parody, it's probably worth checking out. Such is the case with Cape Fear, from 1962. Based on John D. McDonald's 1957 novel The Executioners, the film has a simple setup: Max Cady, played by Robert Mitchum, is finally out of the slammer and looking for a little revenge against the attorney whose testimony put him away.
The attorney is Sam Bowden, an upright family man as played by Gregory Peck, who may or may not be above doing whatever it takes to protect his wife and young teenage daughter (played by Polly Bergen and Lori Martin, respectively). When it becomes clear that Cady has no intentions of leaving the Bowden family in peace, Sam turns to his connections in the local law enforcement office for help. Martin Balsam and Telly Savalas show up in supporting roles, as does Barrie Chase as another victim of Cady's.
Mitchum's leering menace gives the film a surprising amount of tension, and his designs on the women in the Bowden family are never quite explicitly stated, owing, it seems, to numerous censor cuts before the film was released. Knowing that Max Cady was in prison for rape is clear, but the actual word is never used. He's an unapologetically bad dude, and one of the great film villains, even if it means that Peck's Sam Bowden is a little lacking in personality compared to Mitchum's undeniably dark charisma in the role. A classic suspense film with atmospheric black and white photography, a memorable score by Bernard Herrmann, and plenty of sweltering Southern heat (and an actual swamp thrown in!), Cape Fear should be experienced.
