"John D. MacDonald's THE EXECUTIONERS (1958) was twice
adapted for the movies: CAPE FEAR (1962), and CAPE FEAR
(1991). The first version had Robert Mitchum as the villain,
Max Cady, and it's one of his best performances. He can just
stand around looking at you with those droopy eyes and you
know he's ready to kill. The late Gregory Peck plays the
hero, the lawyer whose wife and daughter are threatened. It's
a good movie, with some very tense sections, especially at
the end. (And the score is by Bernard Herrmann.)
I've never read the original book, nor seen the 1991 remake
that had Robert De Niro as Cady and Nick Nolte as the lawyer.
I understand Mitchum and Peck have cameos. How is it? Is De
Niro as menacing as Mitchum? Are the endings the same? In the
1962 version, the lawyer beats Cady in the climactic fight,
but doesn't shoot him: he saves him for the police and for
justice." William Denton
The original book is one of MacDonald's finest and I'd
recommend it highly. The 1991 remake is another matter...
Privately, Scorsese referred to it, disparagingly, as his
'Spielberg' movie and it was undertaken as part of a
contractual commitment to Universal.
Mitchum has a bit part as Lieut Elgart who arrests and
searches Cady. Peck plays a criminal lawyer approached by
both Cady and Sam (the threatened father). While the role was
not her movie debut, Juliette Lewis' performance as the
teenager on the brink of discovering her sexuality brought
her deserved recognition and is one of the best parts of the
film.
In the protracted slugfest at the end of the film, Sam has no
compunctions about trying to kill Cady, but his death is only
an indirect consequence. In its favour, the 1991 version does
inject some moral ambiguity into the characters which, as far
as I recall, was absent from J Lee Thompson's powerhouse
version.
1991 was a strange year for Hollywood with Scorsese
delivering an inferior picture and Adrian Lyne delivering a
fine movie in JACOB'S LADDER.
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
The UCLA archivist Robert Gitt is currently touring with a
presentation of the movie THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. What is on
show is a an approximately three hour presentation of
outtakes and rushes that reveal much of Charles Laughton's
style of direction, particularly interesting as he does not
cut between takes. Iimagine rara avis subscribers are devoted
fans of the book and movie, so don't pass up the opportunity
to see this show.
As this is my first contribution to rara avis, let me say who
I am. For the last twelve years or so,I've worked on
film-related programmes for British TV, and a couple of years
ago made BIG SHOTS, a 50 minute doc on the British gangster
movie from BRIGHTON ROCK to LOCK, STOCK etc. The last doc I
made was on the very unhardboiled Bing Crosby...
Nigel
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