"Cape Fear" (1962)

This movie stars Gregory Peck as an attorney whose testimony came back to haunt him. Eight years ago he gave testimony that put Robert Mitchum in jail. Now that he's out, Mitchum's looking to exact a little revenge on Peck's wife and child.

Mitchum is actually quite chilling in this movie. There's also a great scene where it looks like he's chasing Peck's little girl but the director pulls a Hitchcock. There's actually a lot of Hitchcock influences in this film. The director worked with him in England. The composer, Bernard Hermann, was the main composer for Hitchcock. Some of the music actually reminded me of Hitchcock movies that was great.

The choice of shooting in black and white is a good one especially for the climax of the movie. The shadows are jagged and edgy among the tropical-like setting.

My favourite part of the movie was when Mitchum goes for the eggs. Apparently that part was completely improvised. It wasn't scripted in and Polly Bergen's (Gregory Peck's wife) reactions are genuine.

This film is a weak imitation of a Hitchcock film but still has its moments that keep you on edge. I'd defitely recommend watching it though, even if its only to see how creepy Mitchum can be.

Rating: 4/5 for Robert Mitchum and his creepy vengeful criminal character.