Cape Fear (1962)★★☆☆☆

So many old movies feel SO SLOW. Like everything is a slow burn telling of a story. And I find old acting performances so strange. Everything feels somehow stilted and overacted at the same time. And that’s kind of how I felt throughout this movie.

Actually, I think Robert Mitchum’s Max Cady was the most interesting part of this whole movie, though Lori Martin’s Nancy Bowden is pretty close. There’s something very real and raw about their performances that I just don’t feel from Polly Bergen (Peggy Bowden) or Gregory Peck (Sam Bowden).

There’s definitely an interesting story here, and there are definitely some tense and scary moments, but on the whole I didn’t find this quite thrilling enough for me. The score certainly wants you to feel a certain way throughout the movie, and yet…

I’m curious to see how Martin Scorsese’s remake fares tomorrow. This movie I could really take or leave.