PLAYED BY ROBERT MITCHUM
AND
ROBERT DE NIRO
FROM "CAPE FEAR", THE ORIGINAL AND REMAKE
This is where I couldn't decide which performance I
liked better. These two both bring a spectacular and scary performance. I'm
going to break this into 2 parts. Let’s start by talking about the original Max
Cady played by Robert Mitchum. Before I start talking about the character, let
me just say right off the bat that this is my favorite performance done by
Robert Mitchum. I get chills when I watch him in "Night Of The
Hunter" as well but this performance and character left a huge impression
on me. Why, let’s find out.
WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS
Max Cady is a sleazy con artist, who smokes cigars and wears a Panama hat. He has been in prison for 8 years for rape and now that he's out, he seeks revenge on the person who stopped his attacked and testified against him Sam Bowden. We first see him in the films opening credits as the scary theme to the movie plays. He starts off by stalking his ex lawyer as he watches him in court; takes the keys away from Sam's car to give him the word that he's out; and then follows him and his family to the Bowling Alley. These scenes are creepy as hell because you don't know what he's thinking or what he's up too, he just sits there watching Sam's family as he smokes his cigars and hits on young girls.
A concerned Sam has Max go through a strip search. During the search, Max tells Sam that he's been studying law in prison and that he'll be settling in the town where Sam lives. Max also hires himself a lawyer to make sure Sam doesn't try anything on him. One of the many reasons why I chose Max is because he's a very smart villain. He knows the law system and if Sam makes one wrong move he can not only use it against him but also have Sam lose his job.
Max's first attempt on Sam's family is to poison the
family dog. He does it by sneaking into the backyard and putting rat poison in
the food. The scary part is we the viewers see no evidence of him poisoning the
dog but we know for a fact that he did it. However, since Sam didn't catch him
in the act there's no way of convicting him. What a sneaky guy. Max then
meets a young girl and goes out with her. As he takes her home, he brutally
beats her off screen. He leaves and tells her that the beating "Was
only a sample". The young woman was found scared and bruised refusing not
to testify against Cady. The fact that this villain can pull off a crime
and get away with it is one serious skill as well as making him one intelligent villain.
Max then makes eyes on Sam's young daughter and tells him
that she's as juicy as Sam's wife, what a pervert. A pissed off Sam punches him
in the face, but Max doesn't do anything to defend himself but instead threatens
Sam and tells the crowd of witnesses about Sam's unnecessary action. After the
assault, Sam's daughter Nancy sees him with a frightened face. A day or so
later, Max then approaches the car that Nancy
is in (While her mother makes a quick run to the store) and Nancy runs out of the car
and into the closed school to escape from Cady. Throughout this sequence we are
lead to believe that Max is chasing after her but instead he's just standing
outside of the school watching Nancy
run. She then runs into Max at the same spot he's standing and as she runs away
she gets hit by a car. The cool thing is Max doesn't do anything but his
presence can lead to some serious chaos. That's what I call a good villain.
After the incident Sam tries to bribe Max to leave town. Max
refuses the offer and gives him a powerful speech of the loss of values. He
tells him the story of losing his wife because of going to jail and his kid
doesn't even know him because of the amount of years he spent in jail. This
speech goes from something sounding sad and tragic to something
twisted about him meeting his wife again and about breaking out of prison
and finding ways to slowly hurt a man. The transition and flow to the
speech is really good. After refusing the offer, Sam hires a couple of
thugs to beat up Cady and scare him off. The plan however backfires when Cady
decides to fight back. Not only beating up the thugs but also scaring them
away. Max true colors are shown when he calls Sam and threatens him.
This then leads us to the films climax. Sam hides his family
on a houseboat on the "Cape
Fear" river, while
he pretends on showing up to court in another state. He knows Max will be after
his family while he's away, so Sam hires a protector for the family and Sam
hides in a house on land to make sure Cady is killed. Cady quickly figures out
Sam's plan and has plans of his own. He first sneaks into the area where
the family's hiding and uses stealth to strangle the family's protector to
death. He then unties the boat where Sam's wife is in and then hops aboard and
tries to rape her while he rubs a raw egg around her chest and than beats her
up to keep her quiet. The acting from Robert Mitchum and the reaction
to Sam's wife as she's being felt up makes the scene very uncomfortable and
disturbing. Max then leaves the boat and goes after Nancy who is hiding in the
house on land. He takes away Nancy's
weapon and drags her into the woods so he can rape her. What a sick bastard.
Luckily, Sam saves his daughter and tells her to "Run and hide". This
then leads to the films epic duel.
Cady tries to strangle Sam but Sam breaks free and fights
back. The two of them begin to fist fight but Max pushes Sam in the water and
tries to drown him. After thinking he succeeded, Sam is still alive and hits
him with a rock. Sam then runs into the woods and hides but Max then grabs a
giant piece of wood with a nail sticking out and hunts after Sam. This whole
fight scene is so intense that you fear that Cady will win. The way how Max
fights and acts in this fight makes him seem like a wild animal that’s
after it's pray. This villain than gets the punishment he deserves. Sam
shoots Max but instead of killing him he decides to nurse him back to health
and put him back in jail for the rest of his life until the day he rots.
"I got somethin' planned for your wife and kid that they ain't nevah gonna forget. They ain't nevah gonna forget it... and neither will you, Counselor! Nevah!"
Max Cady
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 AS I TALK ABOUT DE NIRO AS THE ROLE
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