Trivia / Cape Fear

Both versions:

• Dueling Dubs: Both films had four Japanese dubs, two for each film.
• Dueling-Stars Movie
• Playing Against Type:
  • Both Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum in the remake, but more so Peck, who played a scumbag lawyer far removed from the actor's morally upstanding men he made a career of portraying.
  • Barrie Chase, a dancer who was primarily known for appearing alongside Fred Astaire in several TV specials, plays rape victim Diane in the original film.

The 1962 film:

• Cast the Runner-Up: Telly Savalas was screen tested for the role of Max Cady, but later played private eye Charlie Sievers. Gregory Peck was originally going to play the role.
• Creator Killer: The film's financial failure ended Gregory Peck's company, Melville Productions.
• Enforced Method Acting:
  • Inadvertently done, possibly. Disappointed because he couldn't get Hayley Mills for the role of Nancy, the director gave Lori Martin a hard time during filming, which probably resulted in her nailing every scene as the terrified, vulnerable girl.
  • Polly Bergen suffered minor bruises in a scene where her character struggles with Cady. Robert Mitchum was supposed to drag her through various doors on the set, but a crewmember mistakenly left all those doors locked, so that when Mitchum forced Bergen through the doors, she was actually being used as a ram to push them open.
  • While filming their fight scene, Gregory Peck accidentally hit Robert Mitchum for real. Mitchum, knowing that Peck didn't mean to and ever the professional, refused to break character and continued filming the scene. However, upon entering his trailer, Mitchum said that he "literally collapsed" due to the impact of the punch and said that he felt it for days afterwards.
• Follow the Leader: The film was admittedly an attempt at replicating the style of Alfred Hitchcock, in particular Psycho, down to being Deliberately Monochrome and hiring Bernard Herrmann to compose the music.
• Hey, It's That Place!: The hotel where Max takes Barrie Chase is "mother's house" from Psycho, where Martin Balsam met his demise two years earlier.
• Hostility on the Set: Fittingly, Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum didn't get on during filming. Notably, while they cameo in the remake, they don't have any scenes together.
  Gregory Peck: I had given him the role and had paid him a terrific amount of money. It was obvious he had the better role. I thought he would understand that, but he apparently thought he acted me off the screen. I didn't think highly of him for that.
• On-Set Injury: Gregory Peck accidentally hit Robert Mitchum for real during their fight scene. Mitchum claimed to have felt the blow for days afterwards.
• Recycled Set: The interior of the hotel Cady takes Diane to is the same set that was used in Psycho two years earlier.
• Throw It In!: The scene with the egg was added by the director on the day of filming. Polly Bergen's reactions to Robert Mitchum rubbing the eggs on her was real. And the parts where he drags her through the house? That happened because several doors wouldn't open and he had to force his way through in order to keep the scene going. (Too bad it resulted in her incurring some genuine injuries as well.)
• What Could Have Been:
  • Lee J. Thompson wanted Hayley Mills for the part of Nancy.
  • Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Charlton Heston, Jack Palance and John Wayne were all considered for Sam Bowden. Gregory Peck was a last-minute replacement for Heston, who was originally cast.
  • The role of Max Cady was first offered to Ernest Borgnine. Rod Steiger wanted the role, but he backed off when he heard that Robert Mitchum was considering it.

The 1991 film:

• Actor-Inspired Element:
  • Robert De Niro helped costume designer Rita Ryack choose Cady's clothing.
  • Originally in the scene where Cady puts handcuffs on Lori, she was supposed to start freaking out, Illeana Douglas was the one who came up with the idea of having her character laughing and trying to play along instead.
  • In the original script, Leigh only met Max Cady at the end. Jessica Lange suggested the scene where they talk outside her house be added to the script, because she felt there should be a meeting between the two before the climax.
  • Robert DeNiro and Juliette Lewis also both came up with the idea of her sucking his thumb during the auditorium scene. What you see in the final movie is the first take.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Jessica Lange accepted to do this film to really work with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Martin Scorsese offered Gregory Peck the choice of a judge, an assistant DA or Cady's sleazy lawyer. He chose the lawyer. In turn, Martin Balsam took up the role of the judge.
• Dawson Casting: Juliette Lewis, who played the 15-year-old Danielle, was 18 years old during filming.
• Duelling Movies: With The Silence of the Lambs, another film about a deranged criminal on the loose.
• Dyeing for Your Art:
  • Robert De Niro worked extensively in preparation for this film so that he would be as physically imposing as possible. Nick Nolte, on the other hand, lost weight to make his character seem more vulnerable (especially because Nolte is actually several inches taller than De Niro).
  • De Niro also went several steps further by getting tattooed for real (albeit with vegetable dye so that they'd eventually fade away) and paid a dentist $20,000 to mess up his teeth to play long-term prison inmate Cady. Afterwards, it cost him $25,000 to have the damage fixed.
• Playing Against Type: Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck basically swapped roles in their RemakeCameos, with Mitchum playing an upstanding police officer and Peck playing Cady's sleazy Amoral Attorney.
• Throw It In!: In the auditorium scene, it was Robert De Niro's idea to put his thumb in Juliette Lewis' mouth.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Steven Spielberg was slated to direct this while Martin Scorsese was slated to direct Schindler's List.
  • Scorsese wanted Harrison Ford for Sam Bowden. Warren Beatty, Jeff Bridges, James Caan, Kevin Costner, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson, Dennis Quaid, Christopher Reeve and Robert Redford were also considered.
  • Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe, Brad Dourif and Jack Nicholson were considered for Max Cady.
  • Drew Barrymore tested for the role of Danielle Bowden but failed the audition. She later said she had "acted all over the place and it was just the biggest disaster of my life". Reese Witherspoon also auditioned. Nicole Kidman lobbied for the role, but Scorsese wanted a younger actress. Alyssa Milano was offered the role, but had to turn down the role, due to pressure from fellow Who's the Boss? cast member Tony Danza. Christina Applegate did an audition, but had to turn down the part due to conflicts from Married... with Children producer Ron Leavitt. Tiffani Thiessen turned it down due to Saved by the Bell. Jennifer Connelly and Winona Ryder both turned down the role. Shannen Doherty, Bridget Fonda, Jodie Foster, Helen Hunt, Diane Lane, Demi Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Molly Ringwald, Meg Ryan, Winona Ryder and Brooke Shields were also considered.
  • Diane Keaton met with Scorsese and De Niro to discuss playing the role of Leigh Bowden, but didn't win the part.
  • The auditorium scene was originally scripted as a chase scene, but Scorsese wanted it to be a seduction.
  • George C. Scott was originally supposed to play the Lieutenant role. But because of health problems he dropped out a few days before filming and Robert Mitchum was brought in.
  • Scorsese wanted Telly Savalas to return from the original cast.

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