Continuity mistake: When Nick Nolte confronts his daughter in her bedroom about meeting with Robert De Niro, as the camera angle switches from Nolte's face to his daughter's face, his hand over her mouth changes positions.
Cape Fear (1991)
Plot summary
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis
Max Cady (De Niro) is a psychopath just released from prison for rape. He is out seeking revenge from his lawyer Sam Bowden (Nolte) who he believes deliberately held back important information about his case during the trial, which could have kept him out of jail. He sets off to terrorise Bowden, his wife (Lange) and even goes after their 15 year old daughter (Lewis).
Big Evil
More mistakes in Cape Fear
Lieutenant Elgart: Well, pardon me all over the place.
Trivia: The officer that talks to Sam is played by Robert Mitchum who was the original Max Cady and the lawyer that Max hires is Gregory Peck who played the original Sam Bowden.
Question: The whole basis of the film is that Max is suddenly aware of hidden evidence that impacted his sentencing. However, his lawyer claims he wouldn't have known and hurried the case to keep it hidden. The question remains: how did Max find out about the evidence while in prison?
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Answer: As I remember it, Sam Bowden, Max's lawyer, knew his client was a rapist. He did not want Max to go free, so he buried the evidence that could have exonerated him. At that time, Max was illiterate, and Bowden assumed he'd never know about the hidden information. While in prison, Max, who was actually highly intelligent, learned how to read and also studied law. He later mounted his own unsuccessful appeals, which presumably gave him access to all previous evidence.
raywest ★