10 Things You Didn't Know About Cape Fear
6. The Original Cape Fear Actors Featured In The Remake
Whilst Scorsese's version of the movie came out in 1991, there was an already successful predecessor that had made cinematic waves released in 1962 - itself based on John D. McDonald's 1958 novel titled The Executioners. Of course, with so many options for source material and adaptation, plenty of the original content made its way into the most recent version of the film, including the first movie's actors.
Bringing Gregory Peck who played the first Sam Bowden and Robert Mitchum who was Max Cady, as well as Martin Balsam who was originally the police chief, were bought back in Scorsese's version as Lieutenant Elgar, lawyer Lee Heller, and the Judge respectively.
It also served as Peck's last appearance on screen - a fitting tribute to the renowned actor. Interestingly, unlike the dyanmic duo of Nick Nolte and De Niro, the 1962 version's actors infamously didn't get on, meaning Peck and Mitchum have no cameo scenes together in the more recent adaptation.