The Gregory Peck Cameo You May Have Missed In Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear

Both lead actors of the 1962 “Cape Fear,” Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck, hopped onto the 1991 remake as a small homage to the original film. However, their casting also speaks to how Scorsese wanted to give the story more moral ambiguity. Where Peck was playing an upright lawyer in the first version, Peck was cast, in an ironic twist, as Lee Heller, Max Cady’s slimy defense attorney, for the newer film. Heller helps Cady file a restraining order against Bowden and even threatens to get him disbarred. Mitchum, meanwhile, was on the right side of the law in the remake. The veteran actor is now a cop, Lieutenant Elgart, who tries to help Bowden with nailing Cady. However, even this character encourages Bowden to try extralegal methods for bringing his nemesis down.

These performances could merely have been cute cameos, but Scorsese also uses these characters to emphasize how no one is entirely innocent or guilty. An actor who once played an iconic villain can also become a likable cop, while Peck, who usually starred as truly upstanding characters, is anything but trustworthy as Heller. Peck and Mitchum’s acting would only emphasize the message of the “Cape Fear” remake: nothing is black and white.