(pb; 1957, 1958: also published under the title Cape Fear)
From the back cover:
"For fourteen years convicted rapist Max Cady nursed his hatred for Sam Bowden into an insane passion for revenge. He lived only for the day he would be free -- free to track down and destroy the man who put him behind bars.
"Murder was merciful compared to what Cady had in mind -- and what Cady had in mind was Bowden's innocent and lovely teenaged daughter. . ."
Review:
Taut, realistic, and terrifying work, this. Its terrors strike at the heart of what most of us subconsciously fear: losing those we love to primordial forces beyond our control.
MacDonald leavens Cady's intended brutalities -- which are largely left to the reader's imagination, but more effective for being so -- by intercutting them with scenes of Sam Bowden with his affectionate family (his wife, Carol; their three kids), making The Executioners more palatable for squeamish readers.
The actualized violence in the novel is potent enough to send shivers up even the most hardened reader's spine. It's not as explicit or brutal as much of Jack Ketchum's ouevre, but a jungle-law mentality runs darkly through The Executioners, making it read like read like a logical, if restrained, influence on Ketchum's works.
Max Cady is pure malevolence, a canny, "animalistic" predator in our supposedly-civilized world -- one hundred percent nightmare, and all too believable (I've met people like Cady). I'll probably have a bad dream or two about him in the near future, but it's worth it, given how mean and lean this novel is.
Perfect suspense work from a prolific, consistent writer. Own this, already!
#
The Executioners has been filmed twice, under the title Cape Fear.
The original Cape Fear was released stateside on April 12, 1962. Gregory Peck played Sam Bowden. Robert Mitchum played Max Cady. Polly Bergen played Peggy Bowden (cinematic stand-in for Carol Bowden). Lori Martin played Nancy Bowden, the Bowdens' teenage daughter. Martin Balsam played Police Chief Mark Dutton. Telly Savalas played Private Detective Charles Sievers. Page Slattery played Deputy Kersek. J. Lee Thompson directed, from a script by James R. Webb.
#
The remake, bearing the same title, was released stateside on November 13, 1991. It was directed by Martin Scorsese, and scripted by Wesley Strick (from an earlier script by James R. Webb).
Nick Nolte played Sam Bowden. Robert DeNiro played Max Cady. Jessica Lange played Leigh Bowden (cinematic stand-in for Carol Bowden). Juliette Lewis played Danielle Bowden (cinematic stand-in for Nancy Bowden). Joe Don Baker played Claude Kersek. Robert Mitchum, who played Max Cady in the original film, played Lieutenant Elgart, an honest cop, in the remake. Gregory Peck, who played Sam Bowden in the original film, played a sleazy lawyer named Lee Heller in the remake. Martin Balsam, who played Police Chief Mark Dutton in the original film, played a "Judge" in the remake.
Illeana Douglas played Lori Davis. Charles Scorsese, Martin Scorsese's father, played a "Fruitstand Customer". Catherine Scorsese, Martin Scorsese's mother, played a "Fruitstand Customer". Domenica Cameron-Scorsese, Martin Scorsese daughter, played "Danny's Girlfriend".
Showing posts with label J. Lee Thompson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J. Lee Thompson. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, November 03, 2008
The White Buffalo, by Richard Sale
(hb; 1975)
From the inside flap:
"At the center of [this] story are two very different heroes: the nervous, elegant and deadly master of triggernometry who has come to the Wyoming Territory in the wake of General Custer under an assumed name and who is really Wild Bill Hickok -- scout, gunman, a living legend -- in pursuit of his last adventure; and an Indian, 'Worm,' Nadonaissioux mieyebo, soon to be called Crazy Horse, one day to fight at Little Big Horn.
"The two men share the same dream: to kill (or be killed) by the last of the great white buffaloes, whose mystical presence haunts them both. Their search for this fabulous (and all too real) creature takes both men through the lonely highlands of the West in its last days of wildness; to small towns full of impoverished gold rushers, whores and killers; to Army camps; to the high mountains and grassy plains and Indian settlements, until finally the two most legendary figures of the West -- Hickok and Crazy Horse -- meet in a stunning and terrifying climax before the maddened charge of the White Buffalo himself."
Review:
Sale intertwines legends, great characterizations, action and an exciting -- if dying -- era into resonant and unique storyline. Making this story even more thrilling is Sale's use of semi-poetic turns of phrase and interesting Old West-related facts (which don't slow the pace of the story one whit). This is, hands-down, one of the best (and most original) Westerns I've ever read.
By all means, check this out.
#
The resulting film was released stateside in May 1977.
Charles Bronson played Wild Bill Hickok (aka, James Otis). Jack Warden played Charlie Zane. Will Sampson played Crazy Horse (aka, Worm). Clint Walker played Whistling Jack Kileen. Slim Pickens played Abel Pickney. Kim Novak played Mrs. Jenny Schermerhorn (aka, Poker Jenny). John Carradine played Amos Briggs (an undertaker). Shay Duffin played Tim Brady. Ed Lauter played Tom Custer. Martin Kove played Jack McCall.
J. Lee Thompson directed the film, from a script by source-book author Richard Sale.
From the inside flap:
"At the center of [this] story are two very different heroes: the nervous, elegant and deadly master of triggernometry who has come to the Wyoming Territory in the wake of General Custer under an assumed name and who is really Wild Bill Hickok -- scout, gunman, a living legend -- in pursuit of his last adventure; and an Indian, 'Worm,' Nadonaissioux mieyebo, soon to be called Crazy Horse, one day to fight at Little Big Horn.
"The two men share the same dream: to kill (or be killed) by the last of the great white buffaloes, whose mystical presence haunts them both. Their search for this fabulous (and all too real) creature takes both men through the lonely highlands of the West in its last days of wildness; to small towns full of impoverished gold rushers, whores and killers; to Army camps; to the high mountains and grassy plains and Indian settlements, until finally the two most legendary figures of the West -- Hickok and Crazy Horse -- meet in a stunning and terrifying climax before the maddened charge of the White Buffalo himself."
Review:
Sale intertwines legends, great characterizations, action and an exciting -- if dying -- era into resonant and unique storyline. Making this story even more thrilling is Sale's use of semi-poetic turns of phrase and interesting Old West-related facts (which don't slow the pace of the story one whit). This is, hands-down, one of the best (and most original) Westerns I've ever read.
By all means, check this out.
#
The resulting film was released stateside in May 1977.
Charles Bronson played Wild Bill Hickok (aka, James Otis). Jack Warden played Charlie Zane. Will Sampson played Crazy Horse (aka, Worm). Clint Walker played Whistling Jack Kileen. Slim Pickens played Abel Pickney. Kim Novak played Mrs. Jenny Schermerhorn (aka, Poker Jenny). John Carradine played Amos Briggs (an undertaker). Shay Duffin played Tim Brady. Ed Lauter played Tom Custer. Martin Kove played Jack McCall.
J. Lee Thompson directed the film, from a script by source-book author Richard Sale.
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