After an eight-year prison term for rape and assault, Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) is set free. Immediately making a beeline to Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck), the former prosecutor responsible for Cadys conviction, Cady laconically informs Sam that he intends to pay back the attorney for his years behind bars. Conducting a meticulous campaign of terror, Cady is careful to stay within the law. Sam, realizing that Cady intends to wreak vengeance by raping the attorneys wife (Polly Bergen) and daughter (Lori Martin), tries to put the ex-criminal behind bars, but has no grounds to do so. Chief Dutton (Martin Balsam) tries to help Sam with a few strong-arm tactics, but succeeds only in having the courts take Cadys side in the matter. Things come to a head when Sam moves his family to the safety of a remote houseboat on Cape Fear river. Cady shows up unannounced and is about to ravage Bowdens wife and daughter and when Sam turns the tables.~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide