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)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis
Cady cheese wires Graciella...then disguised as her blows Claude Kersek away with his own pistol before leaving Sam to slip on Claude's guts as he comes in (leaving him drenched in gore). Cady then follows the Bowden family onto their boat (by strapping himself underneath their car with a belt). He eventually grabs and ties up Sam and pockets Claude's gun. Danielle sprays lighter fluid all over Cady as he's lighting up a cigar and sets him ablaze. Cady leaps overboard to put out the flames, and manages to clamber back on board by grasping hold of the severed anchor rope (his vision still intact despite having been severely burned in the face). He makes Sam admit that he held back evidence that the victim was promiscus and that he violated his oaths when it came to defending Cady, who by now is so incensed by knowing what he all along assumed that he then tries to rape his wife and daughter, but a storm comes in and knocks the boat around which gives Leigh & Danielle the opportunity to jump off the boat and espace. When Cady tries to attack and starts shooting at Sam with his stolen gun, Sam manages to wrestle the gun out of his hand before eventually hand cuffing Cady's leg to a post. The boat then crashs into a rock, which destroys it. Cady & Sam survive. On shore, Sam tries to kill Cady with a large rock, but the water washes Cady out towards the sea and away from shore where he eventually drowns or does he?
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: So how exactly did Max Cady slip past Kersec's security system and get into the house? Did he kill the maid outside and then just walk in disguised as her?
Answer: Kersec suspected that Cady might attempt to break into the Bowden house if he thought it was empty. His plan was for Cady to break in and then be shot dead as an intruder. He likely lessened the security to allow Cady to break in. Cady killed and then impersonated the housekeeper to get in.
I like your answer but I'm a little confused by the "lessened the security" part. If I'm not mistaken, every possible point of entry into the house at least from the ground floor was connected to the bear via the fishing line, so Kersec would know if a point of entry was disturbed by the bear moving. Where would Kersec lessen the security from that standpoint, especially since his setup was supposed to be foolproof?
Kersec wanted Cady to be able to break in so that there would be a plausible reason to shoot him dead. The idea is to make it look like his death was a result of self defense. I'm only speculating that Kersec made it easier for Cady to break in into the house. Being as it was his security system, he would know how to make it possible for Cady to get in.
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Answer: He snuck in during the day and hid, before Kersec's teddy bear security system was set up. Sam Bowden realises this when he wakes from a nightmare. Its how he was able to poison the dog which hadnt been let outside. Max Cady killed the maid in the pantry with the same piano wire he later attacks Kersec with.