The Executioners (MacDonald novel)
The Executioners is a psychological thriller-suspense novel written by John D. MacDonald, published in 1957.[1]
 First h/b edition | |
| Author | John D. MacDonald |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | H. Lawrence Hoffman |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Thriller |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 1957 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 0449131904 |
The plot concerns a lawyer being stalked and tormented by a criminal he helped put in prison.
It was filmed twice under the title Cape Fear, once in 1962 and again in 1991. The first film adaptation is more faithful to the novel, with the 1991 adaptation being considerably more brutal and violent.[1]
Plot
The basic plot of the novel concerns an attorney named Sam Bowden, who caught Max Cady, an illiterate, brutal rapist, in the act. Bowden later testifies against him. The jury finds Cady guilty and Cady is sent to prison for fourteen years, where he develops and nurses an obsessive grudge, fueled with rage and hatred over how Bowden sent him to jail. After Cady is paroled, he begins stalking Bowden's family, not only seeking vengeance, but also envying what Bowden has, particularly eyeing Bowden's innocent teenage daughter. Cady's vendetta slowly escalates from stalking and annoying the family to attempting to kill those he deems close to the family.
Bowden sends some thugs to beat Cady hoping to run him off. Unfortunately, the plan fails and Cady manages to beat them instead. However, as the cops respond to the fight, Cady swings his arm into a police officer and gets arrested for assaulting a cop. While this sends him to jail, Bowden realizes he will be back out soon enough.
Cady attempts to kill Bowden's son by shooting him with a high power rifle from far away but fails due to the wind velocity sending the bullet into his son's arm instead.
As his wife is leaving the hospital, she nearly dies in a car crash after Cady removes the lug nuts from one of her wheels.
Desperate, Bowden decides to work with the police to set up a trap. If Cady enters Bowden's house, he can be shot for trespassing. The plan is to convince Cady he is out of town. He will hide in the attic of a detached garage outside the house while a police officer named Kersek covertly stands guard in the house ready to shoot Cady, should he show up.
Bowden anxiously waits in the dead of night with a gun of his own. Then he hears his wife screaming, followed by gunshots, but badly sprains his ankle falling from the ladder from the detached garage's attic. As he approaches the front door, it's too dark to see clearly but he can see a shadow of Cady running towards him. They collide, violently knocking Bowden to the ground, yet Bowden manages to keep hold of his revolver. As Cady is fleeing the premises, Bowden angrily shoots his gun in Cady's direction and then makes his way inside. He finds out that Cady began assaulting his wife but was interrupted by Kersek. Unfortunately, Kersek was not fast enough to kill Cady and Cady killed him instead and then left once he realized this whole thing was a setup.
Cady killed a cop, so the police begin their search for Cady. As daylight begins, they find a trail of blood in Bowden's backyard. They follow it and find Cady's corpse. It turns out Bowden's frantic shot hit Cady and severed an artery and he bled to death.
The Cape Fear River is not featured in the novel, though it is integral in both film adaptations.
Differences between book and films
Source:[1]
| The Executioners | Cape Fear (1962) | Cape Fear (1991) |
|---|---|---|
| Author: John D. MacDonald | Directed by: J. Lee Thompson Screenplay by: James R. Webb | Directed by: Martin Scorsese Screenplay by: Wesley Strick |
| Cady rapes Australian girl in WW2. | Cady rapes American woman. | Cady rapes 16-year-old girl. |
| Cady spends 13 years in jail. | Cady spends 8 years in jail. | Cady spends 14 years in jail. |
| Bowden is witness to rape. | Prosecutor Bowden is witness to rape and testifies against Cady. | Defense attorney Bowden buries report of rape-victim's sexual promiscuity. |
| Bowden family: Sam and Carol Bowden, daughter Nancy (15), 2 sons: Bucky and Jamie | Bowden family: Samuel and Peggy Bowden, daughter Nancy (15), no sons. | Bowden family: Sam and Leigh Bowden, daughter Danielle (15), no sons. |
| Marilyn, the family dog. | Marilyn, the family dog. | Benjamin, the family male dog. |
| Sam doesn't have an extra-marital affair. | Sam doesn't have an extra-marital affair. | Sam might have had an extra-marital affair with Lori Davis; problems in the Bowdens' marriage. |
| Cady's combat fatigue in WW2 suggests a causative factor for his behavior. | Cady is raped in prison. | Cady is raped in prison. Cady is betrayed by his attorney's malfeasance. |
| Cady rapes and abducts his ex-wife who has re-married. | Cady rapes, abducts and beats wife for three days. Cady rapes Diane Taylor, who won't testify. | Cady rapes and mutilates Lori Davis. Cady murders detective Kersek and family maid Graciella. Cady intends to rape Leigh and Danielle. |
| Carol Bowden witnessed death of dog. | Entire family witnesses death of dog. | Leigh Bowden witnesses death of dog. |
| No houseboat. | Peggy and Nancy alone on houseboat. | All family on houseboat. |
| Bowden wounds Cady with a bullet. Cady later bleeds to death. | Bowden wounds Cady with a bullet. Sam doesn't kill him. | Bowden uses Cady's handcuffs to shackle him to the boat, which is then destroyed. Cady dies by drowning. |
References
- Kirsten Thompson, Cape Fear and Trembling: Familial Dread; In Literature and Film: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Film Adaptation, Edited by Robert Stam, Alessandra Raengo, Blackwell Publishing, 2005, ISBN 0631230556 (pp.126-147)