The 31 Dec 1960 NYT announced that actress Polly Bergen was taking “an eight-week leave from television commitments” to co-star in Cape Fear, based on John D. MacDonald’s 1958 novel, The Executioners, and produced by Melville Productions, owned by lead actor Gregory Peck. The film marked Bergen’s return to the screen following a nine-year absence. An item in the 7 Feb 1961 LAT noted that the project was initially given the same title as the novel. Hedda Hopper’s column in the 24 Feb 1961 LAT included character actress Hope Holiday among the cast, but she is not credited on screen. In her 7 Apr 1961 LAT column, Hopper revealed that Gregory Peck cast actress-dancer Barrie Chase, based on her her performance of a “beatnik dance” with Fred Astaire.
       According to production charts in the 19 Apr 1961 Var, principal photography began 6 Apr 1961. An article in the 31 May 1961 Var announced the company’s arrival in Savannah, GA, earlier that month. Although location shooting would be brief, local residents were reportedly excited by the presence of celebrities in their midst. Production was completed by mid-Jun 1961, as stated in a news brief in the 15 Jul 1961 NYT.
       The 11 Oct 1961 Var reported that distributor Universal Pictures assembled a fifty-five-minute “trailer” from excerpts of six upcoming releases, including Cape Fear, each having an average budget of $3 million. The reel was screened at the 1961 Theater Owners of America (TOA) convention in New Orleans, LA.
       On 21 Mar 1962, Var announced the picture’s 6 Apr 1962 premiere at the Olympia Theater in Miami, FL. The theater was erroneously referred to as the “Olympic” in the article. Openings followed in New York City on 18 Apr 1961, and Los Angeles, CA, on 16 May 1962. While the 2 May 1962 Var reported encouraging box office receipts, critics were less enthusiastic. The 17 May 1962 LAT warned that the film would leave viewers feeling “lower than a snake’s belly,” and syndicated columnist John Crosby described it as “sordid, vicious and utterly depraved,” according to the 7 Nov 1962 Var.
       An article in the 22 Jul 1962 NYT noted that the British censorship board demanded fifteen cuts to the film. Director J. Lee Thompson claimed the censors intended to make 161 cuts, and protested their attempt to “mutilate and emasculate” his picture. Following a tour of England, Polly Bergen told the 19 Dec 1962 Var that she appeared in most of the deleted scenes, and considered cancelling a series of personal appearances since she was effectively not in the picture. Bergen believed such censorship unnecessary, as the British government already had a rating system in place. An item in the 21 Nov 1962 Var reported that Italian censors passed the film, providing it was shown only to adult audiences.