Seeing as how Bowden and Cady had past history, and Cady was following Bowden and his family, wouldn't it have been simpler to go that route rather than jumping through hoops to run him out of town?
Limit of the Willing Suspension of Disbelief: directly proportional to its awesomeness.
I don't think restraining orders were common in the 60s
shareA restraining order is a piece of paper.
shareYes, but the police are frequently telling Bowden that they can't legally do anything to prevent Cady from following his family. And I was just wondering why they can't accuse him of stalking and try and get a restraining order.
Limit of the Willing Suspension of Disbelief: directly proportional to its awesomeness.
Oh! Because the stalking laws are relatively new! Honestly, years ago, a person could literally camp out in front of your house, and you would be told, there is nothing that can be done until they attack you.
Do you think a restraining order would have stopped Max Cady? Even with that, you would have to show it was him, who did whatever awful thing happened to you.
I am glad to see someone else on a board for a movie made in 1962. I like movies from the '60's because I was a kid then, and my mom wouldn't let me see movies like this, now I can!
You know, I never thought about that. I guess I would have just liked to see some mention of it, but that's more directed at the '91 remake.
Yes, 1962 seems like the dinosaur age today, with its still predominant use of black and white in films, as well as the culture of the era (cold war in full swing, post-war boom, before the counter-culture). This movie is a fascinating time capsule.
I also like it because its like a thriller version of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.
Limit of the Willing Suspension of Disbelief: directly proportional to its awesomeness.
I had the exact same question you had while watching this movie. Why the hell not just get a restraining order? Sam and the police were bending over backwards to get Caty on something...anything...so why not issue a restraining order demanding that Caty not come within 100 yards of Sam or his family. The second he violates the restraining order, he violates his parole, and he's back in jail. End of movie.
DanaShelbyChancey is way off here. Restraining orders certainly existed in the 1960s and well before then.
This is simply a case of bad writing.
Actually, by '62 the vast majority of movies and TV shows were filmed in color. I was surprised myself to read this as I thought I remembered all the TV shows I watched as a kid were still in B/W. Then I remembered that it wasn't my faulty memory at all, it was because we didn't own a color TV until later in the 60s.
shareA restraining order wouldn't have affected the storyline; Cady would have done what he did, regardless. And remember that the newspapers are filled with stories of victims who are killed despite restraining orders being in place.
shareThe judge can lock you up for violating the terms thats why. All those legal eagles and LEOs would have had Cady back in prison for 'Contempt of Court'/ violating a court order so fast he wouldn't have had a chance to enjoy one day of his new found freedom.
But hey, thats Hollywood for you.
Still love this movie.
I suspect the answer lies with Cady's sleazy lawyer, Dave Grafton. Back in the day, in most cases, the police tactics depicted in CF would have worked quite well in getting a normal, run of the mill, not too bright ex-con stalker out of town. Not to mention he was stalking a lawyer, to boot.
Cady was more of a rare, special, determined, clever sociopath with money who had no problem hiring a lawyer to protect his rights. As the years went on and more of his ilk got wise (and the resulting violent crimes they would commit) is what surely generated the onslaught of today's restraining order laws. I can't imagine any of today's cops being able to get away with the level of harassment they subjected to Cady.