When the unexplained brutal murders of a family of four came to the attention of Truman Capote in 1959, he immediately decided that he would write a book on the subject and the result was "In Cold Blood" which became an international bestseller and won him a considerable amount of acclaim from the literary critics of the time, who referred to it as a "non-fiction novel" and a masterpiece. The murders were committed in the small community of Holcomb, Kansas at 2.00 am on 15 November 1959 and after years of detailed research; Capote's book was published in 1966. Almost inevitably, a movie adaptation followed in 1967 with Richard Brooks directing, producing and writing the screenplay.
When a couple of prisoners, who'd been released on parole, meet up in Kansas City, Dick Hickock (Scott Wilson) tells Perry Smith (Robert Blake) about a robbery that they could carry out which would be a "cinch". Using some information that he'd gained from a prison inmate who'd been employed some years earlier by a farmer called Herb Clutter (John McLiam), he tells Perry that they could easily steal the contents of the man's safe which should contain about $10,000 in cash. Scott had intentionally picked Perry to be his accomplice because his short fuse and propensity for violence would be perfect in a situation where they needed to ensure that they'd leave no witnesses behind after committing their crime.
After making the long road journey to Holcomb, the two men enter the Clutter family's home and on discovering that there's no safe or large sum of money present, ruthlessly slaughter the innocent family and leave with only $43, a portable radio and a pair of binoculars, before fleeing to Mexico where Perry wants to go hunting for Cortes' buried treasure. When this endeavour proves to be a waste of time, Dick decides that they should head back to the States and make their way to Las Vegas. This proves to be a serious mistake because, by this time, Dick's prison buddy had turned informant and then later, Kansas Bureau of Investigation's lead investigator Alvin Dewey (John Forsythe) easily traces their progress by following the trail of bad cheques that they leave in their wake.
The two fugitives are then soon arrested, interrogated and tried for the four murders that they'd committed.
Wherever possible, Richard Brooks filmed the action in the actual locations where the original events had taken place and featured some of the Clutter family's neighbours, jury members from the murder trial and the hangman who'd executed Smith and Hickock, in some of the movie's minor roles. This type of realism and the documentary-style presentation serve the material really well and ensure that the right tone is maintained perfectly throughout the whole movie. It's also commendable that Brooks avoids any form of sensationalism, any glamorisation of the two murderers or any attempts to rationalise their senseless actions. Conrad Hall's cinematography also complements Brooks' work magnificently and strongly emphasises the chilling, bleak and highly disturbing nature of the story as it unfolds.
Predictably, the movie's most notable performances come from Robert Blake and Scott Wilson who both make a huge impression. Blake looks troubled as the asprin-addicted son of a violent father and an adulterous mother and lives with constant pain as a consequence of a motorcycle accident. Wilson is also excellent as the swaggering, manipulative Hickock who exploits Perry Smith's gullibility for his own ends and displays some talent as a con-man.
"In Cold Blood" is an immensely powerful and gripping tale that is particularly thought-provoking and unsettling because of the fact that it's based on a real-life case.
When a couple of prisoners, who'd been released on parole, meet up in Kansas City, Dick Hickock (Scott Wilson) tells Perry Smith (Robert Blake) about a robbery that they could carry out which would be a "cinch". Using some information that he'd gained from a prison inmate who'd been employed some years earlier by a farmer called Herb Clutter (John McLiam), he tells Perry that they could easily steal the contents of the man's safe which should contain about $10,000 in cash. Scott had intentionally picked Perry to be his accomplice because his short fuse and propensity for violence would be perfect in a situation where they needed to ensure that they'd leave no witnesses behind after committing their crime.
After making the long road journey to Holcomb, the two men enter the Clutter family's home and on discovering that there's no safe or large sum of money present, ruthlessly slaughter the innocent family and leave with only $43, a portable radio and a pair of binoculars, before fleeing to Mexico where Perry wants to go hunting for Cortes' buried treasure. When this endeavour proves to be a waste of time, Dick decides that they should head back to the States and make their way to Las Vegas. This proves to be a serious mistake because, by this time, Dick's prison buddy had turned informant and then later, Kansas Bureau of Investigation's lead investigator Alvin Dewey (John Forsythe) easily traces their progress by following the trail of bad cheques that they leave in their wake.
The two fugitives are then soon arrested, interrogated and tried for the four murders that they'd committed.
Wherever possible, Richard Brooks filmed the action in the actual locations where the original events had taken place and featured some of the Clutter family's neighbours, jury members from the murder trial and the hangman who'd executed Smith and Hickock, in some of the movie's minor roles. This type of realism and the documentary-style presentation serve the material really well and ensure that the right tone is maintained perfectly throughout the whole movie. It's also commendable that Brooks avoids any form of sensationalism, any glamorisation of the two murderers or any attempts to rationalise their senseless actions. Conrad Hall's cinematography also complements Brooks' work magnificently and strongly emphasises the chilling, bleak and highly disturbing nature of the story as it unfolds.
Predictably, the movie's most notable performances come from Robert Blake and Scott Wilson who both make a huge impression. Blake looks troubled as the asprin-addicted son of a violent father and an adulterous mother and lives with constant pain as a consequence of a motorcycle accident. Wilson is also excellent as the swaggering, manipulative Hickock who exploits Perry Smith's gullibility for his own ends and displays some talent as a con-man.
"In Cold Blood" is an immensely powerful and gripping tale that is particularly thought-provoking and unsettling because of the fact that it's based on a real-life case.