"In Cold Blood" based on Truman Capote's nonfiction book of the same name by Richard brooks
In Cold Blood (film)
| In Cold Blood | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Richard Brooks |
| Produced by | Richard Brooks |
| Screenplay by | Richard Brooks |
| Based on | In Cold Blood by Truman Capote |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Quincy Jones |
| Cinematography | Conrad Hall |
| Edited by | Peter Zinner |
Production
company |
Pax Enterprises, Inc.
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
| 135 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3.5 million |
| Box office | $13 million[1] |
In Cold Blood is a 1967 American crime film written, produced and directed by Richard Brooks, based on Truman Capote's nonfiction book of the same name. It stars Robert Blake as Perry Smith and Scott Wilson as Richard "Dick" Hickock, two men who murder a family of four in Holcomb, Kansas, and charts their time as fugitives, capture by police, and eventual executions. Although the film is in parts faithful to the book, Brooks made some slight alterations, including the inclusion of a fictional character, "The Reporter" (played by Paul Stewart).
The film was shot on location at sites where Smith and Hickock's crimes occurred, including the real Clutter home where they robbed and murdered all four members of the family. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards: Director, Original Score, Cinematography, and Adapted Screenplay.
Noted by film historians as an early example of Hollywood new realism,[2] the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Contents
Plot[edit]
Told through flashback, ex-convicts Perry Smith and "Dick" Hickock meet in rural Kansas in the fall of 1959. Together, they concoct a plan to invade the farm home of the wealthy Clutter family, as patriarch Herbert Clutter supposedly keeps a large supply of cash in a wall safe. The two criminals break into the home in the middle of the night but are unable to find any safe, as Herbert uses checks for his personal business and his farm operations. In order to leave no witnesses to their robbery attempt, Smith and Hickock kill Herbert by cutting his throat, and proceed to murder his wife, Bonnie, and their two teenage children, Nancy, 16, and Kenyon, 14, with a shotgun. Their bodies are discovered the next day, and a Finney County sheriff's and Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) investigation is immediately launched, headed by detective Alvin Dewey.
Based on a tip by a former cell mate of Hickock, the two men become the primary suspects for the Clutter murders. The fugitives elude law enforcement by heading to Florida, traveling southwest across the country, and eventually crossing the Mexican border. After two weeks in Mexico, the two return to the United States, and decide to travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, hoping to earn money in gambling winnings. Shortly after their arrival to Las Vegas, Smith and Hickock are arrested for driving a stolen car, violating parole, and passing bad checks.
The Las Vegas Police Department and the KBI later separately interrogate the two men about the Clutter murders. Both Smith and Hickock admit to passing bad checks, but both deny knowing anything about the murders. The KBI attempts to scare the men into confessing, claiming that they left a witness behind who can testify against them. The KBI interrogation, however, is slowed by Smith's refusal to provide answers. Next, the KBI confront the two with evidence, such as a bloody footprint matching the boots worn by Smith. Finally, Hickock relents, confessing that he was present, but that Smith carried the murders. He begs for immunity from the death penalty. After Smith learns that Hickok has confessed, he recounts how, it was in fact he, not Hickock, who wielded the knife and pulled the trigger in all four killings, but maintains that Hickock was present as an active accomplice.
Both Smith and Hickock are charged with first-degree murder, found guilty on all counts, and each sentenced to death by hanging. On the day of their executions, Smith begs a jail guard to allow him to use the toilet beforehand, having heard that hanged men defecate themselves. The guard initially denies it, but then relents. Both men are hanged for their crimes as the prison staff watch.
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