In Cold Blood (1967)

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Truman Capote (based on the book by)
Richard Brooks (written for the screen by)

Release Date:

7 March 1968 (Argentina)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | History

Plot:

After a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Police | Execution | Kansas | Robbery

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Robert Blake	...	Perry
Scott Wilson	...	Dick
John Forsythe	...	Alvin Dewey
Paul Stewart	...	Jensen
Gerald S. O'Loughlin	...	Harold Nye
Jeff Corey	...	Mr. Hickock
John Gallaudet	...	Roy Church
James Flavin	...	Clarence Duntz
Charles McGraw	...	Tex Smith
Will Geer	...	Prosecutor
John McLiam	...	Herbert Clutter
Ruth Storey	...	Bonnie Clutter
Brenda Currin	...	Nancy Clutter (as Brenda C. Currin)
Paul Hough	...	Kenyon Clutter
Vaughn Taylor	...	Good Samaritan
Duke Hobbie	...	Young Reporter
Sheldon Allman	...	Rev. Jim Post
Sammy Thurman	...	Flo Smith
Raymond Hatton	...	Elderly Hitchhiker
Sadie Truitt	...	Herself
Myrtle Clare	...	Herself
Ted Eccles	...	Young Hitchhiker (as Teddy Eccles)
Al Christy	...	Sheriff
Don Sollars	...	Luke Sharpe
Harriet Levitt	...	Mrs. Hartman
Rhonda Fultz	...	Nancy's Friend (as Ronda Fultz)
Mary Linda Rapelye	...	Susan Kidwell (as Mary-Linda Rapelye)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Collins	...	Judge Roland Tate (uncredited)
Pamela Crosley	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Nick Dimitri	...	Las Vegas Cop (uncredited)
John C. Flinn III	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Paul Frees	...	Radio Announcer / Officer Asking for Rap Sheet (voice) (uncredited)
Roosevelt Grier	...	Driver (uncredited)
Bobby Johnson	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Richard Kelton	...	Nancy's Boyfriend (uncredited)
James Lantz	...	Officer Rohleder (uncredited)
Stan Levitt	...	Insurance Man (uncredited)
Gerry Okuneff	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Bowman Upchurch	...	Andy (uncredited)
Guy Way	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Darlene Williams	...	Little Girl on Bus (uncredited)
Odd Williams	...	Defense Attorney (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Brooks

Writing credits
Truman Capote		(based on the book by)
Richard Brooks		(written for the screen by)

Produced by
Richard Brooks	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Quincy Jones

Cinematography by
Conrad L. Hall		(director of photography) (as Conrad Hall)

Film Editing by
Peter Zinner

Art Direction by
Robert F. Boyle		(as Robert Boyle)

Set Decoration by
Jack H. Ahern		(as Jack Ahern)

Makeup Department
Gary Morris	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Shaw	....	assistant director
John Anderson Jr.	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Carl Beringer	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Robert Eaton	....	property master (as Bob Eaton)
Joe LaBella	....	property master

Sound Department
John H. Newman	....	sound effects
Arthur Piantadosi	....	sound (as A. Piantadosi)
William Randall	....	sound (as Wm. Randall Jr.)
Dick Tyler Sr.	....	sound (as Dick Tyler)
Jack Haynes	....	sound (uncredited)
Joe Henrie	....	sound effects (uncredited)
Charles J. Rice	....	sound effects (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Chuck Gaspar	....	special effects

Stunts
Jerry Brutsche	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Lee Faulkner	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Harry Sundby	....	chief electrician
Bernie Abramson	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Eugene Barragy	....	grip (uncredited)
Arthur Brooker	....	key grip (uncredited)
Jordan Cronenweth	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Michael A. Jones	....	best boy (uncredited)
Emile Sauer	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Robert C. Thomas	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jack Martell	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Earle Herdan	....	assistant editor (as Earl Herdan)

Music Department
Jack Hayes	....	orchestrator
Leo Shuken	....	orchestrator

Other crew
John Franco	....	script supervisor
Al Horwits	....	public relations
Alvin Dewey	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
James Post	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Dominic Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)
Ruth Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)

Thanks
Joseph Satten	....	acknowledgement: for technical assistance (as Dr. Joseph Satten)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Pax Enterprises (as Pax Enterprises, Inc.)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1967) (USA) (theatrical) (as Columbia)
• Columbia Films (1968) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Sony Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia-Bavaria Filmgesellschaft m.b.H. (1968) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Home Video (video)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (Canada) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2012) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Division of Law and Psychiatry, The Menninger Foundation  technical assistance
• Kaiser Jeep Corporation  transportation
• Pacific Title  optical effects
• Pontiac Motor Division  transportation (as Pontiac Motor Division, G.M.C.)
• Time  acknowledgement: "Courtesy Time", copyright 1956 by (as Time, Inc.)

Also Known As:

"Truman Capote's In Cold Blood" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

134 min | Poland:129 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (release prints) | 3 Channel Stereo (original mix)

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:R (re-rating) (1970) | Iceland:16 | France:-16 | West Germany:16 (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | UK:15 | UK:X (original rating) | South Korea:15 (2006) | Norway:16 | Chile:14 | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | Portugal:(Banned) | Netherlands:18 (orginal rating)

Filming Locations:

Colorado, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

In the jail at the end of the movie, on Andy's wall there's a cover of Life magazine with a picture of Truman Capote, author of the book on which this film is based.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Many vehicles present in film that were not yet introduced. Vehicles from the 1960s during the events leading to the 1959 crime

Quotes:

[first lines]
Little girl on bus:'Scuse me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Boys on the Side (1995)

Soundtrack:

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

In The Still Of The Night

Imagine turning out the lights in your remote farmhouse on a cold night, and then going to bed. There's no need to lock the doors. The only sound is the wind whistling through the trees. Sometime after midnight a car with lights off inches up the driveway. Moments later an intruder beams a flashlight into your darkened living room.

What makes this image so scary is the setting: a remote farmhouse ... at night. Based on Truman Capote's best-selling book, and with B&W lighting comparable to the best 1940's noir films, "In Cold Blood" presents a terrifying story, especially in that first Act, as the plot takes place largely at night and on rain drenched country roads. It's the stuff of nightmares. But this is no dream. The events really happened, in 1959.

Two con men with heads full of delusions kill an entire Kansas family, looking for a stash of cash that doesn't exist. Director Richard Brooks used the actual locations where the real-life events occurred, even the farmhouse ... and its interior! It makes for a memorable, and haunting, film.

Both of the lead actors closely resemble the two real-life killers. Robert Blake is more than convincing as Perry Smith, short and stocky with a bum leg, who dreams of finding Cortez' buried treasure. Scott Wilson is almost as good as Dick Hickock, the smooth-talking con artist with an all-American smile.

After their killing spree, the duo head to Mexico. Things go awry there, so they come back to the U.S., stealing cars, hitchhiking, and generally being miserable as they roam from place to place. But it's a fool's life, and the two outlaws soon regret their actions. The film's final twenty minutes are mesmerizing, as the rain falls, the rope tightens, and all we hear is the pounding of a beating heart.

Even with its somewhat mundane middle Act, "In Cold Blood" stages in riveting detail a real-life story that still hypnotizes, nearly half a century later. It's that setting that does it. Do you suppose people in rural Kansas still leave their doors unlocked ... at night?