In Cold Blood

The Coen brothers made a couple of films about crimes starting small and getting out of hand very quickly. Perhaps the best example is "Fargo" (1996).

"In cold blood" is different. From the very beginning two men are planning a cruel robbery and they intend to let no witnesses behind.

That the loot of all the violence amounts to a meager 43 dollars certainly gives a cynical touch to the story but the full amount of senselessness is expressed in the way the story is told. Using a technique from the horror genre which boils down to the principle that suggesting is often more effective than showing (see for example "Cat people", 1942, Jacques Tourneur), very little of the actual robbery is shown. Instead in the first half of the movie we see the criminals travelling to the place of the crime, doing perfectly normal things as drinking coffee in a diner but also bying a rope to tie down their victims. These scenes are alternated with images of the Clutter family (the victims) perfectly unaware of the danger that is (literally) approaching.

The black and white cinematography of Conrad Hall is breathtaking and the jazzy score of Quincy Jones is catching. And then the criminals have arrived at the Clutters home.

The headlights of the car go out.

The music stops.

And all we hear is the wind howling round the farm.

The second part of the film seems to be a plea against capital punishment. To be honest the first part of the film had made such an overwhelming impression on me that I was unabe to feel any compassion with the perpetrators. This is not to say that the second part of the movie does not have strong moments. Brilliant (and very well known) is the scene in which one of the perpetrators (Perry played by Robert Blake) is telling the story of his life. It looks as though he is crying, but in reality there are raindrops flowing on the window.

"In cold blood" is based on the non fiction novel of the same name by Truman Capote. The film manages to maintain some sort of documentary look and feel. This is done by filming on the location of the real Clutters farm but above all by not casting prominent stars in the lead roles.

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?

I happened to be sitting in a lovely hotel room at a wonderful resort in the Ozarks, ready to go out on the boat after golfing 18 holes in fine weather, when I made the mistake of turning on the TV. One of the cable channels was screening "In Cold Blood." I watched the opening sequence. Despite the beautiful weather, and the girlfriend nagging at me to get up off the couch and go outside, I knew I wouldn't leave the room until the movie was over. I can't add much to the fine reviews by others, particularly the review by the gentleman from London, except to add that the dialogue in the movie is marvelous. The writer and director caught the laconic, spare speech of the Midwest. The questions and answers between the characters are perfect. (Paul Stewart, the reporter: "Don't the people in this town lock their doors?" John Forsythe, the detective: "They will tonight.") And the way Perry and Dick look at each other menacingly in critical situations gives one the chills. (Dick: "Don't worry baby; we left no living witnesses." Perry, staring at Dick: "I know one.") Of all the great performances in the film, my favorite is John Forsythe as the KBI detective who grows weary from contemplating the evil minds behind the murders of his Kansas neighbors, the Clutters. A close second among the great performances is Scott Wilson, who makes Dick a charming loser going nowhere in life, unable and unwilling to civilize himself to live in society.

Certainly this is one of the ten best movies ever made, and the best of all the "True Crime" movies. (The made-for-TV remake was a horrible, lame joke.) I just hope when it comes on again it's a miserable day outside so I don't miss out on the boating! Ed in St. Louis

It is pretty difficult to add to all the great attributes of this film already posted by other users. I will say that I feel more attention and sympathy should have been paid to the victims. Another thing, I never heard language like this in a 1967 film.

Truman Capote allegedly read a brief article in the New York Times describing the killing of the Clutter family in Kansas and shortly afterward visited the scene of the crime with author Harper Lee (who eventually lived off considerable royalties from "To Kill a Mockingbird".) I remember reading "In Cold Blood" in my teen years when I was considering working for the FBI as a field agent. Then and now I have always been fascinated by crimes that allegedly defy explanation: "senseless killings". But what enraptured me was Capote's considerable gifts as a writer and story teller. His work as both a short story writer and novelist has consistently been underrated and under appreciated. Two years after the publication of Capote's book, Richard Brooks (who had adapted and directed the film version of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and had also collaborated with John Huston on the screenplay of "Key Largo") brought Capote's "In Cold Blood" to stark life in the movie theaters. While I am always somewhat hesitant to see my favorite novels and plays transferred to film (since they invariably lack the power and verve of the original), I had always wanted to see "In Cold Blood", but it is a film rarely shown on television. It is a powerful film, rightly shot in black and white and often evoking the "film noir" feel of the 40's and 50's. Robert Blake steals the film, as he should in this role, as the moody and tortured Perry. We see his life unfold both linearly and through a series of flashbacks, developing an understanding of how a sociopath's life might be formed. He is accompanied on this haphazard and fruitless journey by Dick, played brilliantly by Scott Wilson (who had just previous to this film played the murder suspect in "In the Heat of the Night" with Poitier and Steiger). But, of course, as with any great film, this movie is replete with supporting actors who are consistently strong throughout the picture. Charles McGraw, who plays Perry's father, almost steals the picture with his seven-minute scene as he lapses into a reverie of Perry's drunken sex-crazed mother and his love and supposed devotion to his young son. Another notable from the supporting cast is Gerald O'Loughlin as one of the detectives in hot pursuit of the suspects. One of the true highlights of the picture is the underlying musical score composed by the brilliant Quincy Jones, who had already scored several films prior to this one, but it was certainly 1967 which put Jones on Hollywood's musical map for back-to-back tour de force scoring of "In the Heat of the Night" and "In Cold Blood". Some may find that the voice-over narration toward the conclusion of the film verges on the heavy-handed in the implication of the fruitlessness of capital punishment, but Gallup polls of the mid-sixties reveal that 82% of Americans were not in favor of the death penalty, so, for the Zeitgeist of the era, the commentary fits well. For anyone who appreciates film noir, first-rate cinematography, quality musical scoring, and superb acting, "In Cold Blood" is a must-see film.