The story of In Cold Blood is told through a series of poignant flashbacks.
Ex-convicts Perry Smith and “Dick” Hickock meet in rural Kansas in the fall of 1959. 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 criminals break into the home in the middle of the night but are unable to find any safe; Herbert uses checks for personal business and farm operations.
In order to leave no witnesses to their robbery, 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.
Their bodies are discovered the next day, launching a Finney County sheriff’s and Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) investigation, 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 out the murders. He begs for immunity from the death penalty.
After Smith learns that Hickock 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.
After losing multiple appeals, both men are hanged for their crimes–with law enforcement officers and media in attendance.
Brooks was given early drafts of Capote’s In Cold Blood before it was completed, as Capote was considering optioning a film version. Otto Preminger had initially expressed interest in directing an adaptation, but Brooks agreed to the project and purchased the rights for an estimated $400,000.
Brooks’s script followed the book’s structure closely, shifting between Smith and Hickock and the Clutter family, though it added slight details that were not in the source material.
In his adaptation, Brooks intended to demonstrate the “indignity” of capital punishment through exchange between Smith and a jail guard that occurs at the end of the film, in which Smith asks to use the bathroom before his execution, fearing he will “mess himself” in front of onlookers.
Brooks held personal beliefs against death penalty: “I think the crime without motive is really what this is about. The crime itself was senseless, the boys’ lives before that were senseless, and the end is senseless because it solves nothing.”
Brooks also included reporter character who functions as “Greek chorus” in the proceedings, which was not present in Capote’s book. Capote would later admit he felt that the character’s inclusion “didn’t make sense”.
Brooks eliminated discussion of two Clutter daughters who had not been present during the real attacks and had survived; they were allegedly distraught and upset at the prospect of a film, so Brooks eliminated them as characters.
Aspiring to recreate a documentary style, Brooks cast actors who were relative unknowns. Columbia Pictures originally wanted Paul Newman and Steve McQueen as Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, respectively, but Brooks refused as he felt their star statuses would render their performances less believable.
Around 500 contenders were considered for the roles. Robert Blake was ultimately cast as Smith in November 1966, and Scott Wilson was cast as Hickock in January 1967 Blake had been a child actor and appeared in numerous films, but was not well known as an adult.
The film marked Wilson’s second feature and first major role. Wilson was recommended for the part by Sidney Poitier and Quincy Jones (the former of whom he co-starred with in In the Heat of the Night, scored by Jones).
Cast
Robert Blake as Perry Smith
Scott Wilson as Dick Hickock
John Forsythe as Alvin Dewey
Paul Stewart as Jensen, the reporter
Gerald S. O’Loughlin as Harold Nye
Jeff Corey as Walter Hickock, Dick’s father
John Gallaudet as Roy Church
James Flavin as Clarence Duntz
Charles McGraw as Tex Smith, Perry’s father
Will Geer as Prosecuting Attorney
Sammy Thurman as Flo Smith, Perry’s mother
John McLiam as Herbert Clutter
Ruth Storey as Bonnie Clutter
Brenda C. Currin as Nancy Clutter
Paul Hough as Kenyon Clutter
Vaughn Taylor as Good Samaritan
Jim Lantz as Officer Rohleder
Donald Sollars as Clothing Salesman
Sheldon Allman as Reverend Jim Post
Harriet Levitt as Mrs. Hartman
Mary Linda Rapelye as Sue Kidwell
Sadie Truitt and Myrtle Clare, residents of Holcomb, Kansas
