In Cold Blood

Adapted from Truman Capote's book: the killing of four members of the Clutter family in Kansas in 1959, and the capture and hanging of the two men who did it. What Richard Brooks did was let the real thing into the film. It was shot on the actual locations: the Clutter house where the murders happened, the real shops and petrol stations where the men passed bad cheques, the actual courtroom. Six of the trial's real jurors played themselves. The execution was filmed on the actual gallows at the Kansas State Penitentiary. Against studio pressure Brooks insisted on black and white, which by 1967 was close to unheard of, since television networks would not take films that were not in colour. Conrad Hall shot it, and that photography is part of why the film is still discussed. Quincy Jones wrote the score. Robert Blake plays the jittery Perry and Scott Wilson the unbothered Dick. An important work for anyone drawn to films that press on the border between documentary and fiction. For anyone wanting a clear position on capital punishment it stays cold; Brooks leaves the judgement to the viewer.