Review of In Cold Blood (1967) by Lord N — 30 Jul 2010

I would like to start out my review of this film by stating that before I saw the movie I had previously read the book of In Cold Blood and also saw the movie Capote (this was not planned that's just how it happened) As such I know quite a bit about the Clutter case. Having seen Capote and read In Cold Blood, I can easily say that this film did the book justice (Capote was released after this one as you all know). This film was fantastic. I really liked the use of black and white filming. It gave the film a...well, I'm not sure how to describe it, but this film would not have worked nearly as well if it was in color. I liked the two lead actors as well. I feel that they effectivley carried the film and captured the personalities of the two killers. I would highly suggest this film to anyone. It is a fantastic film.

TRIVIA TIME: 1. To get the authenticity he wanted, Richard Brooks filmed in all the actual locations including the Clutter house (where the murders took place) and the actual courtroom (6 of the actual jurors were used). Even Nancy Clutter's horse Babe was used in a few scenes. The actual gallows at the Kansas State Penitentiary were used for filming the executions, however, in a 2002 interview, Charles McAtee (who was State Corrections Director for Kansas in the 1960's), clarified the hangman in the film was an actor, not the real deal.

2. Robert Blake and Scott Wilson were not the first choices to play the cold-blooded murderers. Studio heads at Columbia Pictures originally wanted Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in the lead roles. Newman chose instead to star in Cool Hand Luke and Hombre that year; McQueen worked on The Thomas Crown Affair and Bullitt.

3. The two pairs of eyes pictured on the movie poster are those of the real killers, not the actors portraying them. Also, The family photos seen in the rooms of the house are real photos of the Clutter family members.