{"id":14397,"date":"2016-01-02T05:00:27","date_gmt":"2016-01-02T09:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=14397"},"modified":"2025-11-23T10:35:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T15:35:08","slug":"z-view-in-cold-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=14397","title":{"rendered":"“In Cold Blood” (1967) written & directed by Richard Brooks, starring Robert Blake, Scott Wilson and John Forsythe \/ Z-View"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In Cold Blood (1967)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director: Richard Brooks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Screenplay: Richard Brooks <\/strong>(based on Truman Capote<\/strong>\u2019s book of the same name)<\/p>\n

Stars: Robert Blake, Scott Wilson <\/strong>and John Forsythe<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Pitch: \u201cLet\u2019s make a movie based on the best-selling book In<\/u> Cold<\/u> Blood<\/u>!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Tagline: <\/strong>\u201cWritten for the screen and directed by Richard Brooks.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Overview:\u00a0 Beware of Spoilers\u2026<\/p>\n

Dick Hickcock [Scott Wilsion] <\/strong>and Perry Smith [Robert Blake Perry] <\/strong>have a plan to steal $10,000 cash from a rich farmer\u2019s safe and then high-tail it to Mexico where they will live out their days safe from extradition.\u00a0 The two ex-cons violate their parole and drive through the night to Holcomb, Kansas<\/strong> where according to one of Hickcock\u2019s <\/strong>past cellmates, a fortune sits in the Cutter<\/strong> safe.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The only thing Hickcock<\/strong> and Smith<\/strong> find at the Cutter<\/strong> house are Mr. Cutter, Mrs. Cutter<\/strong> and their two teenage children.\u00a0 Hickcock<\/strong> and Smith<\/strong> place the family members in separate rooms, tie them up and search for the safe.\u00a0 There is no safe, no fortune and just a little over forty dollars in cash in the house. Hickcock<\/strong> and Smith<\/strong> brutally kill the Cutter<\/strong> family and then head back towards Kansas City<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The discovery that the Cutter<\/strong> family was brutally murdered makes national news and as the investigation grows, Hickcock<\/strong> and Smith<\/strong> decide to head to Mexico.\u00a0 They pass bad checks, pawn the items they buy and use the money to get across the border.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t long before they\u2019re low on cash and decide to go to Vegas<\/strong> to raise more. In Vegas<\/strong>\u00a0 Hickcock<\/strong> and Smith<\/strong> are picked up on a parole violation.<\/p>\n

The cops interrogate them separately.\u00a0 Neither admits to knowing anything about the Cutter family<\/strong> murders.\u00a0 As the evidence begins to pile up, Hickcock<\/strong> suddenly tries to pin the murders on Smith<\/strong>.\u00a0 Smith<\/strong> then turns on Hickcock<\/strong> and the case is made.\u00a0 A trial, a death sentence and the gallows are all that Hickcock <\/strong>and Smith<\/strong> have left to look forward to.\u00a0 Sadly, one is left with the feeling that either man alone would not have committed the murders.<\/p>\n

Wilson<\/strong> (probably best known to folks as Hershel<\/strong> from The Walking Dead<\/em><\/strong>) and Blake<\/strong> (probably best known as the crazy old celebrity acquitted of killing his second wife in 2005) are excellent as the leads.\u00a0 Robert Brooks<\/strong> deserves kudos for his screenplay and direction.<\/p>\n

Watch for cameos by:\u00a0Will Geer<\/strong>\u00a0[Grandpa<\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0The Waltons<\/em><\/strong>] and music by Quincy Jones<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Award Nominations<\/u><\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Academy Awards \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n