--- title: "In Cold Blood" year: 1967 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/in-cold-blood" fi1m_id: "in-cold-blood" imdb_id: "tt0061809" tmdb_id: 18900 wikidata_id: "Q1722631" fi1m_score: 84 critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 12 published: "2026-10-05T04:37:02.320330+00:00" updated: "2026-10-05T04:37:02.644590+00:00" region: "CH" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # In Cold Blood (1967) Directed by Richard Brooks · 2h 14m · Crime, Drama ## Identity In Cold Blood - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/in-cold-blood - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** in-cold-blood - **IMDb ID:** tt0061809 - **TMDB ID:** 18900 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1722631 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061809/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/18900, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1722631 **Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 82 from 12 reviews *In a sentence:* Two men talk about violence with the enthusiasm most people reserve for a day off > Richard Brooks’s crime film is chilling because Robert Blake and Scott Wilson make its killers so ordinary. Conrad Hall’s black-and-white photography is exact and expressive; the attempts to explain the violence are less convincing. ## Synopsis Perry Smith (Robert Blake) and Richard ‘Dick’ Hickcock (Scott Wilson) are preparing to commit a crime against the Clutter family. Herbert Clutter (John McLiam) and Bonnie Clutter (Ruth Storey) are among those in danger as the men talk about violence with eager familiarity. Their preparations bring them towards the family, while the film also follows the family’s ordinary life. Richard Brooks adapts Truman Capote’s book, following the two men and the people they threaten as the prospect of violence draws closer. ## Review *In Cold Blood* is a chilling crime film, made more disturbing by the care it takes over apparently ordinary people. Adapting Truman Capote’s book, Richard Brooks attends to the killers without asking us to forget those they threaten. The close attention to behaviour is persuasive enough to make the passages of psychological explanation feel unnecessary. We recommend it, with a reservation about a screenplay that sometimes seems too certain it can account for the violence. Robert Blake’s Perry Smith and Scott Wilson’s Richard ‘Dick’ Hickcock are central to what works. Neither performance depends on making a killer instantly recognisable as one, and their naturalness makes prolonged attention uncomfortable. We were chilled by the pleasure the men take in talking about violence. Their conversation lacks the solemnity with which crime films usually announce something terrible. The actors make that pleasure seem possible in people we might otherwise pass without a second glance. Conrad Hall’s black-and-white cinematography gives the film much of its force. The sharp contrasts supply a noir menace, but the location shooting keeps the surroundings recognisable. The people seem ordinary, yet the images keep us alert to danger, and the photography’s severity prevents its considerable beauty from becoming reassuring. The style works because it remains tied to the behaviour of the actors, with faces and surroundings deserving the same close attention. Quincy Jones’s jazz score is less restrained, and usefully so. Its agitated sound puts us on edge before we can settle into the film’s patient observation of its characters. Occasionally the music and the heightened visual style make the danger too emphatic, a qualification to the supposed documentary plainness. Even then, the score supplies an unease that straightforwardly mournful music would have softened. Peter Zinner’s editing leaves room for the performances, and the patient pace is often justified. At 134 minutes, however, it is not equally gripping throughout, and the explanatory passages make the length felt. The trouble lies chiefly in Richard Brooks’s screenplay, which grows less convincing when it tries to diagnose the men. Their behaviour has already disturbed us, and being told why they behave that way does not necessarily make it more comprehensible. The psychological emphasis also risks directing too much concern towards the killers, simply because the film spends so much effort considering them. To its credit, it retains a sense of the people harmed and does not treat the Clutter family as an incidental cost of an interesting character study. That humane attention is one reason the realism matters. There is enough human pain here to prevent the photography becoming the only thing we remember. This is a demanding choice for an evening’s viewing, even for those comfortable with crime films. Its interest in the men does not make their company pleasant, and the performances deny us much reassuring distance. Choose it when you have the patience for close observation and no particular wish to be cheered up. *Fi1m score 84, published 5 October 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond strongly to In Cold Blood, with praise centring on its documentary realism and noir style. Conrad Hall’s black-and-white cinematography draws repeated admiration for its starkness, while Robert Blake and Scott Wilson’s natural performances support the film’s humane attention to disturbing behaviour. The reviews also value its suspense and sensitivity towards killers and victims. Quincy Jones’s nervy jazz score receives particular notice for making danger feel close. The reservations concern how Brooks explains and presents the violence, rather than the strength of the filmmaking. Slant Magazine questions the psychological diagnosis despite its enthusiastic verdict; The Guardian finds the film chilling but sometimes reluctant to confront the horror directly. The Telegraph admires the documentary approach while finding the case against capital punishment unpersuasive. The spread runs from mixed to strongly positive, with no outright rejection: even the more reserved assessments acknowledge the film’s unsettling force. ## Straight answers **Is In Cold Blood worth watching?** *In Cold Blood* is worth watching for its unsettling performances and precise black-and-white photography, and we score it 84 out of 100. We recommend it to viewers who value patient, demanding crime drama, though its attempts to explain the killers psychologically are less persuasive than its close observation of their behaviour. **How long is In Cold Blood, and what is it rated?** *In Cold Blood* runs 2h 14m. It is a crime and drama film. **Where can I watch In Cold Blood in Switzerland?** *In Cold Blood* is not on any streaming or rental service in Switzerland at the moment. It is available in 1 other country; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is In Cold Blood, and is it suitable for children?** *In Cold Blood* carries a US R certificate and is a disturbing adult crime drama we would not recommend for children. We find the killers’ ordinary manner and pleasure in discussing violence particularly chilling; the sustained unease and human pain also make it a demanding choice for sensitive viewers. **How does In Cold Blood compare to M?** *In Cold Blood* is the more narrowly focused character study, while [*M*](https://film.one/film/m) follows a city hunting a killer and earns our stronger recommendation. We favour *M* for its frightening, humane treatment of both the murderer and the pursuit; *In Cold Blood* suits those drawn to prolonged observation, though its psychological explanations sometimes labour the point. **Is In Cold Blood based on a true story or a book?** *In Cold Blood* adapts Truman Capote’s book, with Richard Brooks following two men preparing a crime against the Clutter family alongside the family’s ordinary life. We find its attention to behaviour more convincing than its psychological explanations, and no familiarity with the book is needed to appreciate the performances or understand the threat. **What should I watch after In Cold Blood?** After *In Cold Blood*, try [*M*](https://film.one/film/m) (1931, Fi1m 94): A city hunts a killer, with little comfort in its own methods. Then [*High and Low*](https://film.one/film/high-and-low) (1963, Fi1m 90): A kidnapping investigation gives money, class and police procedure their proper weight; and [*The Vanishing*](https://film.one/film/the-vanishing) (1988, Fi1m 88): Another patient study of ordinary behaviour that becomes difficult to bear. ### Reviews we read (12) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (4/4): Ebert’s review is positive. It singles out the film’s stark, documentary-like realism. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/in-cold-blood-1968) - **Slant Magazine**, Clayton Dillard (5/5): Dillard praises Brooks’s film as an innovative and influential work, while noting reservations about its psychological diagnosis. He singles out the Criterion restoration’s exceptional image and sound, along with its extensive extras. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/in-cold-blood/) - **The AV Club**, Noel Murray (A-): Murray calls the film an uncommonly great, inspired blend of documentary realism and noir. He especially praises Conrad Hall’s stark cinematography and the way Brooks combines it with finely observed behavior and unsettling stylistic choices. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/in-cold-blood-remains-an-inspired-hybrid-of-documentary-1798185707) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (85/100, inferred): Turan celebrates the film as a classic, though he notes that Brooks’ emotional tone can feel heightened. He singles out Conrad Hall’s breathtaking black-and-white cinematography as the film’s great glory. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-03-et-cold3-story.html) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (85/100, inferred): Variety gives the film a strongly positive assessment, calling it probing, sensitive, balanced, and suspenseful. It especially praises the realistic look and sound achieved through location shooting and Brooks’s filmmaking. [Read](https://variety.com/1966/film/reviews/in-cold-blood-1200421336/) - **Little White Lies**, Sophie Monks Kaufman (3/4/4): The critic finds the adaptation well worth revisiting, describing it as a composed and sorrowful character study. She praises Robert Blake and Scott Wilson’s natural performances and the film’s calm, humane approach to its killers and victims. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/in-cold-blood-1967) - **Radio Times**, Tony Sloman (4/5): Sloman finds the adaptation harrowing, dour and remarkably faithful to Capote's book. He especially praises Conrad Hall's monochrome cinematography and the performances of Robert Blake and Scott Wilson. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-namw0w/in-cold-blood/) - **Time Out**, Helen O’Hara (4/5): The review presents the film as spine-tingling. It singles out Quincy Jones’s jangling, nervy jazz score for making danger feel imminent. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/in-cold-blood) - **The Telegraph**, Simon Heffer (70/100, inferred): He considers the film a masterpiece but says its intended case against capital punishment fails. He singles out the documentary style and the contrast between the murderers’ executions and the Clutter family’s brutal killings. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/cold-blood-tried-argue-against-death-penalty-backfired/) - **Film Comment**, Mark Harris (65/100, inferred): The standfirst presents Brooks’s adaptation as balancing style with naturalism. The full review’s verdict and specific praise or complaint are unavailable in the page text provided. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/cinema-67-revisited-cold-blood/) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (65/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the adaptation still chilling, though it sometimes averts its gaze from the horror. He singles out the killers’ casual excitement about violence as especially unsettling. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/10/in-cold-blood-review-still-chilling-capote-adaptation) - **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (82/100, inferred): Kermode finds the film gripping and powerful, with a distinctive noirish menace. She especially praises Robert Blake’s performance as Perry, while noting how the film preserves the horror and human cost of the murders. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/in-cold-blood-1967-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## Details - **Director:** Richard Brooks - **Director:** Richard Brooks - **Screenplay:** Richard Brooks - **Novel:** Truman Capote - **Cinematography:** Conrad Hall - **Editor:** Peter Zinner - **Music:** Quincy Jones - **Cast:** Robert Blake as Perry Smith; Scott Wilson as Richard 'Dick' Hickcock; John Forsythe as Alvin Dewey; Paul Stewart as Jensen; Gerald S. O'Loughlin as Harold Nye; Jeff Corey as Mr. Hickock; John Gallaudet as Roy Church; James Flavin as Clarence Duntz - **Runtime:** 2h 14m - **First release (the US):** 14 December 1967 - **Genres:** Crime, Drama - **Also in:** [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 1967) - **Budget:** $4 million - **Box office:** $13 million ## Where to watch in Switzerland Not streaming, renting or buying in Switzerland at the last check. Also available in: TR. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1968: Best Cinematography (nominated); Best Director (nominated); Best Original Score (nominated) ## If you liked this - *M* (1931), Fi1m 94: A city hunts a killer, with little comfort in its own methods. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/m.md) - *High and Low* (1963), Fi1m 90: A kidnapping investigation gives money, class and police procedure their proper weight. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/high-and-low.md) - *The Vanishing* (1988), Fi1m 88: Another patient study of ordinary behaviour that becomes difficult to bear. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-vanishing.md) - *Memories of Murder* (2003), Fi1m 91: A murder investigation where procedural detail deepens the frustration rather than relieving it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/memories-of-murder.md) - *The Night of the Hunter* (1955), Fi1m 91: Black-and-white images make familiar places frightening, with room left for human kindness. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-night-of-the-hunter.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. 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