''In Cold Blood'' is an American

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

drama television miniseries directed by Jonathan Kaplan and written by Benedict Fitzgerald. It is based on the 1966 novel of the same name by

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

, which reconstructs the 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. The miniseries stars Anthony Edwards,

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in '' King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes ...

, and Sam Neill, with Leo Rossi,

Louise Latham Louise Latham (September 23, 1922 – February 12, 2018) was an American actress, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Bernice Edgar in Alfred Hitchcock's 1964 film '' Marnie''. Early years Latham came from Hamilton, Texas. She was from a fa ...

, Gwen Verdon,

Bethel Leslie Jane Bethel Leslie (August 3, 1929 – November 28, 1999) was an American actress and screenwriter. In her career spanning half a century, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurel Award in 1964, a Tony Award in 1986, and a CableA ...

L. Q. Jones Justus Ellis McQueen Jr. (August 19, 1927 – July 9, 2022), known professionally as L.Q. Jones, was an American actor and director. He appeared in Sam Peckinpah's films ''Ride the High Country'' (1962), '' Major Dundee'' (1965), ''The Wild Bun ...

Gillian Barber Gillian Barber (born 22 February 1958) is an English-born Canadian actress. Early life and education Barber was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, and raised in British Columbia, Canada. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music an ...

, and

Kevin Tighe Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

in supporting roles. ''In Cold Blood'' received critical acclaim and two

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

nominations, including Outstanding Miniseries. Roberts was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for his portrayal of mass murderer Perry Smith.

Plot

At the end of the 1950s, in a more innocent America, a brutal, meaningless slaying of a Midwestern family horrifies the nation. While in prison,

Dick Hickock Richard Eugene Hickock (June 6, 1931 – April 14, 1965) was one of two ex-convicts convicted of murdering four members of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas on November 15, 1959, a crime made famous by Truman Capote in his 1966 non-fiction n ...

, 28, hears a cellmate's story about $10,000 in cash kept in a home safe by a prosperous farmer. When he's paroled, Dick persuades ex-con Perry Smith, 31, to join him in going after the stash. On a November night in 1959, Dick and Perry break into the Holcomb, Kansas, farm house of Herbert Clutter and family. Enraged at finding no safe, they wake the four sleeping Clutters and brutally kill them all. The bodies are found by friends who come by before Sunday church. The murders shock the small Great Plains town, where doors are routinely left unlocked. Detective Alvin Dewey of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation heads the case, but there are no clues, no apparent motive and no suspects.

Cast

* Anthony Edwards as

as Perry Smith * Sam Neill as

Alvin Dewey Alvin Adams Dewey (September 10, 1912 – November 6, 1987) was a special agent of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Early life Dewey was born in Murdock, Kansas, on September 10, 1912, to Alvin Adams Dewey Sr (6 September 1879 – 26 January ...

Herbert Clutter In the early morning hours of November 15, 1959, four members of the Clutter family Herb Clutter, his wife Bonnie, and their teenage children Nancy and Kenyon were murdered in their rural home, just outside the small farming community of Holcom ...

as Bonnie Clutter * Margot Finley as Nancy Clutter * Robbie Bowen as Kenyon Clutter *

as Bess Hartmann * Gwen Verdon as Sadie Truitt * Leo Rossi as Harold Nye * Troy Evans as Carl Duntz * Don S. Davis as Roy Church *

as Tex Smith *

as Eunice Hickock *

Campbell Lane Campbell Lane (July 15, 1935 – January 30, 2014) was a Canadian actor who primarily did his work in Vancouver. He appeared in many television shows produced there, and was also a voice over artist. Death Campbell Lane died on January 30, 2014 ...

as Walter Hickock *

Tom McBeath Tom McBeath is a Canadian actor. He is the winner of three Jessie Awards best known for playing Col. Harold Maybourne on ''Stargate SG-1''. In 2017, he started playing Smithers on '' Riverdale''. Biography He appeared in an episode of ''Street ...

as Alfred Stoecklein *

Brad Greenquist Brad Greenquist (born October 8, 1959) is an American actor. Career Greenquist appeared in ''Pet Sematary'', the 1989 film adaptation of Stephen King's 1983 novel of the same name, and in films such as '' The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer''. From the ...

as Floyd Wells *

Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born Estelle Eggleston; October 1, 1938) is a American former actress. She began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as '' Girls! Girls! Girls!'' (1962), '' The Nutty Professor'' (1963), '' The Courtship o ...

as Hotel Keeper * Ryan Reynolds as Bobby Rupp * Lindsey Campbell as Susan Kidwell * Emily Perkins as Kathy Ewalt * Susan Hogan as Marie Dewey * Harry Northup as Minister * Frank C. Turner as Clarence Ewalt * Greg Lawson as Insurance Salesman * Matthew Lerigny as Little Perry * Stephanie Anne Mills as Dorie * Mark Herring as Tom Sawyer * Liese McDonald as Eveanna Clutter * Brenda Shuttleworth as Beverly Clutter * Valerie Planche as Mrs. Ketchum * Veronika Sztopa as Jolene Ketchum * Renae Morriseau as Flo Smith * Jesse Lipscombe as Tommy * Rhys Williams as Bill

Release

The two-part miniseries aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

on November 24 and 26, 1996.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* 1996 American television series debuts 1996 American television series endings 1990s American crime drama television series 1990s American television miniseries Adaptations of works by Truman Capote CBS original programming English-language television shows Sonar Entertainment miniseries Television series based on American novels Television shows filmed in Alberta Television series set in 1959 Television shows about murder Television shows based on non-fiction books Television shows set in Kansas True crime television series {{US-drama-tv-prog-stub