Trivia / In Cold Blood

• Career Resurrection: Robert Blake had been a popular child actor, most notably as a member of the famous Little Rascals, but his adult career had mostly been small parts and supporting roles. His performance as Perry Smith gave him a second wind and launched a successful adult career for the next thirty years.
• Darkhorse Casting: Aspiring to recreate a documentary aesthetic for the film, Richard Brooks deliberately cast actors who were relative unknowns.
• Playing Against Type: Anthony Edwards, at the time known for his role as ER nerdy Nice Guy Mark Greene, played Dick Hickock in the 1996 Mini Series.
• Star-Making Role: Scott Wilson had only appeared in one film prior to this and his performance as Dick Hickok made him a popular character actor virtually overnight.
• Throw It In!: The famous shot where the reflection of the rain on the window looks like tears running down Perry's face wasn't originally planned. The wind machine misted up the window while cinematographer Conrad Hall was lighting the scene and caused the effect on Robert Blake's stand-in, which he pointed out to director Richard Brooks.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Columbia Pictures originally wanted Paul Newman and Steve McQueen as Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, respectively, but Richard Brooks refused as he felt their star statuses would render their performances less believable to audiences. Furthermore, Newman was busy with Cool Hand Luke and Hombre, while McQueen was busy with Bullitt and The Thomas Crown Affair.
  • Lee Marvin wanted the role of Alvin Dewey, but Brooks gave it to John Forsythe instead. Brooks had worked with Marvin on The Professionals, but Marvin had proved to be a handful on the set.
  • Danny DeVito sought out the role of Perry Smith at the start of his acting career. He would not make his film debut until 1970.
  • Otto Preminger had tried to buy the rights to the novel in 1965, and planned for Frank Sinatra to star.
  • Columbia wanted Elmer Bernstein to compose the score but Brooks insisted on hiring Quincy Jones instead. Jones composed his score alongside the filming.

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