October 27, 2024

This is one of those stories that really does epitomise the venality and cruelty of man! For the sum of $10,000 allegedly hidden in the safe of the rural "Clutter" family, two parolees come up with a plan to relieve them of their cash. "Dick" (Scott Wilson) is the architect of their plan. He's a nasty piece of work who is quite capable of manipulating the slightly less outwardly aggressive "Perry" (Robert Blake) into raiding the place then abscon… read the rest.

This is one of those stories that really does epitomise the venality and cruelty of man! For the sum of $10,000 allegedly hidden in the safe of the rural "Clutter" family, two parolees come up with a plan to relieve them of their cash. "Dick" (Scott Wilson) is the architect of their plan. He's a nasty piece of work who is quite capable of manipulating the slightly less outwardly aggressive "Perry" (Robert Blake) into raiding the place then absconding for a life in comfort in nearby Mexico. Of course, the best laid plans etc., and pretty soon these two men top a most wanted list and are pursued by the doggedly shrewd cop "Dewey" (John Forsythe). It's based around a true story as interpreted by Truman Capote and essentially comes in two chapters. The first establishes the characters and the crime, the second the pursuit and it's consequences - and Richard Brooks adapts the story and directs these two chunks with considerable aplomb. There are also strong performances from the two men whose aspiration becomes desperation in double quick time, but who still struggle to display any semblance of human decency - except, maybe, when collecting refundable glass. There's precious little graphic violence here, but there's plenty of it implied and left to our imagination. Perhaps that's more potently delivered when it's mixed, especially by Blake, with at times a sort of gentleness and consideration - an almost childish style of behaviour. There are plenty of psychological aspects of their persona to evaluate as this progresses and that's as much of interest to "Dewey" as it becomes to us. The scoring also adds powerfully to the general menace, as does the frequently mobile and intense photography and at times there's almost a temptation to feel just a little sorry for these obviously flawed men as fate takes it's inevitable steps. Well worth a watch, I'd say - it's a complex analysis of two men with few boundaries.

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