A Sundance TV Docuseries Digs Deep
If you’re an In Cold Blood reader, you probably feel a little cheated — out of images. The same few pictures of the four members of the Clutter family who were murdered in 1959 in Holcomb, Kansas, have shown up in the media for decades.
You might also have a pent-up need for more insight into the Clutters. The wholesome farm family and their killers — Perry Smith and Dick Hickock — were the subjects of In Cold Blood, which established the nonfiction novel genre and made Truman Capote the most glamorous writer in the U.S.
Well, now Sundance TV can help you out.
Cold Blooded: The Clutter Family Murders, produced by Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost), taps into the mother lode of unpublished pictures of Herb, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon Clutter as well as Hickock and Smith.
It also shares rare video footage and audio recordings and new interviews with Kansans who knew the Clutters and discuss their feelings in an unpretentious way.
Here are 10 revelations from the series:
1. The surviving relatives of Bonnie Clutter who hated In Cold Blood because it portrayed her as emotionally impaired weren’t necessarily just being defensive. The docuseries features people who knew her well and remember her as a great hostess and a lot of fun.
2. The family of killer Richard Hickock tried to make amends once Dick turned into a petty criminal. They would give a gift of a horse to parties he had wronged.
3. Although she didn’t appear on camera, one of Herb and Bonnie Clutter’s granddaughters gave voice interviews to the documentary makers. It’s surprising because her mother, Eveanna Mosier — Nancy and Kenyon’s older sister — shunned the press and never liked In Cold Blood.
4. As a child, Perry Smith sustained a severe penile injury when a nun hit him with a flashlight. The book made mention of other nun-inflicted abuse at school because Smith was a bed wetter — but it never revealed anything quite as perverse.
5. Nancy Clutter’s boyfriend Bobby Rupp said that he looked up to her father as a role model despite that the book alleged Herb Clutter pressured Nancy to break up with Bobby because he was Catholic and the Clutters were Methodists.
6. At age 28, Richard Hickock sounded like a weary old man in a recording of his police questioning. Capote portrayed him as ever-charming, sly, and upbeat.
7. The psychiatrist who evaluated Smith and Hickock after their arrest and Smith’s army buddy who testified for him at the trial are still alive and appear on camera.
8. In Cold Blood and the Clutter case garnered so much attention that even David Hickock, the brother of killer Richard Hickock, snagged a writer to pen his biography.
9. The filmmakers somehow managed to get hold of two photos of Perry Smith’s parents, Flo Buckskin and Tex Smith, who performed in rodeo shows together before they had four kids and she sank into alcoholism.
10. “Olathe” (as in “Olathe, Kansas”) is pronounced “oh-lay-thuh.”
That’s all for this post. Until next week, cheers. — RR
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Great stuff!!
Thx!
I came across photos of the two killers, and it was uncanny how much they resembled the two actors in the movie. Both the book and the movie are a must read/watch, once a year at least. And much as I am great fan of Truman Capote, it’s mildly disturbing that he may have played with the truth for reason of personal gain. Thanks again for providing a great forum.
Thanks, Bruce! I tend to give Capote a bit of a pass, because sometimes witnesses to the same events tell different stories.
Where can we find the said documentary!! I’m a big fan! Thank you
Good to hear from another ICB fan! Here’s the link to Sundance homepage, where you can sign up for a free trial and watch the series, https://www.sundancenow.com/. (I think that’s the only option at this time.)
I also say a big thanks to all those involved in the documentary at Sundance and Amazon for allowing access to such a heartbreaking yet interesting case.
Am glad that the documentary is still available via free trials. This is the latest I found,
https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Family-Slain/dp/B076ZXLCQD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GO1X8OUO2BPE&keywords=Cold-Blooded%3A+The+Clutter+Family+Murders&qid=1674361450&s=instant-video&sprefix=cold-blooded+the+clutter+family+murders%2Cinstant-video%2C91&sr=1-1
I bought the documentary on Amazon and it is excellent. It gives one a much stronger, and much-needed, perspective on the victims. They sound like wonderful people. Those who still love and remember them, Mr Rupp, the cousins, the surviving daughters and their children, sound like good people too.
I certainly agree with you. I enjoyed the documentary. It is nice to hear from those who knew them since. There are few who will be around and/or willing to be interviewed. I am certain it would be very disturbing for the family since it is such a disturbing and horrific case to start with. I just want to say a big thank you for all who contributed to the documentary. I think it is a very big and considerate thing they all did. Enough attention and fascination will always be expected with true crime. It is widely known the lies and deception that was part of “the tragic little man” Capote. It is a great thing to get more inside view of the whole case.
I also am thankful for all that fantastic video footage and photos of the families and friends involved. They play a huge part in the whole case. It’s also nice to get to know a little bit more insight into the cities involved. I once went on a drive thru of Liberal Ks many years ago. My hubby was from Guymon Ok. and had kin buried near Beaver ok. If a person lives in Guymon, they are part of a fair sized city now. When I knew it was about 30 more years ago. In times past, the big cities if you were in Guymon was Liberal and Amarillo tx. Holcomb and Garden City sound like great places to live.
I just recently was told about this story and I am 47 years old. Such a tragic story. It’s still mind boggling to me. I have been watching this documentary and it’s unbelievable. My sister talked me into watching it and now I think it has tore my heart out. I bought the book for her and I will be reading it next. Bless that family.
The story really does stay with you — it’s held my interest for decades.
Walter hickock didnt have enough horses to cover for all the wrongs Dick did. Dick a true scumbag who was a bad man before his car accident who became much worse after his wreck.
It’s almost good to hear that he was a bad guy before the accident. I’d hate to think that a head injury alone could make a murderer.
I have watched and read the stories. This tragedy happened the day after I was born. So sad but fascinating too. I have seen the home. It was a foggy fall night. I’ve never been so creeped out.
That comment about Hickock’s dad giving horses away every time Dick was a bad boy sounds like a load of bullshit to me. Dick was always doing something naughty and his parents weren’t wealthy so the bit about the horses probably just isnt true.
True, it doesn’t sound like a sustainable practice.