In Cold Blood (1967) Movie Script
(HORN HONKING)
(STRUMMING GUITAR)
(SOFTLY) Excuse me.
(MAN COUGHING)
Pa?
You all right, Pa?
You're up early.
I got a big
day ahead.
I wish you didn't
have to go.
Well, I promised
to help this friend.
Goddamn outhouse.
One of these days soon,
I'm changing all that.
Damn soon.
Now, you drive
careful now.
(HORN HONKING)
(MAN CHATTERING ON PA)
Young man? Young man.
I'm terribly sorry.
Ma'am,
can I have a root beer?
Anything else
to go with that?
Some aspirins, please.
DICK: "Friend P.
came out in August
"and after you left,
I met someone.
"He put me onto something
we could bring off beautiful.
"A cinch, the perfect score.
"It's a sure thing.
Am depending on you.
"Love, Dick.
"P.S. Will meet
your bus, November 14.
"M-day.
'M' for money, honey."
Fill her up, buddy.
Hey, you sure got
a perfect day for it.
What's that?
Hunting pheasants.
(LAUGHING)
Yes, indeedy.
Deadeye Dick Hickock, huh?
Well, them birds don't know it, but
this is their last day on Earth.
Good morning, Daddy.
Well, you're up early.
And I've got
a furious day ahead.
(BLOWING)
'Morning, Dad.
Thought maybe I
smelled smoke.
Yeah. Me, too.
(PHONE RINGING)
Could be a leaky valve.
Could be.
Peppermints before breakfast
might stunt your growth.
NANCY: Daddy, phone.
It's the insurance man.
Oh, uh, this afternoon,
anytime before dark.
Hello?
I want to call
the Kansas State Penitentiary.
Person-to-person.
Rev. James Post.
(CLEARING THROAT)
Rev. James Post.
My name is...
Perry Smith. He'll be checking
in sometime tomorrow.
Can I see
the room, please?
Ain't you
working today?
Now, ain't you?
Hello.
Perry.
Of course, I remember you.
Kansas City?
Missouri.
I'm at the bus terminal.
Well, um,
I'm waiting for Willie Jay.
Did something
hold up his parole?
I was supposed to
meet him right here.
Perry, think.
You've already broken parole
by quitting your job.
You'll break it again
if you step into Kansas.
Whatever you do, don't cross
that river into Kansas.
Can you tell me
where he went?
Please, Jim.
It's very important.
Maybe the most
important thing in my life.
Go back.
Why not see your father?
'Morning, Ma.
Daddy, you remember Jolene?
Well, I promised to teach her
how to bake a cherry pie.
Sounds serious.
She insists on today.
That makes it
practically a catastrophe.
Because I also promised to help
Roxy with her trumpet solo.
And errands for Mother in Garden
City, lunch with Susan...
Uh, suppose I take care
of your mother's errands?
Thank you, Daddy.
(TOILET FLUSHING)
MAN ON PA: Also provided for your
convenience, at the baggage counter
are identification tags.
This is your last call
for Buckner, Bluffington,
Lexington, Waverly, Marshall,
Boonville and
intermediate flights.
Now boarding at
door number six.
(INAUDIBLE)
(APPLAUSE)
(WHISPERING)
Stick 'em up!
(LAUGHING)
Hey, buddy.
How long have you
been standing there?
Long enough to catch
your late late show.
Just between
you and I.
You and me.
How come you always go
into a trance
every time you
look in the mirror?
Just like you was looking at
some gorgeous piece of butt.
(EXCLAIMS)
What in the hell
is in here?
Concrete?
That's all my stuff.
Books, letters, songs.
Souvenirs from Korea.
And our ticket to
fame and fortune.
I got a secret map in here
that's going to lead us
straight to the sunken
treasure of Captain Corts.
$60 million in Spanish gold,
off the coast of Mexico.
So, that's why that
map's so frigging heavy.
Welcome back
to Kansas, buddy.
The heart of America.
The land of wheat,
corn, bibles, and...
(BELCHING)
...natural gas.
Now, that map's not as heavy as
yours, but it's the real thing.
And it's gonna get
us $10,000 by tonight.
Four hundred miles west of here,
Big Daddy Clutter's place.
That's the layout.
The works.
Somewhere in that office,
in one little old safe.
And inside that safe,
10 grand, maybe more.
You've seen it?
The safe!
Well, right after you left the zoo,
a new guy moved into the cell.
Floyd Wells, serving three
to five for robbery.
He once worked for Clutter.
He saw it.
And that's your
perfect score?
Baby, it's a cinch.
I promise you, honey, we'll
blast hair all over them walls.
(BELL RINGING)
'Morning, Roxy.
'Morning, Mr. Clutter.
I think Nancy's
expecting you.
(HORN HONKING)
(HORN HONKING)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
You want to watch it, boy.
You'll end up
an aspirin junkie.
Been one for seven years.
Got the habit
in the hospital.
Doctors.
They made a dwarf out of me.
Doctors and lawyers.
What do they care?
Ever see a millionaire
fry in the electric chair?
Hell, no.
There's two
kinds of laws, honey.
One for the rich
and one for the poor.
Look at me.
I crack up my car,
wake up in a charity ward
and don't even
recognize myself.
I hate to count how much
classy pussy that's cost me.
They left you
a wonderful smile, though.
(LAUGHS)
Yeah, the all-American boy.
That was stupid.
Stealing a lousy pack of
razor blades, to prove what?
Everybody steals
something sometime.
It's the national pastime, baby.
Stealing and cheating.
If they caught every cheating
wife and tax chiseler,
the whole country would
be behind prison walls.
Where are
the black stockings?
They didn't have black.
Stop someplace else.
Where?
A Catholic hospital.
(LAUGHING) Sure.
We'll just barge in like it
was a goddamn five-and-dime.
Sister, sweetie, we gotta have some
black stockings to hide our face.
Okay, forget it.
Anyway, nuns are bad luck.
Kind of sexy, though.
You wouldn't think so if you'd
lived in one of those orphan homes
with those black
widows always at you.
Always sneaking up in the
dark, spying while you sleep.
Hitting you with a flashlight
for wetting the bed.
That's the first time I was
saved by the yellow bird.
The what?
Sort of a parrot.
Taller than Jesus.
Brilliant yellow,
like a sunflower.
It attacked those nuns
like an avenging angel.
The nuns begged for mercy.
But the yellow bird
slaughtered them anyway.
Then the bird folded
me in its wings
and lifted me
up to paradise.
That's one hell of a bird
to have on your side.
Anyway, that's why I have
an aversion to nuns
and God and religion.
Forget it.
Black stockings
are a waste of time.
No one's gonna remember us because
we're leaving no witnesses.
How about staying
at our place tonight?
Frozen stiff TV
dinners on trays,
spaghetti,
macaroni or pizza.
Sounds irresistible.
I'll tell Mom.
Golly, Sue.
C'est impossible.
Pourquoi, chrie?
Bobby's coming over.
I'll pick you up
for church tomorrow.
9:00 sharp.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
A full day's work deserves
a full-course dinner.
PERRY: The condemned
ate a hearty meal.
I don't know what they ate,
but tonight, cheeseburgers.
Tomorrow?
(HONKS HORN)
Mexico.
Fabulous Mexico.
Land of the hot tamales.
Gold country.
Remember Bogart in Treasure
of the Sierra Madre?
We could get us
a couple of burros.
Some tools.
Whoa, slow down, honey.
I don't know gold
dust from diarrhea.
Well, I do.
My old man prospected
for gold in Alaska.
He taught me all
the ins and outs.
Yeah. And we end up nuts.
No gold, nothing.
Just like in the movie.
You never meant it
about going to Mexico,
did you? Did you?
Sure, baby.
Sure we're going.
But first we gotta
dig up some capital.
Like tonight.
5,000 bucks a piece,
for one hour's work.
(KNOCKING ON WINDOW)
May I take
your orders?
Two cheeseburgers, please.
Getting insured is like,
well, when you wash your car,
it always rains.
Know what we call this
in the insurance game?
The solemn moment.
I guess when a man makes out a
policy or takes out his last will,
it's only natural to
think about mortality.
Herb, as of
this minute,
your life is
worth $40,000.
In case of accidental
death, double indemnity.
New York Life wishes you a very
long and very healthy life.
And so do I.
And so do I.
That waitress.
Nice piece of blonde chicken.
Why'd you pick me
for this job?
A perfect score
needs perfect partners.
Together we're
a perfect fit.
It's your score.
Where do I fit in?
I got you figured for
a natural-born killer.
Or did you lie about
that punk in Vegas?
No.
Why did you kill him?
No special reason.
Just for the hell of it.
That's the best
reason of all.
Back there,
you wanted to kill me.
Just for a second, right?
It passed.
Hair-trigger temper.
Somebody crosses you, voom!
Yes, sir.
You've got the gift, boy.
Remember the chaplain's clerk,
Willie Jay?
The guy you painted
to look like Jesus?
He said the same thing.
"Unstable, explosive."
He is a flaming faggot.
He has
a brilliant mind.
Then how come he got caught
stealing five times?
He was the best
friend I ever had.
Well, I'm the only
friend you got now.
Friend to the end,
for better or worse.
Till death do us part, huh?
(LAUGHING)
All we need is a ring, sugar.
(DOORBELL BUZZING)
Hi.
HERB: Is that Bobby?
Look at that land,
will you?
Oil money, gas money,
wheat money.
Share the wealth, baby.
(PLAYING GUITAR SOFTLY)
WOMAN: Perry.
Perry.
How does it feel?
What?
Being a father.
Great.
Your kids, you love them?
I'm their father,
ain't I?
I didn't ask were you
their goddamn father.
I asked did you love them.
I'm crazy about 'em.
But you left them.
Left their mother.
Okay. She left me.
There was this piece of
tail, nothing serious.
Just a quickie
in the back seat.
She blew
the whistle on me.
Said I knocked her up.
That's how I got to
be a two-time loser.
You ditched
the kids for her.
Jesus, baby. I had to do the
right thing by her, didn't I?
Well? Didn't I?
Yeah.
(PLAYING GUITAR SOFTLY)
'Night!
See you tomorrow, Bobby.
(WHISTLES)
(MOANING)
How much longer?
Seven miles.
Good evening.
Fill her up with regular.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Want some candy?
PERRY: No.
You okay?
I'm fine.
Coming?
Let's go.
MAN ON RADIO: News from
the Associated Press,
NBC, and the
Garden City Telegram.
Goodnight, Dad.
Goodnight, Son.
Winds from the south
at about 15 miles per hour.
The Garden City
Sale Company reported
3,273 head of cattle at
the auction yesterday.
'Night.
...calves went
from $26.50 to $30.
However, very few
reached the $30 mark.
The medium and good kinds
sold as high as $26.50...
(TRAIN HORN BLOWS)
Look at that spread.
Don't tell me this
guy ain't loaded.
Well?
Let's pull out of here.
Now, before it's too late.
(DOORBELL BUZZING)
Pa? Maybe they're still asleep.
Nancy?
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
(SIREN WAILING)
Don't touch it.
Don't touch anything.
Been up there?
(SOFTLY) My God.
There's two more
in the basement.
Well, I just saw two ambulances
going up to Clutter's.
I just wondering
what's happening.
MAN ON TV: The Sheriff
placed an urgent call
to the Kansas Bureau
of Investigation.
In Topeka, Logan Sanford,
KBI chief,
assigned four men
to the Clutter case.
They are agents Dewey, Nye,
Duntz, and Church.
What happened to
the basketball game?
It got interrupted.
Terrible thing, that.
I've never been so
hungry in my whole life.
Agent Alvin Dewey arrived
at the Clutter house
in advance of
the other KBI men.
Mr. Dewey,
resident of Garden City,
was placed in
charge of the case.
Were all four tied
with the same cord?
All tied with
the same square knot.
Used by anybody who
works with livestock.
Find any shell casings?
Nope.
Which means that
you can bet they didn't
leave any fingerprints either.
(DOOR OPENING)
Al.
This is the housekeeper.
Thank you for coming.
Are they still...
No, no, no, ma'am.
They've been taken
to the funeral home.
Now, if you'll just look
around with Mr. Church here
to see if anything
is missing...
They never hurt
anybody. Why them?
Al, you knew Clutter.
Did he have a safe?
Keep a lot of
cash on hand?
The old Kansas myth.
Every farmer with a good
spread is supposed to have
a hidden black box somewhere
filled with money.
No. Herb paid
everything by check.
Even a $2 haircut.
Well, then why,
if they're going to shoot
them all anyway, why
did they first cut
Clutter's throat?
(SIGHING)
Why did they first put him
on a soft mattress box?
To make him comfy?
And why the pillow
under the boy's head?
We keep saying "they."
It could have been one man.
A madman.
This picture was taken
with a time exposure.
It shows only
what the eye saw.
This picture was
taken with a flashbulb.
That's a different
pair of shoes.
Yeah.
Well, we know there were
at least two of them.
You won't
see it there.
The flash made them
stand out in the dust.
You develop those
pictures yourself? Yes.
Newspaper boy's seen this?
Not yet.
Keep it that way.
Hey Al, Al, when can we
see the Clutter home?
Why were the men
killed in the basement?
I'll talk facts,
not theories.
It happened
around 2:00 a.m.
All four were apparently
killed by the same weapon.
Shotgun, 12-gauge.
Mr. Clutter's
throat was cut.
Before he was shot?
Probably.
All four were tied with
the same nylon sash-cord
sold in most
hardware stores.
And their
mouths were taped.
How were they tied, then?
What kind of knots?
Oh, uh, can we see
police pictures?
REPORTER 1: Find the murder weapon?
Not yet.
Any clues
or fingerprints?
Lots. All belong
to the family.
They say that Nancy's
boyfriend is a prime suspect.
Is that what
they say?
Well, he was the last one
to see them alive.
Except the killers.
Then there were
more than one?
REPORTER 2: Were the women
sexually molested?
The coroner says not.
How come the dog
didn't bark?
How do you know
he didn't bark?
Nobody heard him.
Nobody heard the gunshots either.
REPORTER 3: Was there more
than one killer?
REPORTER 2: What about
the hired man?
Mr. Dewey,
in your opinion,
do you think it could have
been an inside job, sir?
Why didn't Mr.
Clutter resist?
Mr. Dewey, just a
moment, Mr. Dewey.
Was there more
than one killer?
What about
the hired man?
His check was
made out for $1,707.
Mr. Clutter's first premium
on a straight life policy
worth $40,000.
Double indemnity
makes it $80,000.
And that makes it
a strange coincidence.
And that's all it is,
a coincidence.
I didn't catch
your name.
Oh, Bill Jensen,
Weekly magazine.
If you're not here to write
news, what is your interest?
Fairly basic.
What's basic
about a stupid,
senseless crime?
A violent, unknown force destroys
a decent, ordinary family.
No clues. No logic.
Makes us all feel frightened.
Vulnerable.
Murder's no mystery.
Only the motive.
Got one?
I smoke too much.
How'd they
enter the house?
A key?
Force a window?
Probably just walked in.
Don't people around
here lock doors?
They will tonight.
I know something's
wrong here.
I feel it.
I don't know
what it is, but...
Oh, Mr. Clutter never
allowed smoking in the house.
Sorry.
Something.
Something.
But of course.
The radio!
Kenyon always listened
to the news and weather
before he went to bed.
But where's his radio?
MAN ON RADIO: Since the night
of horror, two days ago,
few people are seen on the streets
of Garden City after dark.
To date, no clues
have been uncovered.
No clues whatever.
It was generally known
that Clutter
never had large
sums of cash on hand.
No expensive jewels.
Nor even a steel
safe in which to...
Perry, baby, if
you don't want that burger...
You and your hotshot
prison buddy Floyd Wells.
Big, fat safe in the wall.
$10,000. "A cinch."
Okay, Floyd's a jerk.
But we scored, didn't we?
Perfecto.
You call an 800-mile drive
and the rest of it,
for 43 lousy dollars,
you call that perfect?
And that!
You don't believe that con
about no clues, do you?
You worry too much.
How are them cowboys
gonna connect us? Remember?
No witnesses.
I know one.
You. You're a witness.
Jesus, kid. For a minute,
I thought you blew your cork.
You're so right.
We're the only
ones that saw it,
and that, honey,
is our big ace.
Because if they can't split us apart,
they can't get a confession.
And if they can't get a
confession, they got nothing.
Next move,
(WHISPERING)
Mexico.
Once we beat it
out of the country.
On what?
$43 and a smile
and bullshit?
You guessed it, chief.
It's the smile
that does it.
Like it says in
the commercials,
"The family that sticks
together lives forever."
Officers investigating the tragic
slaying have appealed to the public
for help in
solving the crime.
A Kansas paper,
The Hutchinson News,
has offered a reward
for any information
leading to the capture and
conviction of the person or persons,
guilty of
the Clutter murders.
A reward of $1,000.
What about the reward?
(TYPEWRITER CLACKING) Yeah,
that's right, $1,000.
Yes, sir.
Where are you calling from?
Yeah. Go ahead.
Who?
How do you know
he was a foreigner?
I see. Thank you
very much, sir.
Another tip?
He says he saw
a foreigner running.
How does a foreigner
run, anyway?
Just how many people have
tried to claim this reward?
Oh, just about everybody.
A mysterious
stranger did it.
Hired killers did it.
A jealous
neighbor did it.
Seems like the only one who
didn't do it is the butler.
Any luck?
None of the Clutters had
shoes with a cat's paw.
No diamond
pattern, either.
Insurance money
goes to the family.
And this,
Nancy Clutter's.
Found it hidden in
the toe of her slipper.
Something must've
scared her.
All of which brings us back
to the motive of robbery.
I can believe one man might
work up enough rage to do it.
But two?
Who would kill four people
in cold blood for a radio,
a pair of binoculars
and $40 in cash?
These days? Take your pick
on any crowded street.
You ever hang
any paper?
I couldn't cash a check
even if it was good.
Easy, baby. Casual.
Excuse me. My name's Hickock.
Richie. And you're?
Sharp. Luke Sharp.
I'll bet in school
they called you Look Sharp.
See that gentleman
over there?
Would you believe a runt like
that is getting married?
Well, maybe he ain't any Fred
Astaire but he's my best friend,
and I'm his best man.
My wedding present to him is
going to be what you might call
his trousseau.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Ideal shade for an informal
ceremony, don't you think?
Perfectly ideal.
Of course, we are a tiny
bit oddly proportioned.
I mean, the upper torso is so
large compared to the legs.
I'm terribly sorry.
He's not ashamed
of them scars.
They gave him
the Bronze Star in Korea.
Luke, have you ever been to Eden Roc?
In Miami Beach.
Well, that's where
the happy couple is
shacking up for
their honeymoon.
Two weeks all paid up.
Surprise gift
from the folks.
He's a very lucky man.
He deserves it.
And with these, $192.70.
Would you like to have these
wrapped and taken to your car?
No hurry. Deliver them
when the suit is ready.
Oh, no!
Four silly dollars.
We're awfully sorry.
We'll have to come
back some other time.
(CLEARS THROAT)
Um...
I'd gladly
give you a check.
But then
you hardly know me.
Anyway, we're really
grateful for your courtesy.
If it's a personal check, perhaps.
You're sure?
Positive. I wouldn't want
to inconvenience you.
Perfectly all right.
Which bank would
you like?
It's immaterial,
I'm sure.
Thank you.
My driver's license,
identity card,
insurance card,
country club... Oops!
She's a private number.
(LAUGHING)
Was that $192?
And $0.70.
Would you care if I...
No. Never mind.
No, please.
Well, I could use
a little loose change.
I see. Suppose I just
make this out for $280
and $0.70, of course.
Well, I suppose.
Mr. Sharp, you're a brick.
You're good.
You're really good.
Smooth. No sweat.
No strain.
You're an artist, boy.
Right.
If you're getting married,
you need a wedding ring.
Why not two of them? Why not?
Cameras, diamond rings, TV sets
are the easiest things
to hock or sell.
(INAUDIBLE)
(HORN HONKING)
You know, there's got to be
something wrong with us
to do what we did.
Nobody, but nobody, ever gets
away with a thing like that.
Will you shut up about it?
I can't shake this feeling that
we forgot something that night.
I don't know what,
something that belongs to us.
You want to go
back to that house
and look for whatever
the hell it is?
Because that would make us
not only crazy, but insane.
Any luck? If they didn't
leave any fingerprints,
you can be sure they didn't
leave any murder weapons.
(HORN HONKING)
People who used to work for
Clutter, going back 15 years.
Hired men, people he used
to do business with...
All right.
Just keep talking.
Upstairs?
Don't look up.
See something?
I'm not sure.
Now you take the office side and
I'll go around the kitchen side.
Mmm-hmm.
It's true, really true.
We're on our way
and never coming back, never.
And no regrets.
For you.
You are leaving nothing.
What about my old man?
And my mother.
They'll still be there when
my checks start bouncing.
It's nice the way you
think about your folks.
Yeah. I'm a real
thoughtful bastard.
'Morning, Bess.
Coffee, huh?
Hey, Alvin, that prowler
at the Clutter house,
get a confession out of him yet?
Yep.
His confession proved
he couldn't have done it.
Escaped mental patient.
Well, if he's the wrong one, why in
hell don't you find the right one?
I've got a house
full of women
who are afraid to go
to the toilet alone.
(PHONE RINGING)
Bunch of gabby old women gassing
away, scaring each other.
Somebody with
a grudge done it.
Somebody who hated the
Clutters, if you ask me.
Nobody asked you.
Nobody hated
the Clutters neither.
Leastways,
nobody that knew them.
Phone.
If this can happen to a
decent, God-fearing family,
who's safe anymore?
Hello?
From here? No, from Topeka.
It's urgent!
Okay, Mr. Sandrew.
Tell Alvin it's a prisoner.
In Lansing.
Get me a rap sheet
on this man, please.
He mentioned
the Clutter case.
He wouldn't say any more unless he
was called out of the cellblock.
I have the warden on
the other phone now.
Might be a break.
If it is, I'll be out to Garden
City tonight with the tape.
No, phone's too risky.
Hello? Yes.
"KSP 1 -4-3-2-3.
Floyd Wells."
WELLS: I first met him in the penitentiary.
MAN: Hickock?
Yes, sir.
We shared the same cell.
Go ahead, Floyd.
Well, anyways,
we swapped life
stories and I told him
how I once worked
for a farmer named Clutter.
Did you work for him?
Yes, sir.
Ten, eleven years ago.
Dick wanted to know if Mr
. Clutter was rich and I said,
"Well, sometimes it cost him $1
0,000 a week to run his operation."
After that, Dick never let up.
Just kept asking questions.
How many was in the family?
Did Clutter keep a safe?
And Dick said how he was going to rob
the Clutter place, him and his buddy.
And how he was gonna kill
all the witnesses.
I just never believed him.
I thought it was just...
What took him so long
to speak up?
Afraid of other prisoners.
Issue a pickup warrant.
All-points bulletin.
We better make it for parole
violation, passing bad checks.
If they know they're
wanted for murder...
Yeah.
The question is
why they did it.
Why did Cain kill Abel?
And who cares?
They did it, and
they'll swing for it.
If they did it and
if we can prove it.
DICK: When we cross
this bridge, we're in Mexico.
Free, clear and safe.
Fabulous Mexico.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Mr. Smith?
Mr. Tex Smith?
Cops, huh?
Kansas Bureau
of Investigation.
Uh-huh.
Is this your son, Perry?
Yep, that's him all right.
Gets his looks
from his mother.
Part Cherokee.
Will you have
some coffee?
When did you see
him last?
Oh, couple of years ago.
CHURCH: In prison?
I was just fixing to make some grub.
You want some eats?
He was in for
three and a half years.
He's been out on
parole for six months.
Well, then I guess I haven't
seen him for five or six years.
That's not surprising though.
He's a lone wolf just like me.
You guys can rest
easy on one thing sure,
you won't be having
any more trouble with Perry.
He's learned his
lesson for sure.
When he wrote me from prison,
I wrote him right back pronto.
"Boy, you take
your punishment with a smile.
"I didn't raise you to steal,
so don't expect me to cry
"just because you got
it tough behind the bars."
Perry's no fool.
He knows when he's beat.
You fellows have got
him whipped forever.
The law's the boss.
He knows the difference
between right and wrong,
you can bet on that.
Because I taught my
kids a golden rule.
Always tell the truth,
always wash in the morning,
always be sober
and independent.
I showed him how.
How to prospect,
how to trap fur,
how to carpenter,
how to bake bread,
how to be his own boss.
Yes, he's a chip off
the old block, all right.
I never had no
trouble with my kids,
not as long as Flo
and me was together.
But she wanted the wild life.
So she took the kids
and ran off.
Turned them against me.
All but Perry.
I don't know
what got into her.
She started drinking.
Turned into a hopeless drunk.
Started stepping out
with young men.
I caught her once and I...
Anyway, she died drunk.
Choked to death
on her own vomit.
So I took Perry and we started
roaming to forget it all.
I took him with
me everywhere.
How that boy loved me.
At night, when it was cold,
we'd sleep cuddled up.
He'd hang onto me
with his little arms,
so tight.
I'd tell him stories about the great
adventures we was gonna have.
How we was gonna
strike it rich.
Buried treasures.
Gold.
In Alaska.
That's where this
picture was took.
Him and me in Alaska.
Mr. Smith...
You just ask Perry if I
wasn't a good father to him.
I always shared, always.
When I eat, he eats.
You just tell Perry, when I die
all my insurance goes to him.
(CHUCKLING)
Yes, sir.
His life is all set.
Great news!
I met this kid.
He's a shoeshine boy.
Well, he's got a cousin
in Yucatn, a fisherman.
And he's got a powerboat. So?
So, we drive to Yucatn,
we sell the car,
buy us a load of
deep-sea diving gear
and "pow," we hit
the Corts jackpot.
$60 million in Spanish gold.
Of course, we'll have to cut the
kid in, and his cousin, too.
But even so, Yucatn!
Hot, dry, clean,
no crowd, no noise.
Doing what we came to do.
How much can we
get for the car?
120 bucks.
Is that all?
Enough to pay the bills.
Hotel, bar, groceries.
And with what's left over,
I bought us two bus tickets
as far as
Barstow, California.
After that, we walk.
So get rid of that ton
and a half of garbage.
Ship it! Dump it!
Burn it! I don't care.
Only get rid of it,
by tonight.
'Cause come tomorrow,
we're gone.
Back to the States.
Dick, wait. Now listen.
You listen! I've had it!
You, your maps, fishing boats,
buried treasure, all of it!
Everything!
Stop jacking off.
There ain't any caskets of gold.
No buried treasure.
And even if there was, hell,
boy, you can't even swim.
You want to
stick with me, okay.
You wanna split,
that's okay, too.
Only make up
your mind.
I'll ship our
stuff back to Vegas.
Good.
I got a little seorita
coming over tonight.
I'll try to be finished
packing before you get back.
What for?
Hell, I'm not bashful, baby.
...and that, if we find the
motive, we find the killer.
If.
This, uh...
This report was
written six months
before the Clutters
were killed.
It's called, Murder
Without Apparent Motive.
At the Menninger Clinic,
right here in Kansas,
a study was made
of four killers.
They all had
certain things in common.
They all committed
senseless murders.
They all felt physically inferior
and sexually inadequate.
Their childhood was violent,
or one parent was missing.
Or someone else
had raised them.
They couldn't distinguish
between fantasy and reality.
They didn't hate their victims,
they didn't even know them.
They felt no guilt about their
crime, and got nothing out of it.
And most important, they told
the police or a psychiatrist
that they felt
the urge to kill,
before they
committed murder.
Their warnings
were disregarded.
So, who killed
the Clutters?
Someday, somebody will explain
to me the motive of a newspaper.
First you scream,
"Find the bastards."
Till we find them,
you want to get us fired.
When we find them,
you accuse us of brutality.
Before we can go into court, you
give them a trial by newspaper.
When we finally get a conviction
you want to save them
by proving they were
crazy in the first place.
All of which adds
up to one thing.
You've got
the killers.
Off the record,
have you got them?
Suspects.
Even if we catch them,
that's all we've got.
Because without a confession,
and the evidence
we got so far,
we couldn't even
go to trial.
Unless we can place the
suspects in this spot,
unless we can tie the killers
to that piece of rope,
they'll never hang.
(SOFT MEXICAN MUSIC PLAYING)
WOMAN: Perry!
Was it good, baby?
Was it good?
Baby, was it
really good?
All a truck gets us,
is from here to there.
We want a score.
One guy with a fat wallet, in
a fast car, with a back seat.
I sit beside him.
You get in the back,
I feed him a few jokes.
I say, "Hey, Perry,
pass me a match."
That's your signal.
Fast. Hard. Snap.
I grab the wheel.
You're so good at it,
you sit in the back seat.
You do it.
Look friendly, now.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
You're a lucky bastard.
(HORN HONKING)
Hey, don't forget, when I
say, "Pass me a match."
Hop in, boys.
Where are you going?
Come on. Get in.
Not with you.
Thanks just the same.
Did you see them guys?
Jesus! They could've
robbed us.
What of?
I'm really not supposed to pick up
anybody in the company car, but...
What the hell,
you only live once.
Well, that's
what they say.
Comfortable
back there?
I can take you
as far as Iowa.
Where have you boys been?
Mexico. No future there.
That depends, my boy.
I honeymooned in Mexico.
You might say that's where I planted
the seed of our first child.
I plowed and planted a few
seoritas there myself.
Hey, you know what they call a
prostitute who went to college?
What?
A whore-to-culture.
I got a riddle for you.
Ready?
Shoot.
Why is a trip to the bathroom exactly
like a trip to the cemetery?
Let me see.
A trip to the bathroom
like a trip
to the cemetery...
Give up?
When you gotta go,
you gotta go.
(LAUGHING)
Hey, Perry,
pass me a match.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
Sorry, I never turn
down a soldier.
This might get the boy
home for Christmas.
Lucky break.
Practically
a goddamn miracle.
You didn't happen to see a portable
radio, Mr. Hickock, about so big?
A Zenith?
Now what makes
him do it?
Hit out against people?
Outstanding athlete in
basketball, baseball, football,
always made
the first team.
He always played to win,
played hard, but clean.
When he left without a word I
knew he was in trouble again.
Now, Mr. Nye,
I thought if I...
About breaking parole.
Will he have to
go back to prison?
You do much hunting,
Mr. Hickock?
Oh, that's his gun. Dick's.
You know, when he come
out of prison,
you know, folks was saying
how he'd turned mean.
Now how'd they know?
How'd anybody know
what's inside another person?
You see, I haven't
got long to go, Mr. Nye.
I'm with cancer.
And, well, Dick knowed that.
And, well, before he left,
he said to me...
He said, "Pa, I'm not ever gonna
do anything to hurt you."
And he meant it, too.
Now, I mean, If you'd seen him, you
know, playing with his children.
Any boy that loves and respects his
folks, well, you know there's,
there's good inside that boy.
I hope you find him, Mr. Nye,
for his own sake. Before it's too late.
(MOANING)
You know what we are?
We're the living proof
that crime pays.
Gifts in a manger.
No more
money troubles.
Merry Christmas.
Kansas City,
here we come.
You're crazy.
I gotta get us
some money.
How far do you
think we could get
in a hot car?
With hot checks?
That's right.
I'll go by myself.
Like hell you will.
I'll meet you later.
We stick together.
First we go to Vegas.
We pick up our clothes.
All the stuff
I shipped from Mexico.
And then we drive to the
nearest port and we ship out
on the first tanker
leaving this country.
And this time
we stay out.
I won't go.
You'll go.
What if I don't?
Well, then,
"honey, baby,"
I guess I'll just
have to kill you.
Yeah, yeah.
But right now,
we pass a lot of fast,
hot checks.
One more check.
We can be in and out
of here in an hour.
(LAUGHING) A cinch.
Stop worrying,
will you?
Al, our friends are here.
How do you know?
They stole a car in Iowa and
bought two tires with a bad check.
Where?
Right here.
The salesman got worried,
he wrote down the license.
The Hickock farm,
is it covered?
If they go there,
we're covered.
I'll be at
the Hickock farm.
(PHONE RINGING)
Yes?
Yes.
Did they slip through?
If it wasn't to
see his folks,
why would they
come back to Kansas?
Well, maybe they're
trying to be caught.
I guess they'll just
have to try harder.
You're not stopping
for them?
Look at that old man,
he looks awful.
Suppose he dies on us?
That means cops, questions.
Think, will you?
I think you're a bastard.
We sure appreciate
this, mister.
Get in.
Where you headed?
California.
Gramps has got
a sister in Needles.
He's going to
stay with her.
Did you hear
that, Johnny?
Hear me, Johnny?
You got any money?
Hey, kid.
No, sir.
Not even $1 for gas?
Only these.
They're worth
$0.03 a bottle.
So?
Mister, if you was
to drive real slow,
we could pick us up
some real change.
That's what Johnny and me have
been eating off of. Refund money.
Kid, get in.
We finally found it.
The sunken treasure
of Captain Corts.
(LAUGHING)
$0.03 a bottle.
Hey! Hey!
Pay dirt!
The Treasure of
the Sierra Madre.
ALL: # Row, row, row your
boat, gently down the stream
# Merrily, merrily,
merrily, merrily
# Life is but a dream
# Gently down the stream
# Merrily, merrily,
merrily, merrily #
Hey, mister, $12.60.
50-50 okay?
Kid, you're a
positive genius.
Happy New Year!
Likewise.
Keep digging,
old-timer.
Never seen so
much blonde chicken.
And all that
sweet divorce money.
Mmm, mmm.
Yeah, sure.
Hey, chief,
you a lucky
crap shooter?
(LAUGHING)
Deuces, treys
and twelves.
Mr. Snake Eyes himself.
If we put this
fiver on the line
and if we let it ride
and if we make
only 10 passes,
we'd have
over 5,000 bucks.
How about it, honey?
I feel real lucky tonight.
(HORN HONKING)
You've got visitors.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
Hello.
Hey, buddy.
Put in a call for that
big old yellow bird.
Good afternoon.
Smith.
Hickock.
Comedian.
Yeah.
Roy.
Are they still virgins? Hmm?
What'd you charge
them with?
Driving a hot car.
Officer.
You know why we're
here, Mr. Hickock?
Sir,
you can call me Dick.
All right, Dick.
We understand you've signed
the extradition papers.
Yeah, well,
what the hell.
There's no denying
we broke parole
and hung a mile
and half of paper.
Oh, yeah, the car,
it's stolen.
That's it. All of it.
Okay if I smoke?
Sure, sure.
You know, in a way,
I'm glad it's over.
I'll take what I've got coming.
Serve my time and never,
but never again.
(PHONE RINGING)
Your parole has a special provision
never to return to Kansas.
I cried my eyes out.
Must've been something
important to bring you back.
I had to see my
sister in Fort Scott.
To get money
she was holding for me.
Did you get it?
She moved away.
Where?
I don't know.
How far is it from Kansas
City to Fort Scott?
I don't know.
How long did it take you to
drive there, one hour? Two?
Three? Four?
I can't remember.
Do you remember
what day it was?
Saturday.
Yeah, I remember now.
We got to Fort Scott
about 4:00 p.m.
We went right to the post office.
Why?
Why?
To find out where Perry's
sister lived. Oh.
The guy at the post
office said she moved.
Left no address
and left no money, either.
Must've been
quite a blow.
It was a haymaker.
Okay?
Sure, sure.
What did you
do then?
Drove back to K.C.,
went prowling.
Any luck?
Not much.
We ended up with
a couple of hustlers.
Named?
I never asked.
You spent the night
with these women
and you didn't
ask their names?
They were
just prostitutes.
Where'd you
take them?
I don't remember
junk like that.
You'll have to
ask Dick.
What did these
girls look like?
Describe them.
Blonde? Dark?
Big? Little?
Any scars?
Moles? Marks?
Would you like
the sordid details?
Anything.
Is that how
you get your kicks?
She had to be
a contortionist.
NYE: I guess you know
why we're really here?
You know we wouldn't
have come this far
just to arrest a couple of
two-bit check chiselers.
Would we, Dick?
(STAMMERING) I wasn't listening.
Are you listening now?
Did you ever hear
of the Clutter murder case?
Oh, now,
hold it, hold it.
Can't nobody pin any
murder on me. No, sir.
The question was,
did you hear about it?
Read something
about it, maybe.
Yeah. You made three mistakes.
Number one,
you left a witness.
(CHUCKLING) A living witness,
who'll testify in court.
There ain't any living witness.
Can't be.
Nobody can pin
any murder on me.
Saturday, November 14, you
drove to Fort Scott. Yes.
You went to the post office...
Yes.
...to get the address
of Perry's sister.
That's right.
Perry Smith has
no sister in Fort Scott.
Never has had.
On Saturday afternoon
the post office
in Fort Scott
is always closed.
That is your
second mistake.
Perry seems confused
about that night.
I think it's about time
we straightened him out.
Yes, sir. About time.
Look at me, boy.
On Saturday night, November 14,
you were in Holcomb, Kansas.
You were killing
the Clutter family.
Never.
I never...
Never what?
I never knew anybody
by that name,
Clutter.
We've got a living witness.
Well, Perry?
Do you have
any aspirin?
They took my
aspirin away.
DUNTZ: Feeling bad?
My legs do.
By the way, you know
what tomorrow is?
Nancy Clutter's birthday.
She would have
been 17.
(DICK CHUCKLING)
You guys have
gotta be stalling.
If you had
any real proof...
Real proof,
as in eyewitness.
Fingerprints.
As God is my witness, may
I burn in hell forever
if I ever
killed anybody.
Careful, boy.
Got an aspirin?
How's it going?
Three hours and all
we've got so far is,
"No. I don't remember.
Ask Dick."
We've caught that
hard-nosed little punk
in 50 lies and he
still admits nothing.
I think our boy's about
primed and ready.
I hope you're right.
Why do all you
people get tattooed?
"All you people"?
What people?
Convicts.
You're all tattooed.
That tiger head.
What does it do?
Make you feel tough?
(SCOFFS)
That cop's badge,
what does it do?
Make you feel honest?
Everybody's got
a tattoo.
Only you people
call them clubs.
Elks, Masons,
Boy Scouts. Salute.
High sign. Low sign.
Secret this and secret that.
"No trespassing. Keep off the grass."
Nice, respectable,
tattoo clubs.
Poker clubs,
golf clubs, tennis clubs.
Clubs for gambling
and clubs for drinking.
Even a real club like Daddy-O's
got in that little brown bag.
What you gonna
do, pappy?
Club it out of me?
Mmm, something
like that.
I said you made
three mistakes.
First, you left
a living witness.
Second, your alibi
won't hold water.
And third?
Coming up.
Footprints.
Made in the spot where Mr.
Clutter was murdered.
These are the shoes
that made them.
Yours.
This footprint
was made in
Mr. Clutter's blood.
Perry's shoe.
Same cat's paw.
Same size. Same blood.
All right, Dick.
This time the truth.
I don't want to be
charged with murder one
because I never
pulled the trigger.
I don't even know what the
goddamn hell was happening.
It was Perry.
He did it.
I couldn't stop him.
He killed them all.
(ENGINES REVVING)
Are you the officer
that made the arrest?
If you'd grabbed them
five minutes earlier
before they'd
picked up that box...
Just luck, I guess.
Or something.
Hickock swears that
he tried to stop you.
He was scared that
you'd shoot him, too.
He said you did it.
All of it.
Sure. Now you'd like
me to say he did it.
He's no killer,
and he knows it.
That's why
he picked you.
He needed a trigger.
You had nothing
to lose.
You'd already killed
a man, in Vegas.
Beat him to death
with a bicycle chain.
Tough boy.
Real brass boy.
Oh, I knew if
we got caught,
if he dropped his guts, he'd
tell about that guy in Vegas.
I never killed anybody.
Not before that night.
'Cause that night,
I think...
No.
PERRY: No, I want to
remember it the way it was.
We got there around midnight.
This is it.
This is it.
Let's pull out of here.
Now, before it's too late.
If you're gonna do it,
you'll have to do it alone.
You don't think I got
the guts to do it alone.
Okay. I'll show you
who's wearing the pants.
How'd you kill that
guy in Vegas, anyhow?
Love him to death?
Korean War hero.
Christ!
PERRY: Why'd I go
along with it?
When it first began...
Who knows when
anything really begins?
When Dick first told me the
plan it didn't even seem real.
Then, the closer we got,
the more real it became.
Like the whole
crazy stunt had
a life of its own and
nothing could stop it.
Like I was reading a story
and I had to know
what was gonna happen.
How it would end.
(WHISPERS) Wait.
If we find the safe, do
you know how to open it?
(WHISPERING) I know
somebody that knows.
HERB: Honey?
Is that you, honey?
Who is it?
Come with us. Now!
What?
Come with us.
Come on. Come.
In the office.
Now, sir.
Where do you keep
that safe?
What safe?
I don't have any safe.
Don't lie to me,
you son of a bitch.
I know you got a safe.
Right here.
In this office.
I'm sorry, but there isn't any safe.
There never was a safe.
Any other phones?
One. In the kitchen.
Now, sir,
unlock this cabinet.
HERB: It's not locked.
Okay.
Where is it?
(DOORBELL BUZZING)
Come on, move it.
DICK: All right, now.
The money, dig it up.
31 lousy dollars.
A rich man like you.
You gotta have
more money than this.
Not in cash.
I can write you a check.
(SCOFFS)
A check?
What kind of...
PERRY: Hey!
Don't do that!
There's somebody
awake upstairs.
My family.
The only people upstairs
are my wife,
my son and daughter.
Your wife,
she got any money?
Please, she's not well.
Sure. Sure, pops.
Upstairs.
My glasses. I can't
see without my glasses.
Upstairs,
upstairs.
Why do you boys
want to do this?
I never harmed you.
I never saw
you before.
Shut up. When we want you
to talk, we'll tell you.
It's all right,
sweetheart, don't be afraid.
These men,
they just want some money.
Money?
They believe we have money
hidden in a safe.
I told them we didn't,
but they don't...
Didn't I tell you
to shut up?
He's telling you God's truth.
There isn't any safe.
I know goddamn
well you got a safe.
And you better tell
him to find it fast!
Dick.
Floyd Wells lied to you.
There isn't any safe.
Tie them up.
Okay, lady.
In the bathroom.
Please, don't hurt anybody.
They don't mean to hurt anyone.
Isn't that right?
All they want is some money.
And then they'll go away.
Please,
don't hurt the children.
Good grief! What is this?
Some kind of joke?
Make one move,
holler once,
and we'll cut their throats.
All right.
You two, downstairs.
Dick! In here.
You. Over there.
(GROANS)
What's this?
A casket?
Hope chest.
It's a wedding
present for my sister.
Yeah?
KENYON: Not her.
She's too young.
They're never
too young, kid.
Hey! Pops!
(GUN COCKS)
You better pray
I find that safe.
Kenyon?
Dad?
(THUMPING)
You're cold?
Yes.
(GROANS)
If all you want
is money, then why?
If you do that to my wife,
she'll panic.
(GRUNTING)
(THUMPING)
My mother, please be careful.
Please.
That other man, I'm afraid
he'll hurt someone.
Please, he can have
money, anything,
but, please, don't let
him hurt my little girl.
NANCY:
Don't...
Please, don't.
You ever had a man?
Please, don't.
(SOBS)
What's eating at you?
You find the safe?
Later.
First I'm gonna
bust that little girl.
No.
What do you care?
You can bust her, too.
No.
Okay, honey.
Get the kid's radio.
And then go downstairs.
I despise people who can't
control themselves.
You go to school?
The university
next year.
To study music and art.
I play the guitar.
Draw some, too.
Only got as far
as the third grade.
You like horses?
Yes.
My mother
was a champion rider.
In the rodeo.
And my father...
My father...
(GROANING)
(PANTING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(PANTING)
Okay. What's the matter?
Us. We're the matter.
We're ridiculous.
You tapping the walls
for a safe that isn't there.
Tap, tap, tapping
like some nutty woodpecker.
And me.
Crawling around on the floor
with my legs on fire.
And all to steal
a kid's silver dollar.
Ridiculous!
This is stupid!
What are you sore about?
We got no beef.
It's us against them.
This is between us.
(LAUGHS)
It's got nothing
to do with them.
(GUN COCKING)
Look at me, boy!
Take a good look!
I'm the last living thing
you're ever gonna see.
(SCREAMS)
(GUN FIRING)
Don't. Please, don't.
(GUN FIRING)
(DOG WHINING)
It doesn't make sense.
I mean what happened.
Or why.
It had nothing to
do with the Clutters.
They never hurt me, they
just happened to be there.
I thought Mr. Clutter
was a very nice gentleman.
I thought so right up until
the time I cut his throat.
(SIGHS)
(ENGINE REVVING)
(BELL TOLLING)
Mercy for them.
The killers.
How fortunate that
their admirable attorneys
were not present at the Clutter
home that fateful evening.
How very fortunate for them
that they were not there
to plead mercy for
the doomed family,
because otherwise,
we would have found
their corpses, too.
If you allow them
life imprisonment,
they will be eligible for
parole in seven years.
That is the law.
Gentlemen,
four of your neighbors
were slaughtered
like hogs in a pen
by them.
They did not strike suddenly
in the heat of passion,
but for money.
They did not
kill in vengeance.
They planned it for money.
And how cheaply
those lives were bought.
$40.
$10 a life.
They drove 400
miles to come here,
they brought their
weapons with them.
This shotgun, this dagger.
This is the rope that they
hogtied their victims with.
This is the blood
they spilled.
Herb Clutter's.
They who had no pity,
now ask for yours.
They who had no mercy,
now ask for yours.
They who had no tears,
now ask for yours.
If you have tears to shed,
weep not for them,
weep for their victims.
From the way the Holy Bible
was quoted here today,
you might think
the word of God
was written only to
protect the killers.
But they didn't
read you this.
Exodus 20,
verse 13.
"Thou shalt not kill."
Or this.
Genesis 9, verse 12.
"Who so shedeth man's blood,
"By man shall
his blood be shed."
JENSEN: It took four
hours to pick the jury.
It took the state three days
to present its case.
It took the defense
one hour and a half.
It took the jury
40 minutes to
bring in the verdict.
JUROR 1:
They had to be crazy.
JUROR 2: No.
Maybe stupid, but perfectly sane.
JUROR 3: How can
a perfectly sane man
commit an absolutely
crazy act?
(WHISTLE BLOWING)
MAN ON PA: Calling all
stations, Officer Linhard,
Officer Brackin.
Please come to
the desk sergeant's office.
Calling all stations,
Officer Wright.
Officer C. Wright.
Please call
the desk sergeant.
What happens now?
They wait to die.
I wonder how many others
are waiting in other prisons?
About 200.
(FEET MARCHING)
JENSEN: Perry and Dick began their
waiting in the "S and I" building.
Security and Isolation.
The second
floor is death row.
Through the window they can
see the baseball field.
Beyond the outfield,
over the wall
is an old warehouse
with a tin roof.
This warehouse
got a name?
In this prison,
it's called "The Corner."
On hanging day, the men say,
"He's gone to 'The Corner'."
Perry and Dick have
a date at "The Corner."
One minute after midnight.
May, Friday 13.
JENSEN: According to an
expert in forensic medicine,
neither one of them
would have done it alone.
But together, they
made a third personality.
That's the one that did it.
Hey, Andy!
Does it tell
anywhere in them books
what happens when
you make the big drop?
Well, your neck breaks
and you crap your pants.
(LAUGHING)
The trouble with you, Andy, you
got no respect for human life,
not even your own.
(TOILET FLUSHING)
Doomsday, Friday 13,
came and went,
but no one went
to "The Corner."
Perry and Dick appealed.
Routine.
They were granted a stay of execution.
Routine.
The legal machinery in capital cases
usually runs a year or more. Routine.
Death row has
its own routine.
Shower. One man at a time,
once a week.
Shave, twice a week.
The guard locks
the safety razor.
Safety first.
No radios, no movies, no TV.
No cards, no games, no exercise.
No mirrors, no
bottles, no glasses.
No knives,
no forks.
No suicide allowed.
They could eat, sleep,
write, read, think, dream.
They could pray,
if so inclined.
But mostly,
they just waited.
The guy in the next cell, Andy.
He's been waiting two years.
Newspapers call him
"The nicest boy in Kansas."
One night he
killed his sister.
Then he shot his
mother six times
and his father
seventeen times.
Andy's a nut,
but I like him.
Hey, Andy.
Say hello to Mr. Jensen.
He's writing
the story of my life.
Why?
(LAUGHING)
I told you he was a nut.
Ronnie, Jim,
meet Mr. Jensen.
They knocked off seven.
Strangers.
Ronnie said they
was better off dead.
What about Perry?
Don't you get along?
Nobody can get
along with him.
There's five guys waiting
here for the big swing.
Little Perry's the only one yapping
against capital punishment.
Don't tell me
you're for it?
Hell, hanging's
only getting revenge.
What's wrong with revenge?
I've been revenging
myself all my life.
Sure. I'm for hanging.
Just so long as I'm not
the one being hanged.
See you.
Thanks for the magazines.
Jim, you think that
looks like Willie Jay?
The way you
see him, yes.
That day at the bus station,
when I phoned you.
If Willie Jay and
I had connected,
none of this
would have happened.
Maybe, if you hadn't
come back to Kansas.
Maybe!
If they'd had a head-doctor
here during my first stretch,
he would've known I had a
bomb ticking inside of me.
He would've known
I wasn't ready for parole.
You knew.
Yeah.
Why didn't you tell me?
Then I wouldn't have gotten
my parole, would I, Reverend?
JENSEN: A few minutes
after midnight, in November,
one of them went
to "The Corner."
The others watched him cross the ball
field on his way to the gallows.
It was Andy.
"The nicest boy in Kansas."
(CLATTERING)
They heard the trapdoor go.
The kept watching and waiting
for 19 minutes,
till Andy's heart
stopped beating.
For Andy,
the waiting was over.
Perry and Dick
waited five years.
Three times their case went to
the United States Supreme Court.
My God! That harness!
Richard,
this is a warrant from
the Supreme Court of
the State of Kansas.
"Whereas, it was by
this court ordered
"that execution of
the sentence of death
"by hanging of
Richard Eugene Hickock,
"imposed by the District Court
of Finney County, Kansas,
"be carried out on Wednesday,
April 14, 1965.
"Commanding the warden of the
Kansas State Penitentiary
"to carry the sentence
into execution."
Where's Smith?
"Yea, let none that wait
for thee be ashamed.
"Let them be ashamed which
transgress without cause.
"Show me thy ways, O Lord,
teach me thy paths.
"Lead me in thy truth, and teach
me, for thou art the God"
(KNOCKING)
I...
I gotta go to the toilet.
GUARD: We can't
remove the harness.
There might not be time.
Please.
Try to control yourself.
But that's it.
When you hit the end of the
rope your muscles lose control.
I'm afraid
I'll mess myself.
It's nothing to be ashamed of.
They all do it.
For God's sake, man!
"This is to command you, the warden
of the Kansas State Penitentiary,
"that on Wednesday,
April 14, 1965,
"between the hours of 12:01 a.m.
and 2:00 a.m..."
Is he the...
Mmm-hmm.
How much does he
get paid to hang them?
$300 a man.
Has he got a name?
"We, the people."
"...for the State of Kansas."
Anything you want to say?
Just that I hold
no hard feelings.
You're sending me to a better
world than this ever was.
Nice to see you.
Jim, Thoreau,
on man and nature.
It's yours if you want it.
Dick gone?
Is his heart still beating?
What time is it?
Take it easy, kid.
Would you like me
to write your father?
I could send him
one of your paintings.
Or maybe your Bronze Star.
Send him my treasure maps.
Maybe now he'll get lucky.
The Lone Wolf.
You know, there was a time once
when we almost had it made.
Just the two of us.
He was in a fever about some
new project up in Alaska.
A hunting lodge for tourists.
It was gonna make us a fortune
better than a gold mine.
But most of all, it was gonna be
something we never had before.
A real home.
We got it built, too.
Just him and me,
side by side.
The day the roof was finished,
he danced all over it.
I never was so
happy in all my life.
It was a beautiful home.
But no tourists ever came.
Nobody.
We just lived there
all alone in that big,
empty failure,
till he couldn't
stand the sight of me.
I think it happened...
I was eating a biscuit.
He started yelling what a
greedy, selfish bastard I was.
Yelling and yelling
till I grabbed his throat.
I couldn't stop myself.
He tore loose and got a gun.
He said, "Look at me, boy!
"Take a good look
'cause I'm the
"last living thing
you're ever gonna see."
And he pulled the trigger.
But the gun wasn't loaded.
He began to cry.
Bawled like a kid.
I went for a long walk.
When I got back,
the place was dark.
The door was locked.
All my stuff was
piled outside in the snow
where he threw it.
I walked away and
never looked back.
I guess the only thing I'm
gonna miss in this world
is that poor old man
and his hopeless dreams.
I'm glad you don't
hate your father anymore.
But I do.
I hate him.
And I love him.
Coming?
What for?
What does it
add up to, anyway?
Well, four innocent and two
guilty people murdered.
Three families broken.
Newspapers have
sold more papers.
Politicians will
make more speeches.
Police and parole boards
will get more blame.
More laws will be passed.
Everybody will
pass the buck.
And then, next month, next year,
the same thing
will happen again.
Well, maybe this
will help to stop it.
Never has.
(CAR HONKING)
Perry, this is a warrant from the
Supreme Court of the State of Kansas.
"It was by the court
ordered that execution
"of the sentence
of death by hanging
"of Perry Edward Smith
"imposed by the District Court
of Finney County, Kansas,
"be carried out on Wednesday,
April 14, 1965."
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
Anything you want to say?
Perry?
I think maybe
I'd like to apologize.
But who to?
Who?
REV. JIM: "The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want.
"He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures.
"He leadeth me
beside the still waters.
"He restoreth my soul.
"He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name's sake.
"Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death,
"I will fear no evil.
"For thou art with me.
"Thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.
"Thou preparest
a table before me
"in the presence
of mine enemies.
"Thou anointest
my head with oil."
Is God in this place, too?
"My cup runneth over.
"Surely goodness and mercy will
follow me all the days of my life.
(HEART BEATING)
"And I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever."
(HEART BEATING LOUDER)
(HEART BEATING SLOWER)
(STRUMMING GUITAR)
(SOFTLY) Excuse me.
(MAN COUGHING)
Pa?
You all right, Pa?
You're up early.
I got a big
day ahead.
I wish you didn't
have to go.
Well, I promised
to help this friend.
Goddamn outhouse.
One of these days soon,
I'm changing all that.
Damn soon.
Now, you drive
careful now.
(HORN HONKING)
(MAN CHATTERING ON PA)
Young man? Young man.
I'm terribly sorry.
Ma'am,
can I have a root beer?
Anything else
to go with that?
Some aspirins, please.
DICK: "Friend P.
came out in August
"and after you left,
I met someone.
"He put me onto something
we could bring off beautiful.
"A cinch, the perfect score.
"It's a sure thing.
Am depending on you.
"Love, Dick.
"P.S. Will meet
your bus, November 14.
"M-day.
'M' for money, honey."
Fill her up, buddy.
Hey, you sure got
a perfect day for it.
What's that?
Hunting pheasants.
(LAUGHING)
Yes, indeedy.
Deadeye Dick Hickock, huh?
Well, them birds don't know it, but
this is their last day on Earth.
Good morning, Daddy.
Well, you're up early.
And I've got
a furious day ahead.
(BLOWING)
'Morning, Dad.
Thought maybe I
smelled smoke.
Yeah. Me, too.
(PHONE RINGING)
Could be a leaky valve.
Could be.
Peppermints before breakfast
might stunt your growth.
NANCY: Daddy, phone.
It's the insurance man.
Oh, uh, this afternoon,
anytime before dark.
Hello?
I want to call
the Kansas State Penitentiary.
Person-to-person.
Rev. James Post.
(CLEARING THROAT)
Rev. James Post.
My name is...
Perry Smith. He'll be checking
in sometime tomorrow.
Can I see
the room, please?
Ain't you
working today?
Now, ain't you?
Hello.
Perry.
Of course, I remember you.
Kansas City?
Missouri.
I'm at the bus terminal.
Well, um,
I'm waiting for Willie Jay.
Did something
hold up his parole?
I was supposed to
meet him right here.
Perry, think.
You've already broken parole
by quitting your job.
You'll break it again
if you step into Kansas.
Whatever you do, don't cross
that river into Kansas.
Can you tell me
where he went?
Please, Jim.
It's very important.
Maybe the most
important thing in my life.
Go back.
Why not see your father?
'Morning, Ma.
Daddy, you remember Jolene?
Well, I promised to teach her
how to bake a cherry pie.
Sounds serious.
She insists on today.
That makes it
practically a catastrophe.
Because I also promised to help
Roxy with her trumpet solo.
And errands for Mother in Garden
City, lunch with Susan...
Uh, suppose I take care
of your mother's errands?
Thank you, Daddy.
(TOILET FLUSHING)
MAN ON PA: Also provided for your
convenience, at the baggage counter
are identification tags.
This is your last call
for Buckner, Bluffington,
Lexington, Waverly, Marshall,
Boonville and
intermediate flights.
Now boarding at
door number six.
(INAUDIBLE)
(APPLAUSE)
(WHISPERING)
Stick 'em up!
(LAUGHING)
Hey, buddy.
How long have you
been standing there?
Long enough to catch
your late late show.
Just between
you and I.
You and me.
How come you always go
into a trance
every time you
look in the mirror?
Just like you was looking at
some gorgeous piece of butt.
(EXCLAIMS)
What in the hell
is in here?
Concrete?
That's all my stuff.
Books, letters, songs.
Souvenirs from Korea.
And our ticket to
fame and fortune.
I got a secret map in here
that's going to lead us
straight to the sunken
treasure of Captain Corts.
$60 million in Spanish gold,
off the coast of Mexico.
So, that's why that
map's so frigging heavy.
Welcome back
to Kansas, buddy.
The heart of America.
The land of wheat,
corn, bibles, and...
(BELCHING)
...natural gas.
Now, that map's not as heavy as
yours, but it's the real thing.
And it's gonna get
us $10,000 by tonight.
Four hundred miles west of here,
Big Daddy Clutter's place.
That's the layout.
The works.
Somewhere in that office,
in one little old safe.
And inside that safe,
10 grand, maybe more.
You've seen it?
The safe!
Well, right after you left the zoo,
a new guy moved into the cell.
Floyd Wells, serving three
to five for robbery.
He once worked for Clutter.
He saw it.
And that's your
perfect score?
Baby, it's a cinch.
I promise you, honey, we'll
blast hair all over them walls.
(BELL RINGING)
'Morning, Roxy.
'Morning, Mr. Clutter.
I think Nancy's
expecting you.
(HORN HONKING)
(HORN HONKING)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
You want to watch it, boy.
You'll end up
an aspirin junkie.
Been one for seven years.
Got the habit
in the hospital.
Doctors.
They made a dwarf out of me.
Doctors and lawyers.
What do they care?
Ever see a millionaire
fry in the electric chair?
Hell, no.
There's two
kinds of laws, honey.
One for the rich
and one for the poor.
Look at me.
I crack up my car,
wake up in a charity ward
and don't even
recognize myself.
I hate to count how much
classy pussy that's cost me.
They left you
a wonderful smile, though.
(LAUGHS)
Yeah, the all-American boy.
That was stupid.
Stealing a lousy pack of
razor blades, to prove what?
Everybody steals
something sometime.
It's the national pastime, baby.
Stealing and cheating.
If they caught every cheating
wife and tax chiseler,
the whole country would
be behind prison walls.
Where are
the black stockings?
They didn't have black.
Stop someplace else.
Where?
A Catholic hospital.
(LAUGHING) Sure.
We'll just barge in like it
was a goddamn five-and-dime.
Sister, sweetie, we gotta have some
black stockings to hide our face.
Okay, forget it.
Anyway, nuns are bad luck.
Kind of sexy, though.
You wouldn't think so if you'd
lived in one of those orphan homes
with those black
widows always at you.
Always sneaking up in the
dark, spying while you sleep.
Hitting you with a flashlight
for wetting the bed.
That's the first time I was
saved by the yellow bird.
The what?
Sort of a parrot.
Taller than Jesus.
Brilliant yellow,
like a sunflower.
It attacked those nuns
like an avenging angel.
The nuns begged for mercy.
But the yellow bird
slaughtered them anyway.
Then the bird folded
me in its wings
and lifted me
up to paradise.
That's one hell of a bird
to have on your side.
Anyway, that's why I have
an aversion to nuns
and God and religion.
Forget it.
Black stockings
are a waste of time.
No one's gonna remember us because
we're leaving no witnesses.
How about staying
at our place tonight?
Frozen stiff TV
dinners on trays,
spaghetti,
macaroni or pizza.
Sounds irresistible.
I'll tell Mom.
Golly, Sue.
C'est impossible.
Pourquoi, chrie?
Bobby's coming over.
I'll pick you up
for church tomorrow.
9:00 sharp.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
A full day's work deserves
a full-course dinner.
PERRY: The condemned
ate a hearty meal.
I don't know what they ate,
but tonight, cheeseburgers.
Tomorrow?
(HONKS HORN)
Mexico.
Fabulous Mexico.
Land of the hot tamales.
Gold country.
Remember Bogart in Treasure
of the Sierra Madre?
We could get us
a couple of burros.
Some tools.
Whoa, slow down, honey.
I don't know gold
dust from diarrhea.
Well, I do.
My old man prospected
for gold in Alaska.
He taught me all
the ins and outs.
Yeah. And we end up nuts.
No gold, nothing.
Just like in the movie.
You never meant it
about going to Mexico,
did you? Did you?
Sure, baby.
Sure we're going.
But first we gotta
dig up some capital.
Like tonight.
5,000 bucks a piece,
for one hour's work.
(KNOCKING ON WINDOW)
May I take
your orders?
Two cheeseburgers, please.
Getting insured is like,
well, when you wash your car,
it always rains.
Know what we call this
in the insurance game?
The solemn moment.
I guess when a man makes out a
policy or takes out his last will,
it's only natural to
think about mortality.
Herb, as of
this minute,
your life is
worth $40,000.
In case of accidental
death, double indemnity.
New York Life wishes you a very
long and very healthy life.
And so do I.
And so do I.
That waitress.
Nice piece of blonde chicken.
Why'd you pick me
for this job?
A perfect score
needs perfect partners.
Together we're
a perfect fit.
It's your score.
Where do I fit in?
I got you figured for
a natural-born killer.
Or did you lie about
that punk in Vegas?
No.
Why did you kill him?
No special reason.
Just for the hell of it.
That's the best
reason of all.
Back there,
you wanted to kill me.
Just for a second, right?
It passed.
Hair-trigger temper.
Somebody crosses you, voom!
Yes, sir.
You've got the gift, boy.
Remember the chaplain's clerk,
Willie Jay?
The guy you painted
to look like Jesus?
He said the same thing.
"Unstable, explosive."
He is a flaming faggot.
He has
a brilliant mind.
Then how come he got caught
stealing five times?
He was the best
friend I ever had.
Well, I'm the only
friend you got now.
Friend to the end,
for better or worse.
Till death do us part, huh?
(LAUGHING)
All we need is a ring, sugar.
(DOORBELL BUZZING)
Hi.
HERB: Is that Bobby?
Look at that land,
will you?
Oil money, gas money,
wheat money.
Share the wealth, baby.
(PLAYING GUITAR SOFTLY)
WOMAN: Perry.
Perry.
How does it feel?
What?
Being a father.
Great.
Your kids, you love them?
I'm their father,
ain't I?
I didn't ask were you
their goddamn father.
I asked did you love them.
I'm crazy about 'em.
But you left them.
Left their mother.
Okay. She left me.
There was this piece of
tail, nothing serious.
Just a quickie
in the back seat.
She blew
the whistle on me.
Said I knocked her up.
That's how I got to
be a two-time loser.
You ditched
the kids for her.
Jesus, baby. I had to do the
right thing by her, didn't I?
Well? Didn't I?
Yeah.
(PLAYING GUITAR SOFTLY)
'Night!
See you tomorrow, Bobby.
(WHISTLES)
(MOANING)
How much longer?
Seven miles.
Good evening.
Fill her up with regular.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Want some candy?
PERRY: No.
You okay?
I'm fine.
Coming?
Let's go.
MAN ON RADIO: News from
the Associated Press,
NBC, and the
Garden City Telegram.
Goodnight, Dad.
Goodnight, Son.
Winds from the south
at about 15 miles per hour.
The Garden City
Sale Company reported
3,273 head of cattle at
the auction yesterday.
'Night.
...calves went
from $26.50 to $30.
However, very few
reached the $30 mark.
The medium and good kinds
sold as high as $26.50...
(TRAIN HORN BLOWS)
Look at that spread.
Don't tell me this
guy ain't loaded.
Well?
Let's pull out of here.
Now, before it's too late.
(DOORBELL BUZZING)
Pa? Maybe they're still asleep.
Nancy?
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
(SIREN WAILING)
Don't touch it.
Don't touch anything.
Been up there?
(SOFTLY) My God.
There's two more
in the basement.
Well, I just saw two ambulances
going up to Clutter's.
I just wondering
what's happening.
MAN ON TV: The Sheriff
placed an urgent call
to the Kansas Bureau
of Investigation.
In Topeka, Logan Sanford,
KBI chief,
assigned four men
to the Clutter case.
They are agents Dewey, Nye,
Duntz, and Church.
What happened to
the basketball game?
It got interrupted.
Terrible thing, that.
I've never been so
hungry in my whole life.
Agent Alvin Dewey arrived
at the Clutter house
in advance of
the other KBI men.
Mr. Dewey,
resident of Garden City,
was placed in
charge of the case.
Were all four tied
with the same cord?
All tied with
the same square knot.
Used by anybody who
works with livestock.
Find any shell casings?
Nope.
Which means that
you can bet they didn't
leave any fingerprints either.
(DOOR OPENING)
Al.
This is the housekeeper.
Thank you for coming.
Are they still...
No, no, no, ma'am.
They've been taken
to the funeral home.
Now, if you'll just look
around with Mr. Church here
to see if anything
is missing...
They never hurt
anybody. Why them?
Al, you knew Clutter.
Did he have a safe?
Keep a lot of
cash on hand?
The old Kansas myth.
Every farmer with a good
spread is supposed to have
a hidden black box somewhere
filled with money.
No. Herb paid
everything by check.
Even a $2 haircut.
Well, then why,
if they're going to shoot
them all anyway, why
did they first cut
Clutter's throat?
(SIGHING)
Why did they first put him
on a soft mattress box?
To make him comfy?
And why the pillow
under the boy's head?
We keep saying "they."
It could have been one man.
A madman.
This picture was taken
with a time exposure.
It shows only
what the eye saw.
This picture was
taken with a flashbulb.
That's a different
pair of shoes.
Yeah.
Well, we know there were
at least two of them.
You won't
see it there.
The flash made them
stand out in the dust.
You develop those
pictures yourself? Yes.
Newspaper boy's seen this?
Not yet.
Keep it that way.
Hey Al, Al, when can we
see the Clutter home?
Why were the men
killed in the basement?
I'll talk facts,
not theories.
It happened
around 2:00 a.m.
All four were apparently
killed by the same weapon.
Shotgun, 12-gauge.
Mr. Clutter's
throat was cut.
Before he was shot?
Probably.
All four were tied with
the same nylon sash-cord
sold in most
hardware stores.
And their
mouths were taped.
How were they tied, then?
What kind of knots?
Oh, uh, can we see
police pictures?
REPORTER 1: Find the murder weapon?
Not yet.
Any clues
or fingerprints?
Lots. All belong
to the family.
They say that Nancy's
boyfriend is a prime suspect.
Is that what
they say?
Well, he was the last one
to see them alive.
Except the killers.
Then there were
more than one?
REPORTER 2: Were the women
sexually molested?
The coroner says not.
How come the dog
didn't bark?
How do you know
he didn't bark?
Nobody heard him.
Nobody heard the gunshots either.
REPORTER 3: Was there more
than one killer?
REPORTER 2: What about
the hired man?
Mr. Dewey,
in your opinion,
do you think it could have
been an inside job, sir?
Why didn't Mr.
Clutter resist?
Mr. Dewey, just a
moment, Mr. Dewey.
Was there more
than one killer?
What about
the hired man?
His check was
made out for $1,707.
Mr. Clutter's first premium
on a straight life policy
worth $40,000.
Double indemnity
makes it $80,000.
And that makes it
a strange coincidence.
And that's all it is,
a coincidence.
I didn't catch
your name.
Oh, Bill Jensen,
Weekly magazine.
If you're not here to write
news, what is your interest?
Fairly basic.
What's basic
about a stupid,
senseless crime?
A violent, unknown force destroys
a decent, ordinary family.
No clues. No logic.
Makes us all feel frightened.
Vulnerable.
Murder's no mystery.
Only the motive.
Got one?
I smoke too much.
How'd they
enter the house?
A key?
Force a window?
Probably just walked in.
Don't people around
here lock doors?
They will tonight.
I know something's
wrong here.
I feel it.
I don't know
what it is, but...
Oh, Mr. Clutter never
allowed smoking in the house.
Sorry.
Something.
Something.
But of course.
The radio!
Kenyon always listened
to the news and weather
before he went to bed.
But where's his radio?
MAN ON RADIO: Since the night
of horror, two days ago,
few people are seen on the streets
of Garden City after dark.
To date, no clues
have been uncovered.
No clues whatever.
It was generally known
that Clutter
never had large
sums of cash on hand.
No expensive jewels.
Nor even a steel
safe in which to...
Perry, baby, if
you don't want that burger...
You and your hotshot
prison buddy Floyd Wells.
Big, fat safe in the wall.
$10,000. "A cinch."
Okay, Floyd's a jerk.
But we scored, didn't we?
Perfecto.
You call an 800-mile drive
and the rest of it,
for 43 lousy dollars,
you call that perfect?
And that!
You don't believe that con
about no clues, do you?
You worry too much.
How are them cowboys
gonna connect us? Remember?
No witnesses.
I know one.
You. You're a witness.
Jesus, kid. For a minute,
I thought you blew your cork.
You're so right.
We're the only
ones that saw it,
and that, honey,
is our big ace.
Because if they can't split us apart,
they can't get a confession.
And if they can't get a
confession, they got nothing.
Next move,
(WHISPERING)
Mexico.
Once we beat it
out of the country.
On what?
$43 and a smile
and bullshit?
You guessed it, chief.
It's the smile
that does it.
Like it says in
the commercials,
"The family that sticks
together lives forever."
Officers investigating the tragic
slaying have appealed to the public
for help in
solving the crime.
A Kansas paper,
The Hutchinson News,
has offered a reward
for any information
leading to the capture and
conviction of the person or persons,
guilty of
the Clutter murders.
A reward of $1,000.
What about the reward?
(TYPEWRITER CLACKING) Yeah,
that's right, $1,000.
Yes, sir.
Where are you calling from?
Yeah. Go ahead.
Who?
How do you know
he was a foreigner?
I see. Thank you
very much, sir.
Another tip?
He says he saw
a foreigner running.
How does a foreigner
run, anyway?
Just how many people have
tried to claim this reward?
Oh, just about everybody.
A mysterious
stranger did it.
Hired killers did it.
A jealous
neighbor did it.
Seems like the only one who
didn't do it is the butler.
Any luck?
None of the Clutters had
shoes with a cat's paw.
No diamond
pattern, either.
Insurance money
goes to the family.
And this,
Nancy Clutter's.
Found it hidden in
the toe of her slipper.
Something must've
scared her.
All of which brings us back
to the motive of robbery.
I can believe one man might
work up enough rage to do it.
But two?
Who would kill four people
in cold blood for a radio,
a pair of binoculars
and $40 in cash?
These days? Take your pick
on any crowded street.
You ever hang
any paper?
I couldn't cash a check
even if it was good.
Easy, baby. Casual.
Excuse me. My name's Hickock.
Richie. And you're?
Sharp. Luke Sharp.
I'll bet in school
they called you Look Sharp.
See that gentleman
over there?
Would you believe a runt like
that is getting married?
Well, maybe he ain't any Fred
Astaire but he's my best friend,
and I'm his best man.
My wedding present to him is
going to be what you might call
his trousseau.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Ideal shade for an informal
ceremony, don't you think?
Perfectly ideal.
Of course, we are a tiny
bit oddly proportioned.
I mean, the upper torso is so
large compared to the legs.
I'm terribly sorry.
He's not ashamed
of them scars.
They gave him
the Bronze Star in Korea.
Luke, have you ever been to Eden Roc?
In Miami Beach.
Well, that's where
the happy couple is
shacking up for
their honeymoon.
Two weeks all paid up.
Surprise gift
from the folks.
He's a very lucky man.
He deserves it.
And with these, $192.70.
Would you like to have these
wrapped and taken to your car?
No hurry. Deliver them
when the suit is ready.
Oh, no!
Four silly dollars.
We're awfully sorry.
We'll have to come
back some other time.
(CLEARS THROAT)
Um...
I'd gladly
give you a check.
But then
you hardly know me.
Anyway, we're really
grateful for your courtesy.
If it's a personal check, perhaps.
You're sure?
Positive. I wouldn't want
to inconvenience you.
Perfectly all right.
Which bank would
you like?
It's immaterial,
I'm sure.
Thank you.
My driver's license,
identity card,
insurance card,
country club... Oops!
She's a private number.
(LAUGHING)
Was that $192?
And $0.70.
Would you care if I...
No. Never mind.
No, please.
Well, I could use
a little loose change.
I see. Suppose I just
make this out for $280
and $0.70, of course.
Well, I suppose.
Mr. Sharp, you're a brick.
You're good.
You're really good.
Smooth. No sweat.
No strain.
You're an artist, boy.
Right.
If you're getting married,
you need a wedding ring.
Why not two of them? Why not?
Cameras, diamond rings, TV sets
are the easiest things
to hock or sell.
(INAUDIBLE)
(HORN HONKING)
You know, there's got to be
something wrong with us
to do what we did.
Nobody, but nobody, ever gets
away with a thing like that.
Will you shut up about it?
I can't shake this feeling that
we forgot something that night.
I don't know what,
something that belongs to us.
You want to go
back to that house
and look for whatever
the hell it is?
Because that would make us
not only crazy, but insane.
Any luck? If they didn't
leave any fingerprints,
you can be sure they didn't
leave any murder weapons.
(HORN HONKING)
People who used to work for
Clutter, going back 15 years.
Hired men, people he used
to do business with...
All right.
Just keep talking.
Upstairs?
Don't look up.
See something?
I'm not sure.
Now you take the office side and
I'll go around the kitchen side.
Mmm-hmm.
It's true, really true.
We're on our way
and never coming back, never.
And no regrets.
For you.
You are leaving nothing.
What about my old man?
And my mother.
They'll still be there when
my checks start bouncing.
It's nice the way you
think about your folks.
Yeah. I'm a real
thoughtful bastard.
'Morning, Bess.
Coffee, huh?
Hey, Alvin, that prowler
at the Clutter house,
get a confession out of him yet?
Yep.
His confession proved
he couldn't have done it.
Escaped mental patient.
Well, if he's the wrong one, why in
hell don't you find the right one?
I've got a house
full of women
who are afraid to go
to the toilet alone.
(PHONE RINGING)
Bunch of gabby old women gassing
away, scaring each other.
Somebody with
a grudge done it.
Somebody who hated the
Clutters, if you ask me.
Nobody asked you.
Nobody hated
the Clutters neither.
Leastways,
nobody that knew them.
Phone.
If this can happen to a
decent, God-fearing family,
who's safe anymore?
Hello?
From here? No, from Topeka.
It's urgent!
Okay, Mr. Sandrew.
Tell Alvin it's a prisoner.
In Lansing.
Get me a rap sheet
on this man, please.
He mentioned
the Clutter case.
He wouldn't say any more unless he
was called out of the cellblock.
I have the warden on
the other phone now.
Might be a break.
If it is, I'll be out to Garden
City tonight with the tape.
No, phone's too risky.
Hello? Yes.
"KSP 1 -4-3-2-3.
Floyd Wells."
WELLS: I first met him in the penitentiary.
MAN: Hickock?
Yes, sir.
We shared the same cell.
Go ahead, Floyd.
Well, anyways,
we swapped life
stories and I told him
how I once worked
for a farmer named Clutter.
Did you work for him?
Yes, sir.
Ten, eleven years ago.
Dick wanted to know if Mr
. Clutter was rich and I said,
"Well, sometimes it cost him $1
0,000 a week to run his operation."
After that, Dick never let up.
Just kept asking questions.
How many was in the family?
Did Clutter keep a safe?
And Dick said how he was going to rob
the Clutter place, him and his buddy.
And how he was gonna kill
all the witnesses.
I just never believed him.
I thought it was just...
What took him so long
to speak up?
Afraid of other prisoners.
Issue a pickup warrant.
All-points bulletin.
We better make it for parole
violation, passing bad checks.
If they know they're
wanted for murder...
Yeah.
The question is
why they did it.
Why did Cain kill Abel?
And who cares?
They did it, and
they'll swing for it.
If they did it and
if we can prove it.
DICK: When we cross
this bridge, we're in Mexico.
Free, clear and safe.
Fabulous Mexico.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Mr. Smith?
Mr. Tex Smith?
Cops, huh?
Kansas Bureau
of Investigation.
Uh-huh.
Is this your son, Perry?
Yep, that's him all right.
Gets his looks
from his mother.
Part Cherokee.
Will you have
some coffee?
When did you see
him last?
Oh, couple of years ago.
CHURCH: In prison?
I was just fixing to make some grub.
You want some eats?
He was in for
three and a half years.
He's been out on
parole for six months.
Well, then I guess I haven't
seen him for five or six years.
That's not surprising though.
He's a lone wolf just like me.
You guys can rest
easy on one thing sure,
you won't be having
any more trouble with Perry.
He's learned his
lesson for sure.
When he wrote me from prison,
I wrote him right back pronto.
"Boy, you take
your punishment with a smile.
"I didn't raise you to steal,
so don't expect me to cry
"just because you got
it tough behind the bars."
Perry's no fool.
He knows when he's beat.
You fellows have got
him whipped forever.
The law's the boss.
He knows the difference
between right and wrong,
you can bet on that.
Because I taught my
kids a golden rule.
Always tell the truth,
always wash in the morning,
always be sober
and independent.
I showed him how.
How to prospect,
how to trap fur,
how to carpenter,
how to bake bread,
how to be his own boss.
Yes, he's a chip off
the old block, all right.
I never had no
trouble with my kids,
not as long as Flo
and me was together.
But she wanted the wild life.
So she took the kids
and ran off.
Turned them against me.
All but Perry.
I don't know
what got into her.
She started drinking.
Turned into a hopeless drunk.
Started stepping out
with young men.
I caught her once and I...
Anyway, she died drunk.
Choked to death
on her own vomit.
So I took Perry and we started
roaming to forget it all.
I took him with
me everywhere.
How that boy loved me.
At night, when it was cold,
we'd sleep cuddled up.
He'd hang onto me
with his little arms,
so tight.
I'd tell him stories about the great
adventures we was gonna have.
How we was gonna
strike it rich.
Buried treasures.
Gold.
In Alaska.
That's where this
picture was took.
Him and me in Alaska.
Mr. Smith...
You just ask Perry if I
wasn't a good father to him.
I always shared, always.
When I eat, he eats.
You just tell Perry, when I die
all my insurance goes to him.
(CHUCKLING)
Yes, sir.
His life is all set.
Great news!
I met this kid.
He's a shoeshine boy.
Well, he's got a cousin
in Yucatn, a fisherman.
And he's got a powerboat. So?
So, we drive to Yucatn,
we sell the car,
buy us a load of
deep-sea diving gear
and "pow," we hit
the Corts jackpot.
$60 million in Spanish gold.
Of course, we'll have to cut the
kid in, and his cousin, too.
But even so, Yucatn!
Hot, dry, clean,
no crowd, no noise.
Doing what we came to do.
How much can we
get for the car?
120 bucks.
Is that all?
Enough to pay the bills.
Hotel, bar, groceries.
And with what's left over,
I bought us two bus tickets
as far as
Barstow, California.
After that, we walk.
So get rid of that ton
and a half of garbage.
Ship it! Dump it!
Burn it! I don't care.
Only get rid of it,
by tonight.
'Cause come tomorrow,
we're gone.
Back to the States.
Dick, wait. Now listen.
You listen! I've had it!
You, your maps, fishing boats,
buried treasure, all of it!
Everything!
Stop jacking off.
There ain't any caskets of gold.
No buried treasure.
And even if there was, hell,
boy, you can't even swim.
You want to
stick with me, okay.
You wanna split,
that's okay, too.
Only make up
your mind.
I'll ship our
stuff back to Vegas.
Good.
I got a little seorita
coming over tonight.
I'll try to be finished
packing before you get back.
What for?
Hell, I'm not bashful, baby.
...and that, if we find the
motive, we find the killer.
If.
This, uh...
This report was
written six months
before the Clutters
were killed.
It's called, Murder
Without Apparent Motive.
At the Menninger Clinic,
right here in Kansas,
a study was made
of four killers.
They all had
certain things in common.
They all committed
senseless murders.
They all felt physically inferior
and sexually inadequate.
Their childhood was violent,
or one parent was missing.
Or someone else
had raised them.
They couldn't distinguish
between fantasy and reality.
They didn't hate their victims,
they didn't even know them.
They felt no guilt about their
crime, and got nothing out of it.
And most important, they told
the police or a psychiatrist
that they felt
the urge to kill,
before they
committed murder.
Their warnings
were disregarded.
So, who killed
the Clutters?
Someday, somebody will explain
to me the motive of a newspaper.
First you scream,
"Find the bastards."
Till we find them,
you want to get us fired.
When we find them,
you accuse us of brutality.
Before we can go into court, you
give them a trial by newspaper.
When we finally get a conviction
you want to save them
by proving they were
crazy in the first place.
All of which adds
up to one thing.
You've got
the killers.
Off the record,
have you got them?
Suspects.
Even if we catch them,
that's all we've got.
Because without a confession,
and the evidence
we got so far,
we couldn't even
go to trial.
Unless we can place the
suspects in this spot,
unless we can tie the killers
to that piece of rope,
they'll never hang.
(SOFT MEXICAN MUSIC PLAYING)
WOMAN: Perry!
Was it good, baby?
Was it good?
Baby, was it
really good?
All a truck gets us,
is from here to there.
We want a score.
One guy with a fat wallet, in
a fast car, with a back seat.
I sit beside him.
You get in the back,
I feed him a few jokes.
I say, "Hey, Perry,
pass me a match."
That's your signal.
Fast. Hard. Snap.
I grab the wheel.
You're so good at it,
you sit in the back seat.
You do it.
Look friendly, now.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
You're a lucky bastard.
(HORN HONKING)
Hey, don't forget, when I
say, "Pass me a match."
Hop in, boys.
Where are you going?
Come on. Get in.
Not with you.
Thanks just the same.
Did you see them guys?
Jesus! They could've
robbed us.
What of?
I'm really not supposed to pick up
anybody in the company car, but...
What the hell,
you only live once.
Well, that's
what they say.
Comfortable
back there?
I can take you
as far as Iowa.
Where have you boys been?
Mexico. No future there.
That depends, my boy.
I honeymooned in Mexico.
You might say that's where I planted
the seed of our first child.
I plowed and planted a few
seoritas there myself.
Hey, you know what they call a
prostitute who went to college?
What?
A whore-to-culture.
I got a riddle for you.
Ready?
Shoot.
Why is a trip to the bathroom exactly
like a trip to the cemetery?
Let me see.
A trip to the bathroom
like a trip
to the cemetery...
Give up?
When you gotta go,
you gotta go.
(LAUGHING)
Hey, Perry,
pass me a match.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
Sorry, I never turn
down a soldier.
This might get the boy
home for Christmas.
Lucky break.
Practically
a goddamn miracle.
You didn't happen to see a portable
radio, Mr. Hickock, about so big?
A Zenith?
Now what makes
him do it?
Hit out against people?
Outstanding athlete in
basketball, baseball, football,
always made
the first team.
He always played to win,
played hard, but clean.
When he left without a word I
knew he was in trouble again.
Now, Mr. Nye,
I thought if I...
About breaking parole.
Will he have to
go back to prison?
You do much hunting,
Mr. Hickock?
Oh, that's his gun. Dick's.
You know, when he come
out of prison,
you know, folks was saying
how he'd turned mean.
Now how'd they know?
How'd anybody know
what's inside another person?
You see, I haven't
got long to go, Mr. Nye.
I'm with cancer.
And, well, Dick knowed that.
And, well, before he left,
he said to me...
He said, "Pa, I'm not ever gonna
do anything to hurt you."
And he meant it, too.
Now, I mean, If you'd seen him, you
know, playing with his children.
Any boy that loves and respects his
folks, well, you know there's,
there's good inside that boy.
I hope you find him, Mr. Nye,
for his own sake. Before it's too late.
(MOANING)
You know what we are?
We're the living proof
that crime pays.
Gifts in a manger.
No more
money troubles.
Merry Christmas.
Kansas City,
here we come.
You're crazy.
I gotta get us
some money.
How far do you
think we could get
in a hot car?
With hot checks?
That's right.
I'll go by myself.
Like hell you will.
I'll meet you later.
We stick together.
First we go to Vegas.
We pick up our clothes.
All the stuff
I shipped from Mexico.
And then we drive to the
nearest port and we ship out
on the first tanker
leaving this country.
And this time
we stay out.
I won't go.
You'll go.
What if I don't?
Well, then,
"honey, baby,"
I guess I'll just
have to kill you.
Yeah, yeah.
But right now,
we pass a lot of fast,
hot checks.
One more check.
We can be in and out
of here in an hour.
(LAUGHING) A cinch.
Stop worrying,
will you?
Al, our friends are here.
How do you know?
They stole a car in Iowa and
bought two tires with a bad check.
Where?
Right here.
The salesman got worried,
he wrote down the license.
The Hickock farm,
is it covered?
If they go there,
we're covered.
I'll be at
the Hickock farm.
(PHONE RINGING)
Yes?
Yes.
Did they slip through?
If it wasn't to
see his folks,
why would they
come back to Kansas?
Well, maybe they're
trying to be caught.
I guess they'll just
have to try harder.
You're not stopping
for them?
Look at that old man,
he looks awful.
Suppose he dies on us?
That means cops, questions.
Think, will you?
I think you're a bastard.
We sure appreciate
this, mister.
Get in.
Where you headed?
California.
Gramps has got
a sister in Needles.
He's going to
stay with her.
Did you hear
that, Johnny?
Hear me, Johnny?
You got any money?
Hey, kid.
No, sir.
Not even $1 for gas?
Only these.
They're worth
$0.03 a bottle.
So?
Mister, if you was
to drive real slow,
we could pick us up
some real change.
That's what Johnny and me have
been eating off of. Refund money.
Kid, get in.
We finally found it.
The sunken treasure
of Captain Corts.
(LAUGHING)
$0.03 a bottle.
Hey! Hey!
Pay dirt!
The Treasure of
the Sierra Madre.
ALL: # Row, row, row your
boat, gently down the stream
# Merrily, merrily,
merrily, merrily
# Life is but a dream
# Gently down the stream
# Merrily, merrily,
merrily, merrily #
Hey, mister, $12.60.
50-50 okay?
Kid, you're a
positive genius.
Happy New Year!
Likewise.
Keep digging,
old-timer.
Never seen so
much blonde chicken.
And all that
sweet divorce money.
Mmm, mmm.
Yeah, sure.
Hey, chief,
you a lucky
crap shooter?
(LAUGHING)
Deuces, treys
and twelves.
Mr. Snake Eyes himself.
If we put this
fiver on the line
and if we let it ride
and if we make
only 10 passes,
we'd have
over 5,000 bucks.
How about it, honey?
I feel real lucky tonight.
(HORN HONKING)
You've got visitors.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
Hello.
Hey, buddy.
Put in a call for that
big old yellow bird.
Good afternoon.
Smith.
Hickock.
Comedian.
Yeah.
Roy.
Are they still virgins? Hmm?
What'd you charge
them with?
Driving a hot car.
Officer.
You know why we're
here, Mr. Hickock?
Sir,
you can call me Dick.
All right, Dick.
We understand you've signed
the extradition papers.
Yeah, well,
what the hell.
There's no denying
we broke parole
and hung a mile
and half of paper.
Oh, yeah, the car,
it's stolen.
That's it. All of it.
Okay if I smoke?
Sure, sure.
You know, in a way,
I'm glad it's over.
I'll take what I've got coming.
Serve my time and never,
but never again.
(PHONE RINGING)
Your parole has a special provision
never to return to Kansas.
I cried my eyes out.
Must've been something
important to bring you back.
I had to see my
sister in Fort Scott.
To get money
she was holding for me.
Did you get it?
She moved away.
Where?
I don't know.
How far is it from Kansas
City to Fort Scott?
I don't know.
How long did it take you to
drive there, one hour? Two?
Three? Four?
I can't remember.
Do you remember
what day it was?
Saturday.
Yeah, I remember now.
We got to Fort Scott
about 4:00 p.m.
We went right to the post office.
Why?
Why?
To find out where Perry's
sister lived. Oh.
The guy at the post
office said she moved.
Left no address
and left no money, either.
Must've been
quite a blow.
It was a haymaker.
Okay?
Sure, sure.
What did you
do then?
Drove back to K.C.,
went prowling.
Any luck?
Not much.
We ended up with
a couple of hustlers.
Named?
I never asked.
You spent the night
with these women
and you didn't
ask their names?
They were
just prostitutes.
Where'd you
take them?
I don't remember
junk like that.
You'll have to
ask Dick.
What did these
girls look like?
Describe them.
Blonde? Dark?
Big? Little?
Any scars?
Moles? Marks?
Would you like
the sordid details?
Anything.
Is that how
you get your kicks?
She had to be
a contortionist.
NYE: I guess you know
why we're really here?
You know we wouldn't
have come this far
just to arrest a couple of
two-bit check chiselers.
Would we, Dick?
(STAMMERING) I wasn't listening.
Are you listening now?
Did you ever hear
of the Clutter murder case?
Oh, now,
hold it, hold it.
Can't nobody pin any
murder on me. No, sir.
The question was,
did you hear about it?
Read something
about it, maybe.
Yeah. You made three mistakes.
Number one,
you left a witness.
(CHUCKLING) A living witness,
who'll testify in court.
There ain't any living witness.
Can't be.
Nobody can pin
any murder on me.
Saturday, November 14, you
drove to Fort Scott. Yes.
You went to the post office...
Yes.
...to get the address
of Perry's sister.
That's right.
Perry Smith has
no sister in Fort Scott.
Never has had.
On Saturday afternoon
the post office
in Fort Scott
is always closed.
That is your
second mistake.
Perry seems confused
about that night.
I think it's about time
we straightened him out.
Yes, sir. About time.
Look at me, boy.
On Saturday night, November 14,
you were in Holcomb, Kansas.
You were killing
the Clutter family.
Never.
I never...
Never what?
I never knew anybody
by that name,
Clutter.
We've got a living witness.
Well, Perry?
Do you have
any aspirin?
They took my
aspirin away.
DUNTZ: Feeling bad?
My legs do.
By the way, you know
what tomorrow is?
Nancy Clutter's birthday.
She would have
been 17.
(DICK CHUCKLING)
You guys have
gotta be stalling.
If you had
any real proof...
Real proof,
as in eyewitness.
Fingerprints.
As God is my witness, may
I burn in hell forever
if I ever
killed anybody.
Careful, boy.
Got an aspirin?
How's it going?
Three hours and all
we've got so far is,
"No. I don't remember.
Ask Dick."
We've caught that
hard-nosed little punk
in 50 lies and he
still admits nothing.
I think our boy's about
primed and ready.
I hope you're right.
Why do all you
people get tattooed?
"All you people"?
What people?
Convicts.
You're all tattooed.
That tiger head.
What does it do?
Make you feel tough?
(SCOFFS)
That cop's badge,
what does it do?
Make you feel honest?
Everybody's got
a tattoo.
Only you people
call them clubs.
Elks, Masons,
Boy Scouts. Salute.
High sign. Low sign.
Secret this and secret that.
"No trespassing. Keep off the grass."
Nice, respectable,
tattoo clubs.
Poker clubs,
golf clubs, tennis clubs.
Clubs for gambling
and clubs for drinking.
Even a real club like Daddy-O's
got in that little brown bag.
What you gonna
do, pappy?
Club it out of me?
Mmm, something
like that.
I said you made
three mistakes.
First, you left
a living witness.
Second, your alibi
won't hold water.
And third?
Coming up.
Footprints.
Made in the spot where Mr.
Clutter was murdered.
These are the shoes
that made them.
Yours.
This footprint
was made in
Mr. Clutter's blood.
Perry's shoe.
Same cat's paw.
Same size. Same blood.
All right, Dick.
This time the truth.
I don't want to be
charged with murder one
because I never
pulled the trigger.
I don't even know what the
goddamn hell was happening.
It was Perry.
He did it.
I couldn't stop him.
He killed them all.
(ENGINES REVVING)
Are you the officer
that made the arrest?
If you'd grabbed them
five minutes earlier
before they'd
picked up that box...
Just luck, I guess.
Or something.
Hickock swears that
he tried to stop you.
He was scared that
you'd shoot him, too.
He said you did it.
All of it.
Sure. Now you'd like
me to say he did it.
He's no killer,
and he knows it.
That's why
he picked you.
He needed a trigger.
You had nothing
to lose.
You'd already killed
a man, in Vegas.
Beat him to death
with a bicycle chain.
Tough boy.
Real brass boy.
Oh, I knew if
we got caught,
if he dropped his guts, he'd
tell about that guy in Vegas.
I never killed anybody.
Not before that night.
'Cause that night,
I think...
No.
PERRY: No, I want to
remember it the way it was.
We got there around midnight.
This is it.
This is it.
Let's pull out of here.
Now, before it's too late.
If you're gonna do it,
you'll have to do it alone.
You don't think I got
the guts to do it alone.
Okay. I'll show you
who's wearing the pants.
How'd you kill that
guy in Vegas, anyhow?
Love him to death?
Korean War hero.
Christ!
PERRY: Why'd I go
along with it?
When it first began...
Who knows when
anything really begins?
When Dick first told me the
plan it didn't even seem real.
Then, the closer we got,
the more real it became.
Like the whole
crazy stunt had
a life of its own and
nothing could stop it.
Like I was reading a story
and I had to know
what was gonna happen.
How it would end.
(WHISPERS) Wait.
If we find the safe, do
you know how to open it?
(WHISPERING) I know
somebody that knows.
HERB: Honey?
Is that you, honey?
Who is it?
Come with us. Now!
What?
Come with us.
Come on. Come.
In the office.
Now, sir.
Where do you keep
that safe?
What safe?
I don't have any safe.
Don't lie to me,
you son of a bitch.
I know you got a safe.
Right here.
In this office.
I'm sorry, but there isn't any safe.
There never was a safe.
Any other phones?
One. In the kitchen.
Now, sir,
unlock this cabinet.
HERB: It's not locked.
Okay.
Where is it?
(DOORBELL BUZZING)
Come on, move it.
DICK: All right, now.
The money, dig it up.
31 lousy dollars.
A rich man like you.
You gotta have
more money than this.
Not in cash.
I can write you a check.
(SCOFFS)
A check?
What kind of...
PERRY: Hey!
Don't do that!
There's somebody
awake upstairs.
My family.
The only people upstairs
are my wife,
my son and daughter.
Your wife,
she got any money?
Please, she's not well.
Sure. Sure, pops.
Upstairs.
My glasses. I can't
see without my glasses.
Upstairs,
upstairs.
Why do you boys
want to do this?
I never harmed you.
I never saw
you before.
Shut up. When we want you
to talk, we'll tell you.
It's all right,
sweetheart, don't be afraid.
These men,
they just want some money.
Money?
They believe we have money
hidden in a safe.
I told them we didn't,
but they don't...
Didn't I tell you
to shut up?
He's telling you God's truth.
There isn't any safe.
I know goddamn
well you got a safe.
And you better tell
him to find it fast!
Dick.
Floyd Wells lied to you.
There isn't any safe.
Tie them up.
Okay, lady.
In the bathroom.
Please, don't hurt anybody.
They don't mean to hurt anyone.
Isn't that right?
All they want is some money.
And then they'll go away.
Please,
don't hurt the children.
Good grief! What is this?
Some kind of joke?
Make one move,
holler once,
and we'll cut their throats.
All right.
You two, downstairs.
Dick! In here.
You. Over there.
(GROANS)
What's this?
A casket?
Hope chest.
It's a wedding
present for my sister.
Yeah?
KENYON: Not her.
She's too young.
They're never
too young, kid.
Hey! Pops!
(GUN COCKS)
You better pray
I find that safe.
Kenyon?
Dad?
(THUMPING)
You're cold?
Yes.
(GROANS)
If all you want
is money, then why?
If you do that to my wife,
she'll panic.
(GRUNTING)
(THUMPING)
My mother, please be careful.
Please.
That other man, I'm afraid
he'll hurt someone.
Please, he can have
money, anything,
but, please, don't let
him hurt my little girl.
NANCY:
Don't...
Please, don't.
You ever had a man?
Please, don't.
(SOBS)
What's eating at you?
You find the safe?
Later.
First I'm gonna
bust that little girl.
No.
What do you care?
You can bust her, too.
No.
Okay, honey.
Get the kid's radio.
And then go downstairs.
I despise people who can't
control themselves.
You go to school?
The university
next year.
To study music and art.
I play the guitar.
Draw some, too.
Only got as far
as the third grade.
You like horses?
Yes.
My mother
was a champion rider.
In the rodeo.
And my father...
My father...
(GROANING)
(PANTING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(PANTING)
Okay. What's the matter?
Us. We're the matter.
We're ridiculous.
You tapping the walls
for a safe that isn't there.
Tap, tap, tapping
like some nutty woodpecker.
And me.
Crawling around on the floor
with my legs on fire.
And all to steal
a kid's silver dollar.
Ridiculous!
This is stupid!
What are you sore about?
We got no beef.
It's us against them.
This is between us.
(LAUGHS)
It's got nothing
to do with them.
(GUN COCKING)
Look at me, boy!
Take a good look!
I'm the last living thing
you're ever gonna see.
(SCREAMS)
(GUN FIRING)
Don't. Please, don't.
(GUN FIRING)
(DOG WHINING)
It doesn't make sense.
I mean what happened.
Or why.
It had nothing to
do with the Clutters.
They never hurt me, they
just happened to be there.
I thought Mr. Clutter
was a very nice gentleman.
I thought so right up until
the time I cut his throat.
(SIGHS)
(ENGINE REVVING)
(BELL TOLLING)
Mercy for them.
The killers.
How fortunate that
their admirable attorneys
were not present at the Clutter
home that fateful evening.
How very fortunate for them
that they were not there
to plead mercy for
the doomed family,
because otherwise,
we would have found
their corpses, too.
If you allow them
life imprisonment,
they will be eligible for
parole in seven years.
That is the law.
Gentlemen,
four of your neighbors
were slaughtered
like hogs in a pen
by them.
They did not strike suddenly
in the heat of passion,
but for money.
They did not
kill in vengeance.
They planned it for money.
And how cheaply
those lives were bought.
$40.
$10 a life.
They drove 400
miles to come here,
they brought their
weapons with them.
This shotgun, this dagger.
This is the rope that they
hogtied their victims with.
This is the blood
they spilled.
Herb Clutter's.
They who had no pity,
now ask for yours.
They who had no mercy,
now ask for yours.
They who had no tears,
now ask for yours.
If you have tears to shed,
weep not for them,
weep for their victims.
From the way the Holy Bible
was quoted here today,
you might think
the word of God
was written only to
protect the killers.
But they didn't
read you this.
Exodus 20,
verse 13.
"Thou shalt not kill."
Or this.
Genesis 9, verse 12.
"Who so shedeth man's blood,
"By man shall
his blood be shed."
JENSEN: It took four
hours to pick the jury.
It took the state three days
to present its case.
It took the defense
one hour and a half.
It took the jury
40 minutes to
bring in the verdict.
JUROR 1:
They had to be crazy.
JUROR 2: No.
Maybe stupid, but perfectly sane.
JUROR 3: How can
a perfectly sane man
commit an absolutely
crazy act?
(WHISTLE BLOWING)
MAN ON PA: Calling all
stations, Officer Linhard,
Officer Brackin.
Please come to
the desk sergeant's office.
Calling all stations,
Officer Wright.
Officer C. Wright.
Please call
the desk sergeant.
What happens now?
They wait to die.
I wonder how many others
are waiting in other prisons?
About 200.
(FEET MARCHING)
JENSEN: Perry and Dick began their
waiting in the "S and I" building.
Security and Isolation.
The second
floor is death row.
Through the window they can
see the baseball field.
Beyond the outfield,
over the wall
is an old warehouse
with a tin roof.
This warehouse
got a name?
In this prison,
it's called "The Corner."
On hanging day, the men say,
"He's gone to 'The Corner'."
Perry and Dick have
a date at "The Corner."
One minute after midnight.
May, Friday 13.
JENSEN: According to an
expert in forensic medicine,
neither one of them
would have done it alone.
But together, they
made a third personality.
That's the one that did it.
Hey, Andy!
Does it tell
anywhere in them books
what happens when
you make the big drop?
Well, your neck breaks
and you crap your pants.
(LAUGHING)
The trouble with you, Andy, you
got no respect for human life,
not even your own.
(TOILET FLUSHING)
Doomsday, Friday 13,
came and went,
but no one went
to "The Corner."
Perry and Dick appealed.
Routine.
They were granted a stay of execution.
Routine.
The legal machinery in capital cases
usually runs a year or more. Routine.
Death row has
its own routine.
Shower. One man at a time,
once a week.
Shave, twice a week.
The guard locks
the safety razor.
Safety first.
No radios, no movies, no TV.
No cards, no games, no exercise.
No mirrors, no
bottles, no glasses.
No knives,
no forks.
No suicide allowed.
They could eat, sleep,
write, read, think, dream.
They could pray,
if so inclined.
But mostly,
they just waited.
The guy in the next cell, Andy.
He's been waiting two years.
Newspapers call him
"The nicest boy in Kansas."
One night he
killed his sister.
Then he shot his
mother six times
and his father
seventeen times.
Andy's a nut,
but I like him.
Hey, Andy.
Say hello to Mr. Jensen.
He's writing
the story of my life.
Why?
(LAUGHING)
I told you he was a nut.
Ronnie, Jim,
meet Mr. Jensen.
They knocked off seven.
Strangers.
Ronnie said they
was better off dead.
What about Perry?
Don't you get along?
Nobody can get
along with him.
There's five guys waiting
here for the big swing.
Little Perry's the only one yapping
against capital punishment.
Don't tell me
you're for it?
Hell, hanging's
only getting revenge.
What's wrong with revenge?
I've been revenging
myself all my life.
Sure. I'm for hanging.
Just so long as I'm not
the one being hanged.
See you.
Thanks for the magazines.
Jim, you think that
looks like Willie Jay?
The way you
see him, yes.
That day at the bus station,
when I phoned you.
If Willie Jay and
I had connected,
none of this
would have happened.
Maybe, if you hadn't
come back to Kansas.
Maybe!
If they'd had a head-doctor
here during my first stretch,
he would've known I had a
bomb ticking inside of me.
He would've known
I wasn't ready for parole.
You knew.
Yeah.
Why didn't you tell me?
Then I wouldn't have gotten
my parole, would I, Reverend?
JENSEN: A few minutes
after midnight, in November,
one of them went
to "The Corner."
The others watched him cross the ball
field on his way to the gallows.
It was Andy.
"The nicest boy in Kansas."
(CLATTERING)
They heard the trapdoor go.
The kept watching and waiting
for 19 minutes,
till Andy's heart
stopped beating.
For Andy,
the waiting was over.
Perry and Dick
waited five years.
Three times their case went to
the United States Supreme Court.
My God! That harness!
Richard,
this is a warrant from
the Supreme Court of
the State of Kansas.
"Whereas, it was by
this court ordered
"that execution of
the sentence of death
"by hanging of
Richard Eugene Hickock,
"imposed by the District Court
of Finney County, Kansas,
"be carried out on Wednesday,
April 14, 1965.
"Commanding the warden of the
Kansas State Penitentiary
"to carry the sentence
into execution."
Where's Smith?
"Yea, let none that wait
for thee be ashamed.
"Let them be ashamed which
transgress without cause.
"Show me thy ways, O Lord,
teach me thy paths.
"Lead me in thy truth, and teach
me, for thou art the God"
(KNOCKING)
I...
I gotta go to the toilet.
GUARD: We can't
remove the harness.
There might not be time.
Please.
Try to control yourself.
But that's it.
When you hit the end of the
rope your muscles lose control.
I'm afraid
I'll mess myself.
It's nothing to be ashamed of.
They all do it.
For God's sake, man!
"This is to command you, the warden
of the Kansas State Penitentiary,
"that on Wednesday,
April 14, 1965,
"between the hours of 12:01 a.m.
and 2:00 a.m..."
Is he the...
Mmm-hmm.
How much does he
get paid to hang them?
$300 a man.
Has he got a name?
"We, the people."
"...for the State of Kansas."
Anything you want to say?
Just that I hold
no hard feelings.
You're sending me to a better
world than this ever was.
Nice to see you.
Jim, Thoreau,
on man and nature.
It's yours if you want it.
Dick gone?
Is his heart still beating?
What time is it?
Take it easy, kid.
Would you like me
to write your father?
I could send him
one of your paintings.
Or maybe your Bronze Star.
Send him my treasure maps.
Maybe now he'll get lucky.
The Lone Wolf.
You know, there was a time once
when we almost had it made.
Just the two of us.
He was in a fever about some
new project up in Alaska.
A hunting lodge for tourists.
It was gonna make us a fortune
better than a gold mine.
But most of all, it was gonna be
something we never had before.
A real home.
We got it built, too.
Just him and me,
side by side.
The day the roof was finished,
he danced all over it.
I never was so
happy in all my life.
It was a beautiful home.
But no tourists ever came.
Nobody.
We just lived there
all alone in that big,
empty failure,
till he couldn't
stand the sight of me.
I think it happened...
I was eating a biscuit.
He started yelling what a
greedy, selfish bastard I was.
Yelling and yelling
till I grabbed his throat.
I couldn't stop myself.
He tore loose and got a gun.
He said, "Look at me, boy!
"Take a good look
'cause I'm the
"last living thing
you're ever gonna see."
And he pulled the trigger.
But the gun wasn't loaded.
He began to cry.
Bawled like a kid.
I went for a long walk.
When I got back,
the place was dark.
The door was locked.
All my stuff was
piled outside in the snow
where he threw it.
I walked away and
never looked back.
I guess the only thing I'm
gonna miss in this world
is that poor old man
and his hopeless dreams.
I'm glad you don't
hate your father anymore.
But I do.
I hate him.
And I love him.
Coming?
What for?
What does it
add up to, anyway?
Well, four innocent and two
guilty people murdered.
Three families broken.
Newspapers have
sold more papers.
Politicians will
make more speeches.
Police and parole boards
will get more blame.
More laws will be passed.
Everybody will
pass the buck.
And then, next month, next year,
the same thing
will happen again.
Well, maybe this
will help to stop it.
Never has.
(CAR HONKING)
Perry, this is a warrant from the
Supreme Court of the State of Kansas.
"It was by the court
ordered that execution
"of the sentence
of death by hanging
"of Perry Edward Smith
"imposed by the District Court
of Finney County, Kansas,
"be carried out on Wednesday,
April 14, 1965."
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
Anything you want to say?
Perry?
I think maybe
I'd like to apologize.
But who to?
Who?
REV. JIM: "The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want.
"He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures.
"He leadeth me
beside the still waters.
"He restoreth my soul.
"He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name's sake.
"Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death,
"I will fear no evil.
"For thou art with me.
"Thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.
"Thou preparest
a table before me
"in the presence
of mine enemies.
"Thou anointest
my head with oil."
Is God in this place, too?
"My cup runneth over.
"Surely goodness and mercy will
follow me all the days of my life.
(HEART BEATING)
"And I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever."
(HEART BEATING LOUDER)
(HEART BEATING SLOWER)