If a book turns out to be a bestseller, well, usually that means a film adaptation of it can't be far behind. This means that Truman Capote's iconic 1966 tome
In Cold Blood was always headed for a silver screen adaptation, though it's hard to imagine a proper feature film adaptation being possible if the Hayes Code hadn't been abolished in 1964. The Code's restrictions placed on violence and grisly material would ensure that this intentionally disturbing piece of literature would lose much of its sting in being translated to a cinematic format. Luckily,
In Cold Blood was one of a number of late 1960s American features using newfound creative freedom to create distinctive and dark pieces of cinema that would be influential for years to come.
