4 Formerly Awesome Film Moments That Are Horribly Awkward Today

2. In Cold Blood - Robert Blake's Convincing Role As A Killer

Robert Blake is almost as well know for his lead role in the T.V. show "Baretta," as he is for allegedly murdering his wife. Ironically, before becoming an onscreen detective, he played an accused killer in an adaptation of Truman Capote's non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood. What's worse, Blake's role in the brooding, black and white masterpiece is, at times, terrifyingly convincing. For instance, in a chilling monologue, Perry Smith (Blake) recalls how he was disowned by his father, who he then choked in a murderous rage. "I was heating a biscuit," says Blake. "He started yellin' what a greedy, selfish bastard I was. Yellin' and yellin' til I grabbed his throat. I couldn't stop myself." The unblinking, manic look in Blake's eyes is so authentic. You see a flash of killer instinct there. Not to point fingers, but perhaps this an example of method acting to put Daniel Day Lewis to shame. Blake was found not guilty in the end, but he was was found liable for the wrongful death of his wife in a civil case. Isn't that a little contradictory? Now the way in which he reminisces about clenching his father's throat in In Cold Blood is far more disturbing than audiences could have known at the time of the film's release. Blake may be innocent of murder, but he could have fooled us.