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It’s no secret that accidents and chance occurrences can end up producing fantastic results; Just look at microwaves, silly putty and sticky notes. Even during the production of movies (which are often storyboarded, choreographed and shot in an environment nearly as controlled as an operating room) there is always a chance that fate will intervene and shake things up.

Such was the case during one particularly intense scene in the 1967 film adaptation of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. Robert Blake, playing petty criminal Perry Smith, was in the process of shooting a monologue concerning the strained and tragic relationship he had with his father.

The scene was meant to be driven almost entirely by Blake’s dialogue in a plain room where the only other person present was a near-silent warden absorbing the story. This is where chance intervened. During his dialogue, Blake ambled up to a barred prison window, which had heavy rain trickling down its surface. It just so happened that the reflection of the water running down the glass was projected onto Blake’s face, giving the impression that a steady stream of tears were running down his cheek.

Director Richard Brooks wisely allowed filming to continue as Blake, oblivious to what was happening, continued his on-screen lament. This already poignant scene became even more heartbreaking, and today cinematographers look upon this sequence (featured in the superb documentary Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography) as an example of the power of shadow, illumination and pure chance converging to form something truly special.

Words can only do this scene so much justice; it really must be experienced firsthand.