During questioning, he asserts to the juvenile officer: "Nobody can help me."The housemaid answers all questions directed toward Plato, and explains how his mother habitually deserts him and his father left the family long ago:It seems like she""s always going away somewhere.Also, the film""s wonderful musical score by Alfred Newman is unforgettable.Ronald Colman, Douglas Fairbanks, and English actor Robert Newton were all considered for the role eventually played by British stage actor Laurence Olivier.It was nominated for nine Academy Awards in total: Best Actor (Jack Nicholson with his first win after losing he previous year forChinatown (1974)), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Bill Butler and Haskell Wexler), Best Director, Best Editing, Best Picture, Best Score (Jack Nitzsche) and Best Supporting Actor (Brad Dourif).They found the stilted house on their ninth try, where Riggs saw the criminals counting large sums of cash inside.