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IMDb > Compulsion (1959)

Compulsion (1959) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   1,379 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 31% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Richard Fleischer
Writers:
Richard Murphy (screenplay)
Meyer Levin (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for Compulsion on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
May 1959 (West Germany) more
Tagline:
Sometimes murder is just a way to pass the time. more
Plot:
Two wealthy law-school students go on trial for murder in this version of the Leopold-Loeb case. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 4 nominations more
User Comments:
I agree with Ms. Brown COMPLETELY more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Orson Welles ... Jonathan Wilk
Diane Varsi ... Ruth Evans
Dean Stockwell ... Judd Steiner
Bradford Dillman ... Arthur Straus

E.G. Marshall ... Dist. Atty. Harold Horn
Martin Milner ... Sid Brooks

Richard Anderson ... Max Steiner
Robert F. Simon ... Lt. Johnson (as Robert Simon)
Ed Binns ... Tom Daly (as Edward Binns)
Robert Burton ... Mr. Straus
Wilton Graff ... Mr. Steiner
Louise Lorimer ... Mrs. Straus

Gavin MacLeod ... Padua
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Additional Details

Runtime:
103 min | 99 min (FMC Library Print)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm optical prints) (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
USA:Approved (certificate #19194) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The original play included what was then a modern-day sequence. This was omitted from the film. It showed several of the characters thirty years after the story took place. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Judd Steiner: To the perfect crime!
Arthur Straus: Crime. Oh, my wealthy fraternity brothers. 67 dollars, and a second-hand typewriter.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Murder by Numbers (2002) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful:-
I agree with Ms. Brown COMPLETELY, 5 January 2007
10/10
Author: kenn_honeyman from United States

I had never even heard of this movie until today.WHERE in the world are the historians?This is on par for courtroom drama with Lionel Barrymore's great dissertation at the end of, "A Free Soul"-1931.This, also, was a fact based portrayal of Adele Rogers St.John's father's career.

I have to concur with Ms. Brown, and ask the question as to why this movie is not shown more often;i saw it on AMC. The bottom line is the line by Mr. Darrow:"You don't stop killing human beings by killing human beings".Mr. Welles was never in finer form, than when he gives this speech... i understand this speech is verbatim of the transcript of the trial.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Compulsion (1959)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Who played Sally? miriamwebster
Welles' awful melodrama computersaysno_cough
Really Two Movies lexnlido2
A shallow flawed movie pery-1
closest related? n1ckwo1f
Gavin MacLeod ... Padua sm_cohn
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