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Compulsion (1959)
7.4
Two wealthy law-school students go on trial for murder in this version of the Leopold-Loeb case. Director:Richard Fleischer |
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103 min - 
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Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.
Another
1 win
&
4 nominations
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Orson Welles | ... |
Jonathan Wilk
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Diane Varsi | ... |
Ruth Evans
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| Dean Stockwell | ... | ||
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Bradford Dillman | ... |
Arthur A. Straus
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| E.G. Marshall | ... |
District Attorney Harold Horn
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| Martin Milner | ... |
Sid Brooks
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| Richard Anderson | ... |
Max Steiner
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Robert F. Simon | ... |
Police Lt. Johnson
(as Robert Simon)
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Edward Binns | ... |
Tom Daly
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Robert Burton | ... |
Charles Straus
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Wilton Graff | ... |
Mr. Steiner
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Louise Lorimer | ... |
Mrs. Straus aka 'Mumsy'
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| Gavin MacLeod | ... |
Padua - Horn's Assistant
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Ina Balin | ... |
Mike's girlfriend
(scenes deleted)
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Edmund Cobb | ... |
Policeman
(scenes deleted)
|
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Storyline
In 1924 Chicago, Artie Strauss and Judd Steiner are friends and fellow law students who both come from wealthy backgrounds. They have few true friends as they believe all their contemporaries are intellectually inferior. Within their relationship, Artie is the dominant and Judd the submissive who says he will do whatever Artie tells him. Although Judd acts intellectually arrogant to others, he also shows signs of weakness and reticence most evident to Artie. Part of their goal in life is to experience how it feels to do everything. As such, they plot to commit what they consider the perfect crime - a kidnapping and murder - not only so that they can experience the sense of killing for killing's sake, but also taunt the law with the knowledge of it and their superiority after the fact. They believe their crime is above the law. Their murder of young Paulie Kessler is not so perfect, with evidence at the scene uncovered by one of their law school colleagues... Written by Huggo
Plot Summary | Add SynopsisTaglines:
You know why we did it? Because we damn well felt like doing it! See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
(West Germany) See more »Also Known As:
Der Zwang zum Bösen See more »Filming Locations:
Los Angeles High School - 4650 W. Olympia Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (FMC Library Print)Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm optical prints) (Westrex Recording System)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
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Judd Steiner: To the perfect crime!
Arthur Straus: Crime. Oh, my wealthy fraternity brothers. 67 dollars, and a second-hand typewriter.
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Did You Know?
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. See 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.
See more »
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