Swoon (1992)

The true story of gay lovers, Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr. who kidnapped and murdered a child in the early 1920s for kicks. The plot covers the months before the crime, the ... See full summary »

Director:

Tom Kalin

Writers:

Tom Kalin, Hilton Als (collaborating writer)

Stars:

Daniel Schlachet, Craig Chester, Ron Vawter

6 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Schlachet	...	Richard Loeb
Craig Chester	...	Nathan Leopold Jr.
Ron Vawter	...	State's Attorney Crowe
Michael Kirby	...	Detective Savage
Michael Stumm	...	Doctor Bowman
Valda Z. Drabla	...	Germaine Reinhardt
Natalie Stanford	...	Susan Lurie
Isabela Araujo	...	Venus in Furs Diva
Jill 'Spanky' Buchanan	...	Venus in Furs Diva
Nashom Benjamin	...	Venus in Furs Diva / Mona Foot (as Mona Foot)
Trash	...	Venus in Furs Diva
Trasharama	...	Venus in Furs Diva
Nashom Wooden	...	Venus in Furs Diva
Peter Bowen	...	Factory Workman
Ryan Landry	...	Ivory

Storyline

The true story of gay lovers, Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr. who kidnapped and murdered a child in the early 1920s for kicks. The plot covers the months before the crime, the investigation, trial and final fate of the two men.

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Plot Keywords:

1920s | homosexual | anachronism | murderer duo | kidnapping | 

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Taglines:

Was it a crime of passion? Or a passion for crime?

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1992 (UK)

Also Known As:

Compulsión

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$340,147 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Playhouse, Killer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, the real killers, appear in archival footage sampled in the film. These shots, and most of the other footage in the film, were provided by the Chicago Historical Society.

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Goofs

Characters use telephones with Touch Tone dialing-systems and other modern devices, even though the film is set in the early 1920's. The placement of such anachronistic objects was deliberate on the part of the filmmakers.

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Connections

Referenced in The Class of '92 (2002)

User Reviews

Refreshing New Twists

This is the third film on the case I've seen and it certainly has merits of its own. There was no grandstand acting here, no over-acting for the Academy Awards or anything like that. I actually found the acting quite adequate unlike some others. It was downplayed, true, but sufficient. Let's remember that these people were not the norm for their time - or for any time. They were bigger than life, or at least they thought they were. The cinematography and staging were wonderful with so many scenes "unbalanced" in their composition. The cutting too was uneasy but uneasy on purpose. The characters were not portrayed as likable and, no, an intolerant society was not set up for blame. There is much going on here - certainly more meets the eye on first viewing.