Compulsion (1959)

Two wealthy law-school students go on trial for murder in this version of the Leopold-Loeb case.

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Richard Murphy (screenplay), Meyer Levin (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Orson Welles, Dean Stockwell, Diane Varsi

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Orson Welles	...	Jonathan Wilk
Diane Varsi	...	Ruth Evans
Dean Stockwell	...	Judd Steiner
Bradford Dillman	...	Arthur A. Straus
E.G. Marshall	...	District Attorney Harold Horn
Martin Milner	...	Sid Brooks
Richard Anderson	...	Max Steiner
Robert F. Simon	...	Police Lt. Johnson (as Robert Simon)
Edward Binns	...	Tom Daly
Robert Burton	...	Charles Straus
Wilton Graff	...	Mr. Steiner
Louise Lorimer	...	Mrs. Straus aka 'Mumsy'
Gavin MacLeod	...	Padua - Horn's Assistant

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, Sid Brooks, who also works ...

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Plot Keywords:

leopold loeb case | murder of a child | reporter | student | perfect crime | 

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Taglines:

You know why we did it? Because we damn well felt like doing it!

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bradford Dillman and E.G. Marshall appeared in The Bridge at Remagen (1969) (1969).

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Goofs

When the murdered boy is in the morgue, his uncle recognizes him instantly, and the coroner doesn't mention to the young journalist (who found the glasses) that the kid had acid burned all over his face so he couldn't be identified. In the real life case, his face was burned and, most importantly, at the very end of the movie, Orson Welles as the defending attorney mentions that the murdered boy's face was burned with acid.

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Quotes

[first lines]
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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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: CHICAGO, 1924

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Connections

Version of Swoon (1992)

User Reviews

Mesmerized by Dean Stockwell

I don't know why I'm so attracted to this vulnerable weirdos. From Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in Psycho to Colin Firth as Adrian Leduc in Apartment Zero, darkness and a fragility that is part of the unbearable suspense. Maybe I'm in need of professional attention but I don't think so. What attracts me is by the undeniable innocence behind the horror and that has a lot, if not everything, to do with the actors playing them. Look at Anthony Perkins in Psycho! 57 years ago and it still looks and feels kind of revolutionary or Colin Firth in Apartment Zero, the character is so unique and real that you can see it a thousand times and always find some new extra something, then Dean Stockwell in Compulsion. He plays a monster, a sick, pathetic prince of a man. Yes all of that. The humanity of the actor makes the monster human and we can't dismiss him, he doesn't allow us. Orson Welles has a great entrance into the film and E.G Marshall is superb as per usual, it is the rest of the cast who seem a bit dated, specially when sharing the frame with the extraordinary Dean Stockwell

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Zwang zum Bösen

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles High School - 4650 W. Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Darryl F. Zanuck Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 99 min (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 White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1