Compulsion (1959)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Richard Murphy (screenplay)
Meyer Levin (novel)

Release Date:

May 1959 (West Germany)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes murder is just a way to pass the time.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Student | Trial | Murder | Defense Attorney | College Student

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ina Balin	...	Mike's girlfriend (scenes deleted)
Edmund Cobb	...	Policeman (scenes deleted)
Frank Conroy	...	(scenes deleted)

Runtime:

103 min | 99 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Darryl F. Zanuck Productions

Trivia:

The closing arguments monologue was the longest in film history.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Judd Steiner: To the perfect crime!
Arthur Straus: Crime. Oh, my wealthy fraternity brothers. 67 dollars, and a second-hand typewriter.

Movie Connections:

Version of De strop (1968) (TV)

Leopold-Loeb Re-Telling Has Interesting Characters

This was pretty interesting, thanks to Bradford Dillman who was excellent as one of the murderers, and to Orson Welles, as defense attorney "Jonathan Wilk." Wells could be such an imposing presence on screen! Interesting, too, that his character was an atheist but in the end admitted he may have been wrong about that.

E.G. Marshall also was fun to watch as the prosecutor, "Dist. Att. Harold Horn," but, of course, the screen writers had him silent in the end only showing Welles state his liberal impassioned anti-death penalty speech at the end.

Dillman and Dean Stockwell were the wise-guys, young arrogant punks who thought they were smarter than anyone else. Dillman held up under pressure but Stockwell was an annoying wimpy wuss who cracked. Diani Varsi playing the lukewarm love interest, adds very little to the film.

Overall, this re-telling of the famous Leopold-Loeb case of the 1920s was worth the watch and recommended. If this kind of story fascinates you, I recommend a similar film: "Rope" (1949).