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Compulsion Overview:

Compulsion (1959) was a Crime - Drama Film directed by Richard Fleischer and produced by Richard D. Zanuck.

SYNOPSIS

A tough dramatization of the famous Leopold and Loeb murder case in which two college students kidnapped and killed a boy purely for kicks. Welles plays the defense attorney who knows the truth and hopes only to forestall the death sentence. An adaptation of reporter Meyer Levin's novel.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Compulsion BlogHub Articles:

Orson Welles: Mr. Arkadin (1955) and Compulsion (1959)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Nov 28, 2023 From 4 Star Films

Mr. Arkadin (also known as Confidential Report) has the abundance of canted angles and striking visual flourishes one usually attributes to the films of Orson Welles. It also boasts his ever more disorienting sense of space and shot-reverse-shot even as the international cast, financing, and locales... Read full article

The Leopold and Loeb case is the basis for “Compulsion”

By Stephen Reginald on Mar 5, 2021 From Classic Movie Man

The Leopold and Loeb case is the basis for “Compulsion” Compulsion (1959) is an American crime drama directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Orson Welles, Diane Varsi, Dean Stockwell, and Brandford Dillman. The film is based on a novel written by Meyer Levin, which was a fiction... Read full article

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Compulsion Quotes:

Arthur Straus: When we made the deal, you said you could take orders. You said you wanted me to command you.
Judd Steiner: I do - as long as you keep your part of the agreement.
Judd Steiner: Please, Artie - I'll do anything you say.
Arthur Straus: Anything?
Arthur Straus: The neighborhood is swarming with kidnappers and degenerates!
Jonathan Wilk: If there is any way of destroying hatred and all that goes with it, it's not through evil and hatred and cruelty, but through charity, love, understanding.
[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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Compulsion Facts
For some reason the appropriately gravelly voice of actor/wrestler Henry Kulky, nicknamed "Bomber" playing the part of a speakeasy waiter, is dubbed by another actor.
In his treatment of the Leopold-Loeb case, Rope, Alfred Hitchcock used his famous "ten-minute takes" and segued from one to the other with a "natural wipe" generally focusing on the back of one of the character's suit jackets. Perhaps as an homage to The Master, this film's director, Richard Fleischer, uses a "natural wipe" focusing on the front of Bradford Dillman's suit to end a scene.
Made in 1959, some 35 years after the real murder.
During his closing arguments speech Jonathan Wilk (Orson Welles) mentions that he has practiced law for 44-45 years. Welles, however, was only 43 years old when the movie was made.
The closing arguments monologue was the longest in film history.
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