Compulsion poster

Compulsion( 1959)

TV-MACrimeDrama
71%
User
Score

THEIRS WAS THE PERFECT CRIME they thought! They were too sure...too smart...too careful to leave a clue -- but they did! and it exploded -- The shocking story of two teenagers out for kicks...looking for thrills...and finding them!

Overview

Two close friends kidnap and murder a young boy and are defended in court by a renowned attorney who makes an impassioned plea against capital punishment.

    Top Billed Cast

    1. cast image

      Dean Stockwell

      Judd Steiner

    2. cast image

      Bradford Dillman

      Arthur A. Straus

    3. cast image

      Orson Welles

      Jonathan Wilk

    4. cast image

      E.G. Marshall

      District Attorney Harold Horn

    5. cast image

      Diane Varsi

      Ruth Evans

    6. cast image

      Martin Milner

      Sid Brooks

    7. cast image

      Richard Anderson

      Max Steiner

    8. cast image

      Robert F. Simon

      Police Lt. Johnson

    9. cast image

      Robert Burton

      Charles Straus

    10. cast image

      Wilton Graff

      Mr. Steiner

    11. cast image

      Louise Lorimer

      Mrs. Straus aka 'Mumsy'

    12. cast image

      Gavin MacLeod

      Padua - Horn's Assistant

    13. cast image

      Edward Binns

      Tom Daly

    14. cast image

      Colin Kenny

      Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

    15. cast image

      Raoul Freeman

      Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

    16. cast image

      Herschel Graham

      Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)

    Social

    Review 1Discussion

    A review by John Chard

    7
    Written by John Chard on Mon Aug 10 2015
    Lets go watch them slaughter the sheep! Compulsion is directed by Richard Fleischer and adapted to screenplay by Richard Murphy from the novel written by Meyer Levin. It stars Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman, Orson Welles and Diane Varsi. Music is by Lionel Newman and cinematography by William C. Mellor. Based upon the real life Leopold and Loeb murder trial of the 1920s, Compulsion finds Artie Strauss (Dillman) and Judd Steiner (Stockwell) as two well to do young men attempting to commit the perfect crime - murder! But it wasn't so perfect after all and they soon find themselves on tria...

    Media

    Videos 1Backdrops 15Posters 25

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    Facts

    Status

    Released

    Original Language

    English

    Budget

    -

    Revenue

    -

    Keywords

    • death penalty
    • based on novel or book
    • police
    • philosophy
    • child murder
    • alibi
    • based on true story
    • lawyer
    • courtroom
    • glasses
    • arrogance
    • superiority