Compulsion

1959 | Docudrama | 103 minutes | English

Info

In a perverted desire to commit the perfect crime, sociopathic friends, Artie Straus and Judd Steiner murder a local boy while he is on his way home from school. After Steiner accidentally drops his glasses at the crime site, the pair is caught. The death sentence is certain. However, Jonathan Wilks, their famous defense attorney, convinces the jury that executing the two men will not bring justice. A far more appropriate punishment for their heinous crime would be life in prison. Compulsion is based on the Leopold and Loeb Case. Their attorney was Clarence Darrow.

Cast

Bradford Dillman (Artie Straus) / Dean Stockwell (Judd Steiner) / Orson Welles (Jonathan Wilk)

Why Stream This Film?

In Compulsion, the defense attorney, Jonathan Wilk (based on Clarence Darrow) defends the killers Artie Straus and Judd Steiner (based on Leopold and Loeb). Wilk knows they are guilty, but his abhorrence of the death penalty brilliantly drives him to convince the jury to give them life imprisonment.

Rotten Tomatoes Score (Critics Consensus): 100%

Accolades

Cannes Film Festival: Winner, Best Actors (Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman, Orson Welles); Nominated, Palme d’Or
BAFTA Awards: Nominated, Best Film
Directors Guild of America: Nominated, Best Director (Richard Fleischer)
Writers Guild of America: Nominated, Best Screenwriter (Richard Murphy)
The film received a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score