Compulsion
Movie · Drama · Crime

Compulsion, a deeply moving psychological courtroom drama, is one of several re-tellings of the infamous 1924 Leopold and Loeb killings. Artie Straus is the sadistic leader of the duo, and Judd Steiner is Straus' introverted counterpart. Both boys -- gay lovers -- are the products of affluent, privileged upbringings, and both consider themselves above conventional structures of morality. Exercising their overwhelming feelings of superiority, the two students decide to kill a young boy. Rather than repenting for their crime, Steiner and Straus then set out to further the experiment by lending aid to the authorities. Inevitably, the duo is captured and prosecuted for the murder. Defense attorney Jonathan Wilk steps in and attempts to save the boys from execution, despite never receiving any explanation from the young culprits of their crime.

1959 · 1h 43m
  • 100%
  • 12+
Starring Orson Welles, Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman
Director Richard Fleischer

Trailers

  • Compulsion
    Drama

Related

Cast & Crew

  • Orson Welles
    Jonathan Wilk
  • Dean Stockwell
    Judd Steiner
  • Bradford Dillman
    Artie Straus
  • Diane Varsi
    Ruth Evans
  • E.G. Marshall
    District Attorney Harold Horn
  • Martin Milner
    Sid Brooks
  • Richard Anderson
    Max Steiner
  • R‌F
    Robert F. Simon
    Police Lt. Johnson
  • Richard Fleischer
    Director
  • Richard D. Zanuck
    Producer
  • B‌C
    Brian Clark
    Writer

About

Compulsion

Drama

Compulsion, a deeply moving psychological courtroom drama, is one of several re-tellings of the infamous 1924 Leopold and Loeb killings. Artie Straus is the sadistic leader of the duo, and Judd Steiner is Straus' introverted counterpart. Both boys -- gay lovers -- are the products of affluent, privileged upbringings, and both consider themselves above conventional structures of morality. Exercising their overwhelming feelings of superiority, the two students decide to kill a young boy. Rather than repenting for their crime, Steiner and Straus then set out to further the experiment by lending aid to the authorities. Inevitably, the duo is captured and prosecuted for the murder. Defense attorney Jonathan Wilk steps in and attempts to save the boys from execution, despite never receiving any explanation from the young culprits of their crime.

12+

COMMON SENSE

Black-and-white classic about the Leopold-Loeb murder case.

100%

TOMATOMETER
Average 7.8
Reviews 10
Fresh 10

Information

Studio
20th Century Fox
Released
1959
Run Time
1 hr 43 min
Rated
NR
Region of Origin
United States
© 1959 Darryl F. Zanuck Productions, Inc. Renewed 1987 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

Languages

Original Audio
English
Audio

English (AAC)

Subtitles

English (CC)

Accessibility

Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
  • Español (México)
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Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Botswana
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cape Verde
  • Egypt
  • Eswatini
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • India
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger (English)
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Zimbabwe

Asia Pacific

  • Australia
  • Cambodia
  • Fiji
  • 香港 (廣東話–繁體)
  • Indonesia (English)
  • 日本
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • 澳門 (廣東話–繁體)
  • Malaysia (English)
  • Micronesia, Federated States of
  • Mongolia
  • New Zealand
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
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  • Virgin Islands, British
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