Compulsion (1959) - DaaVeeDee

Compulsion (1959) (Blu-Ray) (*)

$22.99

Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Cannes Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Spain ( Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C )

Running Time:
102 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (2.35:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1959 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Richard Fleischer

Written By:
Richard Murphy
Meyer Levin

Actors:
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
Edward Binns ..... Tom Daly
Robert Burton ..... Charles Straus
Wilton Graff ..... Mr. Steiner
Louise Lorimer ..... Mrs. Straus aka 'Mumsy'
Gavin MacLeod ..... Padua - Horn's Assistant

Synopsis:

Winner of the Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award for all three of its stars (Stockwell, Dillman and Welles), Richard Fleischer's stylish and compelling thriller sees two law students murder a young boy in cold blood to prove their intellectual superiority. Sadistic bully Artie Straus (Bradford Dillman) and timid introvert Judd Steiner (Dean Stockwell) commit the 'perfect crime', but their arrogance leads to their arrest. Loosely based on the notorious 1924 murder trial of thrill-killers Leopold and Loeb, this outstanding film also features cinema legend Orson Welles as the criminal defence lawyer who takes on their case.

In 1924 Chicago, two rich college students, Judd Steiner and Arthur Strauss, decide they can commit the perfect murder and get away with. They kill a young teenager, Paulie Kessler, but through the efforts of part-time reporter and fellow student Sid Brooks, a pair of glasses left at the scene is traced to the murderers. For their trial, the families hire renowned defense attorney Jonathan Wilk known for his passionate arguments against the death penalty. Both men confessed to the crime but Wilk pleads them not guilty. At the trial, they change the plea to guilty and Wilk argues passionately in favor of a life sentence rather than execution.

Chicago, 1924. Two brilliant, wealthy, but psycho young men set out for thrills and go much too far. Meanwhile, their fellow law student Sid Brooks helps identify the murdered body of a kidnap victim and finds a clue to the killers...who firmly believe they can outsmart all opponents with ease. Result - a sensational case with defense attorney Jonathan Wilk putting capital punishment itself on trial...

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 12 April, 2024.