I won't blame the misstep of the 1959 film Compulsion on director Richard Fleischer, nor on the screenplay writer Richard Murphy for the shallow storytelling of the actual events surrounding the 1924 real life murder of 14 year old Robert "Bobby" Franks at the hands of his own second cousin Richard Loeb (age 18), and his accomplice Nathan Leopold Jr. (age 17).
All three boys came from very wealthy families and lived privileged lives. Loeb and Leopold became front page news in Chicacgo coined as "The Trial of the Century" for the better part of three (3) months while their famous renowned lawyer Clarence Darrow tried to defend them by initially pleading guilty to the charge of murder with extenuating circumstances in an effort to save the two (2) boys from being hanged to their deaths.
To avoid any lawsuit the producers chose not to use any of the real names of the victim (Bobby Franks), his perpertrators (Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr.), and/or neither the real names of the defense attorney (Clarennce Darrow) or the prosecuting attorney (Robert E. Crowe).
The film did maintain much of the evidence that was used to find Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr. guilty of the murder, and the actors who played the two young men (Bradford Dillman and Dean Stockwell) did an exemplary job in delivering a bone-chilling "guilty" verdict on their performances alone, but what was lacking was any evidence of the crime being commtted and how it evolved. This film focuses more on the cat and mouse game between Bradford Dillman who plays the alpha murderer Arthur A. Straus, and Police Lt. Johnson (Robert E. Simon).
The film ends on a rather dull note with the boys defense attorney Jonathan Wilk (Orson Welles) giving a rather real yet very boring closing argument in defense of his two (2) clients to be spared the death penalty.
The film left me feeling more like I was watching a dramatic film (based on Orson Welles eloquent, yet boring closing argument) rather I would have preferred to be watching a more factual account of the murder investigation, eventual arrest, and subsequent trial and conviction of the real life 1924 Bobby Franks Murder.
As such, I can only rate the film a 6 out of 10.
All three boys came from very wealthy families and lived privileged lives. Loeb and Leopold became front page news in Chicacgo coined as "The Trial of the Century" for the better part of three (3) months while their famous renowned lawyer Clarence Darrow tried to defend them by initially pleading guilty to the charge of murder with extenuating circumstances in an effort to save the two (2) boys from being hanged to their deaths.
To avoid any lawsuit the producers chose not to use any of the real names of the victim (Bobby Franks), his perpertrators (Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr.), and/or neither the real names of the defense attorney (Clarennce Darrow) or the prosecuting attorney (Robert E. Crowe).
The film did maintain much of the evidence that was used to find Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr. guilty of the murder, and the actors who played the two young men (Bradford Dillman and Dean Stockwell) did an exemplary job in delivering a bone-chilling "guilty" verdict on their performances alone, but what was lacking was any evidence of the crime being commtted and how it evolved. This film focuses more on the cat and mouse game between Bradford Dillman who plays the alpha murderer Arthur A. Straus, and Police Lt. Johnson (Robert E. Simon).
The film ends on a rather dull note with the boys defense attorney Jonathan Wilk (Orson Welles) giving a rather real yet very boring closing argument in defense of his two (2) clients to be spared the death penalty.
The film left me feeling more like I was watching a dramatic film (based on Orson Welles eloquent, yet boring closing argument) rather I would have preferred to be watching a more factual account of the murder investigation, eventual arrest, and subsequent trial and conviction of the real life 1924 Bobby Franks Murder.
As such, I can only rate the film a 6 out of 10.