Compulsion

1959

Action / Biography / Crime / Drama / History / Thriller

Plot summary


Uploaded by: OTTO

Top cast

Dean Stockwell Photo
Dean Stockwell as Judd Steiner
Orson Welles Photo
Orson Welles as Jonathan Wilk
Martin Milner Photo
Martin Milner as Sid Brooks
Gavin MacLeod Photo
Gavin MacLeod as Padua - Horn's Assistant
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
805.63 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 43 min
P/S 0 / 1
1.64 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 43 min
P/S ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by bkoganbing7 / 10

Orson's finest hour

Both the novel by Meyer Levin and the movie came out at the time that Nathan Leopold was granted parole after serving over 30 years of a life sentence for killing Bobby Franks. The film itself is a B picture with an out of place, fiftyish jazz score that is distracting. Other than some antique vehicles and kids dancing the Charleston, the film does little to capture the atmosphere of the 1920s when the Loeb-Leopold case took place. The acting by the cast is competent.

What lifts Compulsion from the ranks of the ordinary is Orson Welles.

Compulsion is arguably the finest work he ever did outside the films he directed himself, maybe The Third Man is the only competition. Welles's speech to the jury is absolutely mesmerizing, how he didn't get into the Oscar sweepstakes is a mystery for the ages.

Welles's Jonathan Wilks captures the real Clarence Darrow far more than Spencer Tracy as Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind.

For you Orson Welles fans this is a must.

Reviewed by SnoopyStyle7 / 10

compelling characters

It's 1924 Chicago. Rich law students Artie Strauss (Bradford Dillman) and Judd Steiner (Dean Stockwell) steal from their fraternity. Artie orders Judd to run over a drunk in the road. He misses. Artie wants to continue with his crime spree and Judd begs to join him in a well thought out dangerous plan to gain infamy. Judd is a bitter intellectual and Artie is a brash extrovert. They commit the 'perfect' crime killing a boy but their acquaintance rookie investigative reporter Sid Brooks finds Judd's glasses at the crime scene. Artie pushes Judd to attack Ruth Evans but he stops in time. Their crime unravels with the mounting evidence and the boys talking. Their families hire famed defense attorney Jonathan Wilk (Orson Welles) to battle D.A. Horn (E.G. Marshall).

These two guys are compelling characters. At times, their obsessive relationship hints at homosexuality while other times, it is all intellectual psychopathic banter. They could have heightened the bloody violence a bit more. Orson Welles doesn't show up until after over an hour. He does an interesting performance but it is the young men that are the most fascinating.

Reviewed by Leofwine_draca5 / 10

Very well cast

COMPULSION is a very well cast courtroom drama from 1959, featuring a trio of actors all giving very strong performances. The story is based on the same real-life murder case as Hitchcock's ROPE, about a pair of college students who killed a youth and then attempted to cover up their crime. This film goes for the psychological approach and is rather slow moving and dated, although the authentic performances go some way to making it watchable. A near-unrecognisable Orson Welles shows up late on as a lawyer, but the real stars are the youthful team of Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman, both completely believable.

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