(Flash Review)Based on a true story from 1924, two young and cocky men thought they were so smart that they were above the law. And that they could commit whatever crime they felt and make a game of outsmarting the police and detectives. They felt it would be a unique intellectual experience to act out a crime. They do, now will they get away with it? Will their intellectual minds get the high and rush they are looking for? How will they outsmart everyone? Interesting story with good dialog and character development. Orson Welles plays a great character as well as directs this picture. This is a lesser known and solid Welles film.

Even now, some ninety-plus years after the event there is, it would seem, still some mileage left in the infamous Leopold/Loeb case that has already spawned at least two novels, a stage play and several movies. The facts can be stated in a brief sentence; two wealthy Chicagoans, late teens, Jewish, gay, highly intelligent and disciples of German nihilist philosopher Frederich Nietchze, planned and carried out the cold-blooded murder of a young boy in order to see how it 'felt' to kill. They were caught, stood trial, and were defended by Clarence Darrow, a lawyer who never prosecuted a case but always appeared for the defense. Darrow pleaded the case before a single judge rather than a 12-man jury and by so doing was able to avoid the death penalty and secure life sentences for both defendants. All hands turn in solid work from Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman as the sociopaths, E.G. Marshall as the State prosecutor and above all Orson Welles who dominates the last hour as Jonathan Wilk, a lightly fictionalised Clarence Darrow. Richard Fleisher wisely shot in black and white which adds atmosphere. Still more than watchable.

In 1924 Chicago, two rich college students, Judd Steiner (Dean Stockwell) and Arthur Strauss (Bradford Dillman), 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.Being familiar with the Leopold and Loeb case, though not the novel this film is based on, I must say I am impressed with how closely they followed the events. Some modifications were made, of course, and the names were changed (though I'm not sure why when the source is so obvious). But everything from Nietzsche to the Jewish factor to the implied homosexual relationship is all here.For whatever reason, the "definitive" Leopold and Loeb movie is generally seen as Hitchcock's "Rope". And while I do think that movie is outstanding, it really focuses more on the philosophy aspect and really ignores the plot. Combined, these films would be a double feature that would be hard to beat.

Orson Welles was known for pushing the envelope, and the movie Compulsion is no exception to this. Produced in the 1950s, the movie is the only representation made of the Leopold and Loeb case that correctly infers the relationship between the two protagonists was more than just friendly; in fact, Leopold and Loeb were gay lovers. It showed remarkable attention to detail as well, in that the dynamic between the two could have been written by an FBI criminal profiler whose expertise is in the pathology of sociopath pairings.Dean Stockwell does become the character the audience loves to hate - he drips of arrogance covered by a veneer of superficial charm. Dillman's character tends to be more pathetic in nature, but still not enough that the audience would see him as a "victim."E. G. Marshall is true to form as the district attorney intent on bringing these two to justice, and Orson Welles plays the atheistic and fairly cynical attorney hired to defend the pair. The touch of black humor in the end is when he states that if he believed in a God, he would say that Divine intervention was responsible for Sid Brooks finding the incriminating glasses (they had been partially buried in the sand) and for the police being able to trace them to Steiner.The movie is well worth viewing, especially for anyone who enjoys "true crime" stories - you'll get a charge comparing the real story to the way it is presented.