''Compulsion'' is a 1956

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

by the American writer Meyer Levin. Set in 1924 Chicago, it is inspired by the real-life

Leopold and Loeb Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr. (November 19, 1904 – August 29, 1971) and Richard Albert Loeb (; June 11, 1905 – January 28, 1936), usually referred to collectively as Leopold and Loeb, were two wealthy students at the University of Chicago ...

trial, and was a bestseller. Two

college student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

s kidnap and kill a boy in order to prove they can get away with the perfect crime. The following year it was adapted by Levin into a stage play of the same title, which premiered at the Ambassador Theatre on Broadway and ran for 140 performances between October 24, 1957 and February 24, 1958. The lead roles were played by

Dean Stockwell Robert Dean Stockwell (March 5, 1936 – November 7, 2021) was an American actor with a career spanning seven decades. As a child actor under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he first came to the public's attention in films including '' Anchors ...

and Roddy McDowall.

Film adaptation

In 1959, the novel was made into the film '' Compulsion'' by

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

studio

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

. Directed by

Richard Fleischer Richard O. Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director whose career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. Though h ...

it starred

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

, Diane Varsi and

Bradford Dillman Bradford Dillman (April 14, 1930 – January 16, 2018) was an American actor and author. Early life Bradford Dillman was born on April 14, 1930, in San Francisco, the son of Dean Dillman, a stockbroker, and Josephine (née Moore). Bradford's pa ...

with Stockwell reviving his role from the stage play.Niemi p.387

References

Bibliography

* Niemi, Robert. ''History in the Media: Film and Television''. ABC-CLIO, 2006. 1956 American novels American crime novels American novels adapted into films Cultural depictions of Clarence Darrow Cultural depictions of Leopold and Loeb Novels set in Chicago Novels set in the 1920s Roman à clef novels Simon & Schuster books {{1950s-crime-novel-stub