Fifty Years of Film in 50 Weeks, #39: Compulsion, 1959

"We're told it was a cold-blooded killing because they planned and schemed. Yes, but here are officers of the state who for months have planned and schemed - and contrived - to take these boys' lives. Talk about scheming."

Defense Attorney Jonathan Wilk

Compulsion, 1959

Director: Richard Fleischer
Writer: Richard Murphy, from the novel by Meyer Levin
Cinematographer: William C. Mellor
Producer: Richard D. Zanuck
Starring: Orson Welles, Diane Varsi, Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman, E.G. Marshall, Martin Milner

Why I chose it
A movie friend suggested it, and knowing that we just lost Dean Stockwell and that I hadn't seen many (or any?) of his movies of this era, I picked this one immediately.

'No-spoiler' plot overview 
In 1920s' Chicago, Judd Steiner (Stockwell) and Arthur Straus (Dillman) are two precocious and wealthy law students who seem intent on doing mischief just because they can get away with it. With Steiner under the thrall of the more controlling Straus, mischief turns into the murder of a young neighbor boy. They avoid suspicion even while acting oddly with their friends Sid (Martin Milner) and his girlfriend Ruth (Diane Farsi). Since there is no perfect crime, a personal item left at the scene starts to unravel their alibis. Finally, forced to confess to the District Attorney (E.G. Marshall), their fate lies in the hands of renowned attorney Jonathan Wilk (Orson Welles), who is employed to defend them.

Shades of The Birds and Psycho here, but it's our young killers discussing
their latest alibi stories (Dillman, left, and Stockwell, right)

Production Background
Now well into the TV and post-studio system era, the first generation of moguls was giving way to the next. Twentieth Century Fox founder Darryl Zanuck's son, Richard, was now in the business and his first major producing project was this film. The story of the true-crime Leopold & Loeb case was back in the public consciousness due to a number of factors: the release on parole of Leopold, who subsequently started a new life and had just published his autobiography, the success of the novel Compulsion by Meyer Levin, and the turning the novel into a play on Broadway.

Former child star Stockwell got the part of Steiner (Leopold stand-in) in the stage version, and he was a natural to play the part in the film. Roddy McDowell, Straus in the play, was not cast in the film, but Bradford Dillman got the part. This supposedly prompted Stockwell to initially give Dillman a hard time on set. Eventually, they mended fences and got along. Orson Welles, who played the Clarence Darrow stand-in provided his own challenges. His time constraints put pressure on the production schedule, with a few portions of his record monologue near the end of the film being dubbed after, and he bullied nearly everyone on the production.

Even with the names changed, and the homosexual angle played down, Leopold had sued for invasion of privacy, but the case was dismissed. The film got no Oscar nominations, but all three lead actors (Stockwell, Dillman, Welles) won 'best actor' at the Cannes film festival that year. The Leopold & Loeb story was an inspiration for the play and subsequent Hitchcock classic film Rope, and a more provocative version of the two perpetrators, Swoon, from 1992.

Orson Welles, with trademark fake nose, makes his appearance over halfway into the
film.

Some other notable film-related events in 1959 (from Filmsite.org):

• The chariot race sequence in director William Wyler's Best Picture-winning, wide-screen Technicolor epic blockbuster Ben-Hur (1959) set the standard for all subsequent action sequences. The Biblical epic was the first film to win 11 Oscars, breaking the record of 8 Oscar wins originally set first by Gone With the Wind (1939) and 9 Oscar wins set a year earlier by Gigi (1958). 
• After over 25 years of creating low-budget shorts, the comic team of The Three Stooges, known for farces and physical slapstick, made their last (190th) film. It was Columbia's short Sappy Bull Fighters (1959) - a low-budget remake of their own earlier film, What's the Matador? (1942)
• Doris Day and Rock Hudson were paired for the first time in the romantic comedy Pillow Talk (1959). Due to the film's success, the acting duo also appeared together in two 'sequels': Lover Come Back (1961), and Send Me No Flowers (1964).
• Aroma-Rama, an experimental, short-lived scenting system developed by inventor Charles Weiss, was introduced to add over 50 scents to Carlo Lizzani's Italian documentary film about China titled Behind the Great Wall (narrated by Chet Huntley) by filtering 'Oriental' aromas into the auditorium through the air-conditioning system. The following year, a competing process, Smell-O-Vision, was introduced.

My Random Observations

• This was my first film in the 1950s' CinemaScope widescreen, which produced an aspect ratio of 2.55 :1. I call it super skinny. I'm not a particular fan of this aspect ratio, but it certainly provided lots to look at. In many scenes, Fleischer used extreme close-ups, so not necessarily taking advantage of the widescreen, but in others, he positioned characters in all dimensions to allow us to view multiple simultaneous interactions.

  

  Artie Straus (Dillman, center) is happy that his "Mummsie" is distracting
  local reporters Tom Daly (Edward Binns, left) and Sid Brooks (Milner, right).

  
  

  

  Artie shoots a menacing look at Judd while driving together late at night.

  
  
• Another atypical feature of this film: black and white cinematography. In a decade that I usually associate with brightly saturated color movies, most of those I've picked for this blog series were made in just-fine-by-me B&W. I can only take away that far more films were made in B&W in the 1950s than I had thought.

I enjoyed Martin Milner in this role - he seemed so...normal...compared with
the leads.

• Was the character of Ruth (as played by Diane Varsi) for real? While dating a perfectly nice guy (Sid/Martin Milner), she is attracted to Judd, gets completely abused and almost raped by him, yet feels sorry for him in an icky motherly-like way. Even after she's confronted with him being a cold-blooded murderer, she *still* doesn't believe he's a bad person, or so we are led to believe. Perhaps she is there to help justify Attorney Wilk's courtroom argument but her feelings seem to go way overboard here. Spoiler: she does end up back with Sid.



Ruth looks at Judd and extends a friendly hand. Her boyfriend Sid (left) is
appropriately skeptical.

About to be raped, Ruth applies the motherly treatment toward Judd, who 
finally breaks down, revealing he has emotions after all. 

• Much of the detective work in breaking open the case involves Judd's glasses that he dropped where the dead boy's body was dumped. Even though the police eventually found a distinguishing feature that tracked the glasses back to Judd, early on there was so much talk about the glasses being so common as to be no help at all. As a result, I seriously was wondering why Judd didn't run out and buy himself another pair (discreetly of course) so he didn't have to run around revealing to everyone that he was missing his glasses and bringing suspicion on himself.

I liked this quirky visual.

• Much is made of Wilk's (Orson Welles) 10-minute monologue arguing to spare his clients from the death penalty near the end of the film. It was a fine performance, but the actual words didn't do much for me. Of course, as I'm someone who abhors the death penalty, maybe my already being convinced of the points he was making had me yawning. See what you think. The entire text of the actual speech Darrow delivered, excerpted faithfully in the film, can be found here.
• For this week's edition of Bit Player Bingo, I present Gavin MacLeod (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Love Boat) as an associate of the state attorney played by E.G. Marshall. MacLeod just passed away recently (May 2021).
  

  

  Gavin McLeod (left with red squiggly arrow). Welles in center.

Where to Watch
Look for the film on DVD and Blu-Ray, and a copy is currently on YouTube here.

Further Reading
As usual, I find the TCM article on the film a great overview with background and context.

'Edmond O'Brien: Everyman of Film Noir' book review & author Q&A

He was the guy who frantically sought his own killer in D.O.A. (1949), the film publicity executive who sweat profusely in The Barefoot Contessa (1954), and the romantic poet Gringoire, who befriended Maureen O'Hara's Esmerelda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939).

I don't remember the first film I saw him in, but after watching his understated brilliance opposite James Cagney in White Heat (1949), Edmond O'Brien (1915-1985) rose quite high on my list of actors I just had to see more of. Luckily, coinciding with my watching more of his films was the publication of a complete study of his career and life, called 'Edmond O'Brien: Everyman of Film Noir'. The bio was written by Derek Sculthorpe and published by McFarland Press last year. I was pleased to be asked by McFarland to review the O'Brien book, and after I finished it, I contacted Sculthorpe to get more of his insights into O'Brien's unique experience in Hollywood, including dealing with a series of disruptive medical issues.

Sculthorpe states his objective is to "shine a light on his overlooked contribution to film and the art of acting." In this, Sculthorpe succeeded, as he dug deep into every film O'Brien made (and several he didn't) and shared the insights he gained for each one, in approximate chronological order. While the book focuses on the noir films made during O'Brien's most fertile period, it really covers his entire career, including glimpses into his stage, radio and TV performances, and his forays into directing (e.g. Shield for Murder, 1954) and producing. The book content is largely factual, and the extensive list of sources and complete credits attests to the depth of the research and credibility of the information. Of course, Sculthorpe injects his opinions of O'Brien's work which never stray too far to one side or the other, allowing the reader validation of their own opinions. Within the long stretches of movie capsules, Sculthorpe keeps your interest by inserting behind-the-scenes stories for each movie when applicable. There is also information about O'Brien's family heritage and early life as reported in government records and press sources during his career. I was surprised to learn that his older brother Liam was a screenwriter of some distinction with whom O'Brien collaborated whenever possible. Overall, the book presents a comprehensive picture of  O'Brien's career that would be of interest to any classic film enthusiast.

In many ways, O'Brien's career arc was similar to other character actors of the golden age, in that his versatility allowed him to work into his old age (he is brilliant, although almost unrecognizable, in the seminal Western The Wild Bunch (1969). He had a particular love of Shakespeare, and even worked on the stage as Marc Antony in an Orson Welles' production of Julius Caesar. In the star-studded 1953 film version directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, his turn as murderous Casca garnered great reviews at the time. (Note to self: I need to see this one!).

O'Brien and Deanna Durbin were paired in The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (1943);
definitely not film noir (photo from deannadurbindevotees.com)

While many actors of the golden era struggled with drug or alcohol addiction, O'Brien had a series of medical issues that could have derailed his career at any time. I was surprised to learn especially that O'Brien dealt with poor eyesight throughout his career, at times so severe that he required considerable assistance to move around on set or learn his lines. The eye problems dated to an accident during his active duty in WWII, and required many surgeries over the years. He also suffered heart attacks, and from his mid-life on, the effects of Alzheimers. Sculthorpe plumbed the records to uncover how these challenges impacted O'Brien, and what emerges is a portrait of an artist who, with help, was determined to give the best performance he could, and collaborators who helped make that possible. Even when severely compromised, he pulled it together on set, as in his small role in Orson Welles' last film The Other Side of the Wind, produced in 1970.

Q&A with author Derek Sculthorpe
Q: It seems O’Brien identified strongly with his Irish heritage (and obviously kept his last name such that his background was known) – can you comment on how his culture informed how he portrayed or adapted himself to his characters, if at all?

Sculthorpe: His Irish heritage was definitely important to him and informed his work, but I am not sure it was so evident as it was with others such as Spencer Tracy and Pat O’Brien. Edmond was frequently cast as a cop of course, but never as a priest, although he almost played one in the Pendergast story (a film called The Kansas City Story about corrupt senator Tom Pendergast) that was never made. He mostly portrayed Irish American characters, but there was a universal truth in his work that transcended all borders. 

O'Brien as undercover detective befriending unstable mob
boss James Cagney in the gangster noir White Heat

Q: Considering the broader culture at the time was not particularly advanced in supporting people with disabilities, was O’Brien an exception in how he was treated or typical of those in the business who found themselves with such struggles?

Sculthorpe: Certainly people with disabilities of any kind seemed to be invisible in that era. My guess is that he tried to hide or get around them somehow. By the time his eye trouble became apparent he was well-established and maybe they made allowances. Perhaps his heart trouble led to him losing more roles, but then again he wanted to keep working and he was still in demand. I wonder about the studio insurance in those days, but often health and safety did not seem to come into it. The actors and stuntmen did things then that I am sure wouldn't happen now. When you think of some of the alarming situations he endured while working on The Last Voyage for instance (blogger note: working in neck-high water with electrical hazards all around). Later, when he began to be afflicted by Alzheimers, it was not a disease that was understood at all. His co-workers just thought he was drunk, as they did with poor Rita Hayworth. Edmond was not diagnosed until long afterwards of course. Even at the end of his career with Black Sunday, the director was fully prepared to go out of his way to accommodate him even though he realised there would be times when he went blank and there might be lots of delays. In the event of course O’Brien wasn’t able to go through with it. But that’s a great testament to his ability and to the high regard in which directors and producers held him. 

Edmond O'Brien in his first film role The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
 and one of his last The Wild Bunch (1969).

Q: It was interesting to me that so many greater stars and/or show business people with broad influence had such great regard for O’Brien’s abilities. Why do you think he didn’t become a bigger star? Did you get a sense he regretted not rising to the ‘A’ ranks?

Sculthorpe: It’s an interesting question. He said he was satisfied as a supporting actor because he got the more interesting roles. However, in his early career I feel that he wanted to be a star. He was concerned about billing and status. The turning point was the Oscar. I think that meant everything to him, to have the approval of his peers. He seemed to relax after that in a sense, and by then he was becoming more and more a character actor anyway. Personally, I think it’s a shame he didn’t get more chances in Shakespeare, because he clearly loved that and seemed to come to life in his works.

Thank you to Derek Sculthorpe for the insights.

Read my review of the Western Warpath, with Edmond O'Brien in the leading role, here.

November Classic Film Screenings in Greater Boston

After the October feast of Halloween-inspired offerings, in November the local classic film screenings are a bit less abundant, but many are tantalizing nonetheless.  Here is my monthly run-down.  For those living in the area, or visiting, please support the local cinemas that provide us a unique experience seeing these older films in the way their original audiences did.

Before that, a quick shout-out to the Coolidge Corner Theatre, who brought back the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra for an encore performance of their new score to the famous 1925 silent film Phantom of the Opera, along with the screening, on Oct 27th.  I so enjoyed this!


Somerville Theatre
Weds. Nov 2, 7:30 PM:  In a reminder that William Shatner had a movie career before Star Trek, the Somerville presents The Intruder (1962), from Roger Corman Productions.  I've not seen this one, but the theme is timely as it addresses racism in America, an issue that does not seem to be able to be effectively resolved, nor will it anytime soon.  This film addresses the issue of school integration in a Southern town, which was a hot topic at the time.  Shatner plays a visitor to the community with an agenda to block integration.  Bosley Crowther in the New York Times gave it a mediocre review, saying that it's "crudely fashioned from cliches and stereotypes."  But he goes on to say "it does break fertile ground in the area of integration that has not been opened on the screen."  Modern audiences must appreciate it more, as it currently sports a 7.8 rating on IMDb.  It was directed by Roger Corman from a script based on the novel from Charles Beaumont.

Mon., Nov 7, 7:30 PM:  The 1941 film version of Lillian Hellman's play The Little Foxes is devastating, and brilliant.  I doubt this one draws sell out crowds today, and I commend the Somerville for screening it in 35 mm.  I'm planning to attend, as it co-stars one of my favorite forgotten actors, Herbert Marshall who did his best when working with director William Wyler, and the inimitable Bette Davis.  Wyler had been in a relationship with Davis, and had legendary battles with her on set, but she, by all accounts, won most of them.  It features Teresa Wright in her first major screen role, and Dan Duryea, Patricia Collinge, Charles Dingle, and Carl Benton Reid.  If you want to see a film in which each and every performance is tightly-drawn, nuanced, with a terrific script, this one won't disappoint.  It's about a turn of the century southern family undergoing a major internal power struggle over wealth and legacy.  Not a happy story, and with the exception of the opening scenes, it maintains a dark tone throughout, "grim and malignant" according to Bosley Crowther.  That said, it's fascinating and entertaining.  Go!

Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright, and Bette Davis in The Little Foxes

Fri Nov 11, 7:30 PM and 9:45 PM:  A fun dose of 1950s teenage culture is presented in the double-feature screenings of Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without A Cause (1955), and Richard Thorpe's Jailhouse Rock, (1957).  Both feature huge stars of the time, James Dean, and Elvis Presley, who both came to sad, untimely ends.  But here they are in their prime, which is how, in my opinion, they should be remembered.   Both portray anxious, rebellious young men.  In the former, Dean plays a high school student who rebels mainly against his family and society, and in the latter Elvis is burgeoning musician who gets into trouble with the law, but then gets his big chance.  It's been years since I've seen 'Rebel' and with my appreciation of classic film, and the strong reputation today of Nicholas Ray, I may try to make it back to the Somerville for this one.  Jailhouse Rock is new to me, and I love me some 50s rockabilly, so if I can stay awake I would definitely stick around.  This one is known for the big set-piece around the Jailhouse Rock song.  Another sad side note, Elvis's leading lady in this film Judy Tyler was killed in a car wreck at age 24 just a few days after filming wrapped.  Apparently as a result Elvis refused to watch the complete film.
Check out the official trailer here:

Brattle Theatre
The Brattle has two series planned with intriguing names: "Bad Hombres and Nasty Women" (will Donald Trump show up??) and a celebration of Shakespeare called "The Bard Unbound -- Shakespeare on screen".  Fans of films from the classic era would enjoy the following in this series:

Thurs. Nov 3, 7:30 PM A Fistful of Dollars (1964).  Clint Eastwood got his start in this, the first in the 'spaghetti Western' trilogy by Italian director Sergio Leone, perhaps best known for The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.  Leone was known for quick cutting between medium shots and extreme close-ups, and his bringing brutal violence to the western genre.  This film was on my list to watch during my "Western movie summer," but unfortunately I didn't get to it.  I won't see this screening, but would recommend it to fans of Eastwood and Westerns.  IMDb summarizes the plot as "A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge."  It's being screened in 35 mm, and showing in a double feature with the 1997 film Perdita Durango, starring Javier Bardem.

Sat. Nov 19, 12:30 PM: Henry V (1944). This is the version with illustrious Shakespeare interpreter Laurence Olivier.  Filmed in Technicolor and directed by Olivier himself, it is a faithful adaptation of the play.  Since at the end of this tale as told by the great master, Henry and England emerge from their war with the French victorious, the film version was partly funded by the British government to fuel positive morale in the public during WWII.  Showing here in a digital transfer.

Laurence Olivier as Henry V

Olivier as Richard III

Sat. Nov 19, 3:00 PM:  In a double bill with Henry V comes Richard III (1955).  Now here is a very different British monarch, controversially sketched by Shakespeare as a deformed villain, and who comes to a different end.  This film adaptation is also directed by and stars Laurence Olivier.  I've not seen it, but with a cast that also includes Sir John Gielgud, Sir Ralph Richardson, Sir Stanley Baker, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and Claire Bloom, British film royalty to be sure, it should not disappoint.  It's a British color film, also screening in a digital transfer.




Sun Nov 20, 7:00 PM:  The new 4k restoration of Orson Welles' adaptation of the Falstaff story Chimes at Midnight, is presented.  I had the opportunity to see this a few months ago at the Coolidge, and it's fantastic.  I previewed that screening here.  It is a bit hard to follow, if you don't speak Shakespearean English fluently, and the sound is famously off in parts, but it has the brilliance of Welles, both acting in a role he considered his favorite, and directing in black and white with his usual expressionistic flourishes. A handsome, roguish Keith Baxter has the lead, and Sir John Gielgud, Jeanne Moreau, Margaret Rutherford all appear in critical roles.  It was not a critical success at the time it was released, but it's now considered in the top echelon of the Welles filmography.

Baxter and Welles in Chimes at Midnight