Based on the famous 1924 murder trial of Loeb and Leopold, two Chicago law students who murdered a boy, Bobby Franks, to demonstrate their intellectual superiority, this is a compelling and stylish thriller.
Dillman delivers a strong performance as the mother-dominated, sadistic Loeb, here called Artie Straus, and Stockwell is even more impressive as the submissive, introverted Leopold (renamed Judd Steiner). Of course, Welles is flamboyantly grand as the Clarence Darrow-figure who has the unenviable
task of defending the two arrogant unsympathetic killers. They even have the effrontery to offer the police aid in solving the killing (exactly what Loeb did, which...
Released:
1959
Rated:
NR
Length:
103 mins