USCCB - (Film and Broadcasting)

Compulsion

Alphabetical Listing of Movie Reviews

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Compulsion -- Fictionalized account of the Leopold-and-Loeb murder case in 1924 Chicago where the prosecutor (E.G. Marshall) demands the death penalty for two university students (Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman) in a thrill killing until their attorney (Orson Welles) makes the case for sentencing them to life imprisonment, Directed by Richard Fleischer, the dramatization is quite effective in its portrayal of the students, the police work which led to their arrest and the tense courtroom proceedings which end by putting capital punishment on trial. Verbal descriptions of an off-screen murder, a sexual encounter and arguments for and against the death penalty. (A-III) (br) ( 1959 )

These movies have been evaluated for artistic merit and moral suitability by the media reviewing division of Catholic News Service. The reviews include the CNS rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

A-I -- general patronage;
A-II -- adults and adolescents;
A-III -- adults;
L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
O -- morally offensive.

Note: Some movies previously were designated A-IV. Older films with this classification should be regarded as classified L.