★★½ Compulsion

[Gino: 2.5]

Gino says: '"Compulsion" sounds like the title for a late-night Cinemax flick. But instead it is another one of these late-1950s black+white Cinemascope pictures I am enjoying from my local library. This one is not bad, but is nothing to write home about either. It's a story about two young, very intelligent, but almost completely bonkers misguided nihilist murderers, and a little about how their deeds affect the townsfolk.

The film is supposed to "star" Orson Welles, but he doesn't come into the thing until half way though, and only really has like 3 scenes. He plays the boys' defense attorney. One of said scenes is like a 20 minute closing argument against capital punishment, the real reason for the movie (which is fine by me, bless his bloated pinko heart). '