DVD Talk review of 'Compulsion'
 

I read Jamie S. Rich's DVD review of Compulsion at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=21686 and...

It's worth noting that Welles' summation speech is taken almost word-for-word from the court records, so Darrow actually did say pretty much the same thing during the trial. They're still incredibly powerful words even after 80 years. The following two sentences still give me chills: "I am pleading for the future; I am pleading for a time when hatred and cruelty will not control the hearts of men. When we can learn by reason and judgment and understanding and faith that all life is worth saving, and that mercy is the highest attribute of man." The whole speech can be found on the Internet.

Thanks for the info. I had not realized it was so close. According to Wikipedia's entry on Leopold & Loeb, Darrow's speech actually ran twelve hours, and they provide this link to the full text:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/spee...eaformercy.htm

A silly diversion:

When this movie first came out, it naturally had a lot of coverage in the Chicago media. One local TV reporter went to the building where Darrow once lived and asked a current occupant "<i>Did you know that Clarence Darrow lived here?"</i>"

Answer: <i>"Nope, I just moved in and don't know any of my neighbors yet.</i>"