Compulsion

Judd Steiner and Artie Straus, two wealthy young law students, embrace Nietzsche’s idea of the Übermensch and believe they are above ordinary law. They see themselves as intellectually superior and intend to test this belief against the world around them.

In class, Judd challenges Professor McKinnon’s lecture on tribal codes, arguing that tribal leaders do not feel compelled to obey the laws they set. Sid Brooks, a classmate, contrasts Judd's unsettling confidence with the professor's authority.

To please Artie, who wields influence over him, Judd participates in criminal acts he previously resisted, including stealing $67 and a typewriter from a campus fraternity house. These acts mark the beginning of their descent and test Judd's resolve.

Artie orders Judd to run over a hitchhiking drunk they have a run-in with. Judd falters and narrowly misses the victim, triggering Artie's scorn and doubt about Judd's commitment to their plan.

Judd, seeking Artie's approval, proposes a more ambitious crime: murder, ransom, and evading the police to prove their supposed superiority. Artie agrees, escalating their criminal ambitions.

The duo lures Paulie Kessler, a neighbor returning from school, and murders him, convinced they have achieved the 'perfect crime.' The crime triggers the law's enforcement and sets the investigation in motion.

During police questioning, Artie provides cocky, false leads to throw investigators off track. He even suggests a former teacher whom they had attended years earlier, manipulating suspicion away from themselves.

Sid, investigating a drowned boy case, discovers eyeglasses near Paulie's body that do not belong to Paulie. The glasses have a distinctive hinge and match Judd’s own purchases, making them key evidence. This discovery pivots the investigation toward the two suspects.

Questioned by investigators, Judd claims he dropped his own glasses days earlier during bird-watching with ornithology students. The missing glasses create a critical hole in his alibi.

With mounting evidence, Judd and Artie plan to dump the typewriter used to type the ransom note, hoping to scrub their traces from the crime. The logistics of disposal become a new area of risk for them.

Judd and Artie attempt to conjure alibis by claiming they were out with girls May and Edna, but the chauffeur's testimony that he repaired Judd’s car all evening undermines the story. The alibi begins to unravel in the face of physical proof.

Under interrogation, Artie cracks and implicates Judd, who then confirms the details but insists Artie was the killer. Their rivalry peaks as truth comes out under pressure.

Renowned attorney Jonathan Wilk agrees to defend the two, delivering a passionate closing argument against capital punishment that sways the jury and public opinion. The defense emphasizes mitigating circumstances and moral complexity.

The court convicts Steiner and Straus and sentences them to life in prison instead of the death penalty. The verdict ends their escape from accountability but confines them for life.