by Fergus Mason
Or maybe we’re just drawn to the case by the artists who’ve shaped our ideas of it. The cell doors had barely slammed on the killers when the first playwright put pen to paper. Patrick Hamilton published Rope in 1929; it was turned into one of the first BBC television plays in 1939 and filmed again by Alfred Hitchcock in 1948. Meyer Levin’s Compulsion came out in 1956 and was filmed three years later; the film upset Leopold so much that he tried unsuccessfully to block it, on grounds of invasion of privacy. Never The Sinner hit the theaters in 1988. Other works inspired by it include Swoon, Native Son, Murder By Numbers, Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story and Funny Games. As long as new adaptations come out the memory of the crime will never fade. Then again, considering the lessons it has for us about what happens when society’s rules break down, do we really want it to?
Ready for More?
We hope you enjoyed reading this series. If you are ready to read similar stories, check out other books in the Stranger Than Fiction series:
The True Story Behind Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho
For movie buffs Alfred Hitchcock will always be associated with a long list of Hollywood classics. Between 1921 and 1976 the English director known as the Master of Suspense released 52 feature films, many of which are still thrilling new audiences today. To most people, though, he’s best known for a film that was very different – Psycho.
The most fascinating part of movie, however, is actually the real story behind it. This book tells the chilling true story behind of the movie.
The True Story Behind Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds
The Birds was different from most of Hitchcock’s work. For admirers of Hitchcock The Birds also raises disturbing questions about the director as a person. He was a complex and confusing character in many ways, and perhaps it’s not surprising that someone who built a career out of creating suspense and fear on screen might also have had some darker sides to his personal life.
Beyond the details of the story and how it came to be filmed, though, one of the most interesting questions about The Birds is why Hitchcock made it in the first place. It took its title from a short story by English author Daphne du Maurier, but beyond the basic idea of people being attacked by birds it didn’t take much else from it. The storyline was pure Hitchcock. So where did it come from?
It turns out that his inspiration was a strange and alarming incident that happened just a few miles from his home in California. This book uncovers the truth behind the plot as well as other factoids that fascinate any fan of the film.
Exposing Jack the Stripper: A Biography of the Worst Serial Killer You've Probably Never Heard Of
Jack the Ripper may get all the fame, but his 1960s counterpart, Jack the Stripper, will really send shivers down your spine. At least six women, all prostitutes, were murdered at his hand—possibly more. Most intriguing of all...he was never caught.
The crimes, though often forgotten today, inspired the crime novel "Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square," which Alfred Hitchcock turned into the 1972 movie, "Frenzy."
Go inside the hunt for this brutal killer in this gripping short biography.
The Sapphire Affair: The True Story Behind Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz
In October 1962 it looked to millions of people like the politicians of the United States and Russia were determined to push the other across the fatal line of launching a nuclear strike. The fate of the world hung on Cuba, a troubled island state in the Caribbean.
Woven through the dramatic events in and around Cuba was a quieter but perhaps equally dangerous scandal – an enormous, deeply embedded network of Soviet spies at the heart of the NATO alliance.
A senior KGB defector had revealed that his agency had penetrated the highest levels of the French government, military and intelligence services – but when a French agent tried to act he found himself blocked at every turn by his own superiors.
Alfred Hitchcock was so impressed by the fictional novel about the events (Topaz by Leon Uris) that he decided to adapt it into a movie. But fiction, as is often the case, only got half of the story. This book tells the remarkable true account of one of the greatest espionage scandals to rock the Cold War.
The True Story Behind Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man
The Wrong Man tells the incredible tale of an innocent man falsely accused of a crime. That in itself is hardly an unusual story, but in this case a string of unlikely coincidences and sheer bad luck built a seemingly airtight case against him. It seemed that the entire justice system was deaf to his pleas and all too willing to ignore the evidence his defenders had worked so hard to unearth. In the end it was only a slip by the real perpetrator that proved his innocence.
While the movie certainly had it’s share of truth, it was still a movie, and parts were fabricated. This book tells the real story behind the movie.
Newsletter Offer
Don’t forget to sign up for your newsletter to grab your free book:
http://www.absolutecrime.com/newsletter
* * *
[1] There are questions about Leopold’s linguistic abilities. Although he did have knowledge of many languages he may only have had reasonable fluency in five of them. Loeb was reported to be irritated by Leopold’s constant boasts about speaking 15 languages.
* * *
[1] LEOPOLDandLOEB.COM, Leopold
[2] LEOPOLDandLOEB.COM, Leopold
[3] Hannon, Michael, The Leopold and Loeb Case
[4] University of Missouri-Kansas School of Law, Nathan Leopold and Ornithology
[5] LEOPOLDandLOEB.COM, Loeb
[6] LEOPOLDandLOEB.COM, Leopold
[7] Never The Sinner, The Case and Trial
[8] Smithsonian Magazine, August 2008, Leopold and Loeb’s Criminal Minds, Simon Baatz
[9] Statement of Richard Albert Loeb, May 31, 1924
[10] Crimerack.com, Leopold and Loeb Case File
[11] TruTV.com Crime Library, Leopold & Loeb, Marilyn Bardsley, pp. 6
[12] Statement of Richard Albert Loeb, May 31, 1924
[13] Hannon, Michael, The Leopold and Loeb Case
[14] Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1924, Loeb-Leopold Case, pp. 352
[15] Statement of Richard Albert Loeb, May 31, 1924
[16] Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1924, Loeb-Leopold Case, pp. 353
[17] Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1924, Loeb-Leopold Case, pp. 355
[18] LEOPOLDandLOEB.COM, Apprehension and Interrogation
[19] Email from G.M.F to Prof. D. Linder, July 9, 2011
[20] University of Missouri-Kansas School of Law, The Glasses: The Key Link to Leopold and Loeb
[21] Never The Sinner, The Case and Trial
[22] Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1924, Loeb-Leopold Case, pp. 357
[23] TruTV.com Crime Library, Leopold & Loeb, Marilyn Bardsley, pp.8
[24] TruTV.com Crime Library, Leopold & Loeb, Marilyn Bardsley, pp.7
[25] The New York Times, Oct 28, 1894, ASSASSINATED: Carter H. Harrison, Mayor of Chicago, Killed. MURDERER IN CUSTODY
[26] TruTV.com Crime Library, Leopold & Loeb, Marilyn Bardsley, pp. 8
[27] Philly.com, The defender of the underdog, John A. Farrell
[28] TruTV.com Crime Library, Leopold & Loeb, Marilyn Bardsley, pp. 9
[29] TruTV.com Crime Library, Leopold & Loeb, Marilyn Bardsley, pp. 10
[30] TruTV.com Crime Library, Leopold & Loeb, Marilyn Bardsley, pp. 8
[31] University of Missouri-Kansas School of Law, Excerpts from the Psychiatric (“Alienist”) Testimony in the Leopold and Loeb Hearing
[32] Never The Sinner, The Case and Trial
[33] University of Missouri-Kansas School of Law, The Leopold and Loeb Trial: A Brief Account
[34] Never The Sinner, The Case and Trial
[35] MKstage.com, Loeb
[36] Time Magazine, Apr 07, 19
58, Books: Condemned to Life
[37] Nathan F. Leopold Jr. - Parole Rejection Letter, May 20, 1953
[38] University of Missouri-Kansas School of Law, The Leopold and Loeb Trial: A Brief Account
Don't miss out!
Click the button below and you can sign up to receive emails whenever Fergus Mason publishes a new book. There's no charge and no obligation.
https://books2read.com/r/B-A-XLDK-ZGBHB
Connecting independent readers to independent writers.
Did you love The Perfect Crime: The Real Life Crime that Inspired Hitchcock’s Rope? Then you should read The Martyr: Jean Bastien-Thiry and the Assassination Attempt of Charles de Gaulle by Tammy Mal!
On August 22, 1962, Charles du Gaulle, then President of France, traveled with his wife and entourage through a quiet Paris suburb.
With a shot, everything changed. Over 180 bullets showered the cars, the streets, the shops. Amazingly, everyone escaped without injury....but the hunt was now on. Who and why would someone attempt to kill one of France's most beloved political figures?In a gripping narrative, this book chronicles the planning of the failed attempted and everything that happened after.
Also by Fergus Mason
Cold Case Crime
Jeff Davis 8: The True Story Behind the Unsolved Murder That Allegedly Inspired True Detective, Season One
The Galapagos Murder: The Murder Mystery That Rocked the Equator
Stranger Than Fiction
The True Story Behind Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho
The True Story Behind Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds
Exposing Jack the Stripper: A Biography of the Worst Serial Killer You've Probably Never Heard of
The Sapphire Affair: The True Story Behind Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz
The Perfect Crime: The Real Life Crime that Inspired Hitchcock’s Rope
The True Story Behind Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man
Stranger Than Fiction: The Real Life Stories Behind Alfred Hitchcock's Greatest Works (Box Set)
Standalone
Before 9/11: A Biography of World Trade Center Mastermind Ramzi Yousef
Miscarriage of Justice: The Murder of Teresa de Simone
Cold Cases That Shocked the World (Boxed Set)
