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Leopold and Loeb - TV Tropes

  • ️Fri Feb 14 2025

Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr. and Richard Albert Loeb were two Americans who became infamous for the kidnapping and murder of the 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks on the 21st May 1924, in Chicago, Illinois. Usually referred to collectively as Leopold and Loeb, the two men and their murder of Franks have influenced and been referenced in popular culture for decades.

Both were born in Chicago (Leopold on the 19th November, 1904 and Loeb on the 11th June, 1905) to wealthy part-Jewish families. The two of them were regarded as exceptionally intelligent and became close friends. Loeb had been committing crimes since a young age and, in exchange for sexual favours, Leopold agreed to cooperate with his criminal endeavours. The severity of these crimes increased over time, until the two eventually decided to commit The Perfect Crime, which they hoped would prove their superior intelligence. Leopold was also influenced by the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, especially his concept of the Übermensch, a man to whom morals do not apply. After months of planning and preparation, Leopold and Loeb were finally ready to commit their "perfect crime".

On the 21st May, 1924, the two men offered Bobby Franks a lift home from school in a car they had rented. Franks was a neighbour and acquaintance of Loeb, so eventually accepted their offer. Whilst in the car, one of the men murdered Franks with a chisel. Leopold and Loeb then drove to where they planned on hiding the body: a culvert near Wolf Lake. Before putting the body in the culvert, they poured hydrochloric acid onto Frank's face and genitals to hide his identity and circumcision (he was also Jewish). To confuse the police, they later called Franks' parents, told them he was kidnapped and demanded a ransom.

Despite Leopold and Loeb's efforts, the body was not well hidden and the police found it the next day, along with a pair of very distinctive prescriptive glasses. To make himself seem innocent, Loeb got involved with the subsequent police investigation. The police later traced the glasses to Leopold (his glasses had an unusual hinge, which had only been purchased by three customers in Chicago, of which Leopold was one), though he claimed he had dropped them previously and that, on the day of the murder, he had been spending time elsewhere with Loeb. This alibi was soon proven to be a lie. Eventually, Leopold and Loeb confessed to killing Bobby Franks. Both men, however, accused the other one of having actually committed the killing, while he himself was "merely" the getaway driver. Neither of the men claimed to have looked forward to the killing, but Leopold admitted to have been interested in discovering how it would feel to be a murderer. He noted, to his disappointment, that he did not feel any different.

The subsequent trial soon became famous nationwide. Renowned attorney Clarence Darrow (who would later go on to become further renowned with his role in the Scopes Trial) was bought on for the defence. He made a passionate plea defending Leopold and Loeb, in which he criticised the death penalty and post-First World War bloodlust. The judge was persuaded, and the two men were spared execution, being given life sentences instead.

Loeb was murdered in prison in 1936, while Leopold was eventually released on parole in 1958. As part of his campaign for parole, he wrote an autobiography the same year: Life Plus 99 Years. Though mostly well received, some complained it whitewashed his life with the aim of improving his public image. Leopold spent the last years of his life in Puerto Rico, obtaining a masters degree at the University of Puerto Rico, getting married and writing The Birds of Puerto Rico. Reportedly, Leopold did not stop committing crime, though he was never caught. He died in 1971.

Leopold and Loeb became considerable figures in popular culture. This includes books, films and plays based on or influenced by their crimes, as well as a significant amount of references in fiction. They also frequently appear in True Crime series.

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Works influenced by Leopold and Loeb or containing references to them:

Comics 

Film - Live Action 

  • Compulsion (1959) — an adaptation of the book of the same name. Trying to rehabilitate his public image and disliking the way the book portrayed him, Leopold tried to block publication of the film, though ultimately failed.
  • Funny Games (1997) — written and directed by Michael Haneke, the two antagonists in Funny Games were influenced by Leopold and Loeb.
    • This influence continued into the 2008 Shot-for-Shot Remake (also written and directed by Michael Haneke). Michael Pitt plays Paul, one of the antagonists influenced by Leopold and Loeb, which is the second time he's played a Leopold/Loeb influenced character, as he played another in Murder by Numbers (2002).
  • Murder By Numbers (2002) — directed by Barbet Schroeder, the film is loosely based on the Leopold and Loeb case. However, the film changes the victim from a boy to a woman.
  • Rope (1948) — an adaptation of the play of the same name, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
  • RSVP (2002) — directed by Mark Anthony Galluzzo, this film was influenced by (and also references) Alfred Hitchcock's Rope. Leopold and Loeb themselves are also referenced.
  • Scream (1996) — the Ghostface killers are noted by the film's screenwriter Kevin Williamson as having parallels with Leopold and Loeb.
  • Swoon (1992) — a fictionalised account of the murder written and directed by Tom Kalin.

Literature 

  • Compulsion (1956) — a fictionalised account of Leopold and Loeb's murder of Franks written by Meyer Levin. The names of Leopold and Loeb were changed to Steiner and Straus, though other than that the book stays fairly close to the facts of the crime. Leopold was not a fan of the book's portrayal of him.
  • Native Son (1940) — written by Richard Wright, the novel contains multiple references to the Leopold and Loeb case. It also seems to be one of the influences on the book's plot. Like Leopold and Loeb, Bigger Thomas (the protagonist of Native Son) commits a murder after driving someone in a car (though unlike Leopold and Loeb, Bigger's murder of Mary occurs outside the car and is not premeditated). The most significant similarity is that, as Leopold and Loeb did with Franks' parents, Bigger sends a ransom note to Mary's parents, pretending she was kidnapped (with Bigger taking direct inspiration from Leopold and Loeb in his plan to collect the ransom money). The novel also involves a long, passionate speech by a lawyer that says Society Is to Blame for Bigger's crimes, not unlike Darrow's speech.
  • The Secret History (1992) — written by Donna Tartt, who confirmed Leopold and Loeb were an influence on the book. The plot also has parallels to Rope.
  • These Violent Delights (2020) — a reinterpretation of the Leopold and Loeb case written by Micah Nemerever. It is set in Pittsburgh instead of Chicago and involves the murder of a veteran of the Vietnam War instead of a 14-year-old.

Live-Action TV 

Podcast 

Radio 

Theatre 

  • Inherit the Wind (1955) — a fictionalised account of Clarence Darrow's role in the Scopes Trial. Leopold and Loeb are referenced.
  • Never The Sinner (1985) — a play by John Logan that recounts the crime.
  • Rope (1929) — a play by Patrick Hamilton inspired by Leopold and Loeb's killing of Franks. Leopold and Loeb influenced the characters of Wyndham Brandon and Charles Granillo, while Ronald Kentley is the equivalent to Franks.
  • Thrill Me (2005) — a musical based on Leopold and Loeb's murder of Franks.
  • Weird Comic Book Fantasy (2003) — a play that revolves around characters from Archie Comics, with the addition of Leopold and Loeb as characters.

Web Video 

  • LegalEagle (2020) — Devin explores the two and their murder of Franks in "Leopold & Loeb's Perfect Murder Gone Wrong", an episode of his True Crime The Case Of series.

Tropes associated with Leopold and Loeb as portrayed in fiction:

  • Ambiguously Gay: In works where the Leopold and Loeb-esque killers aren't explicitly in some form of non-platonic relationship, they'll often still be ambiguously gay or bisexual.
  • Big Bad Duumvirate: In works where the Leopold and Loeb inspired killers are the main antagonists, such as both versions of Funny Games, this will naturally apply.
  • For the Evulz: Fictional killers influenced by Leopold and Loeb will often be 'Thrill Killers', committing murder(s) just for the stimulation.
  • The Perfect Crime: Characters inspired by Leopold and Loeb will often try to commit the 'Perfect Crime'. Whether they succeed or fail like Leopold and Loeb did depends on the work.
  • Outlaw Couple: Fictional killers inspired by Leopold and Loeb will often be in some form of romantic and/or sexual relationship (though sometimes only by implication).
  • Roman à Clef: Compulsion is a fairly direct retelling of Leopold and Loeb's murder of Bobby Franks, but changes all of the names. This didn't stop Nathan Leopold from trying to block production of the 1959 film adaptation.
  • Ripped from the Headlines: There have been fairly direct retellings of Leopold and Loeb's murder of Bobby Franks, such as Swoon and Compulsion, and other works loosely inspired by the murder, such as Rope.
  • Society Is to Blame: Lawyers inspired by Darrow will often use this as a defence for Leopold and Loeb-esque killers.
  • The Sociopath: Characters inspired by Richard Loeb will often feel a Lack of Empathy, manipulate and charm their way into people's affections, and kill without any remorse. Sometimes, characters inspired by Nathan Leopold will also display these traits, though if they do, it's usually to a lesser extent than their Loeb-inspired counterparts.
  • Straw Nihilist: Characters inspired by the two will often espouse these sorts of beliefs, possibly in defence of what they have done.
  • Sympathetic Villain, Despicable Villain: In works with characters inspired by the duo, the Leopold-analogue will often be more reluctant to commit the crime and more guilty after committing it than the Loeb-analogue, who will often feel next to nothing about murdering someone. How 'sympathetic' the Leopold-analogue actually is will vary depending on the work, but he'll usually be (at least relatively) more sympathetic than the Loeb-analogue. Rope is an example of this, though makes it clear that both are equally culpable.
  • Teens Are Monsters: Characters inspired by Leopold and Loeb will often be teenagers or young adults who think nothing of murdering someone.
  • Übermensch: The works of Friedrich Nietzsche, especially the concept of a 'Superman' above morality, will often inspire and/or be used as justification by Leopold and Loeb-esque killers.
  • Villain Protagonist: Some works focus on the perspectives of the killers influenced by Leopold and Loeb.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Surprisingly, frequently Averted in works influenced by the case, as the victim is often changed to an adult (such as in Rope). Of course, there are works that play this straight. These are usually more direct retellings of the murder, though some works with a looser connection to the case also have the Leopold and Loeb analogues willing to hurt a child, such as in both versions of Funny Games.