TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary of the Collection
Biography of Robert W. Bergstrom
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Inventory of the Robert W. Bergstrom Papers, 1924-1999, bulk 1959-1970
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Alison Hinderliter, 2005. ©2005. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
|
| Creator | Bergstrom, Robert W., 1918- |
| Title | Robert W. Bergstrom Papers |
| Dates | 1924-1999, |
| Dates | bulk 1959-1970 |
| Extent | 6.9 linear feet (12 boxes, 1 oversize box, and 4 microfilm reels) |
| Abstract | Research and legal case files for the 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder criminal court proceedings, and the 1959-1970 civil suits of Leopold vs. Meyer Levin et al. over Levin's book Compulsion. Bergstrom represented Levin in the latter case. |
| Language | Materials are in English. |
| Repository | Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
| Collection Call Number | Midwest MS Bergstrom |
| Collection Stack Location | 3a 35 10 and Microfilm Storage |
Administrative Information
Cite As
Robert W. Bergstrom Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Provenance
Gift, Robert W. Bergstrom, 1999.
Processed by
Alison Hinderliter, 2005.
Acknowledgements
This inventory was created with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this inventory do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Access
The Robert W. Bergstrom Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Robert W. Bergstrom Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
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Biography of Robert W. Bergstrom
Robert Bergstrom was born in Chicago in 1918. In 1940, he was admitted to the Illinois bar and began his practice in Chicago, specializing in representing entertainment corporations. In 1959, Bergstrom took a case representing Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, Darryl F. Zanuck Productions, and fifty-seven motion picture theaters that had exhibited the film Compulsion. The film was based on the book of the same name by Meyer Levin, which was a fictionalized account of the famed "Crime of the Century", the 1924 kidnap/murder case of Leopold and Loeb. Nathan F. Leopold Jr., the surviving partner of the criminal duo, brought suit for an accounting for profits (approximately $2,900,000) for the use of Leopold's crime and trial. After several trials and appeals, the decision was finally made in favor for the defendants (Meyer Levin et al.), in 1970.
Amongst many other awards and distinctions, Bergstrom has a Preeminent Bar Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in thanks for his work with the motion picture industry. On November 28, 2003, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano declared it Robert W. Bergstrom Day in Arizona. Bergstrom died on June 4, 2006.
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Scope and Content of the Collection
Case files, exhibits, and testimony regarding People of the State of Illinois vs. Nathan F. Leopold, Jr. and Richard Loeb (1924), and several civil suits of Nathan F. Leopold, Jr. vs. Levin, et al.
Leopold and Loeb were University of Chicago students, sons of wealthy and prominent Chicago families. In the first case, Leopold and Loeb (then 19) kidnapped and murdered 15-year old Bobby Franks; the case commanded national and international attention. After their detection and indictment, their parents retained famed lawyer Clarence Darrow to defend them. During the trial, Darrow delivered a long and impassioned speech against capital punishment, and the two young men were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, in addition to 99 years for kidnapping for ransom. The complete transcript of these proceedings, including Darrow's speech and the psychiatric evaluations of both Leopold and Loeb, is available in this collection on microfilm and on paper. Photostatic copies of related legal documents follow, as do copies of Chicago newspapers from 1924 and 1927 (when Leopold and Loeb were accused of a second murder).
When Meyer Levin published his fictionalized account of the murder and trial in 1959, Leopold sued Levin, the book publishers, and the movie industry and theatres that produced and showed the movie version. (Loeb had been killed in prison in 1936 by another inmate). The latter series of case files cover the progression of suits heard in the Circuit Court of Cook County, in U.S. District Court, and Supreme Court of Illinois from 1959 to 1970. Bergstrom took Leopold's complete deposition in November, 1960, and the transcript for that deposition is in the Illinois Supreme Court's Record on Appeal, Vol. II-A. Exhibits to the case include correspondence, publicity for the book and movie, contracts, screenplays, and books. The exhibits are in paper and microfilm format; the exhibits on microfilm are more extensive and include more correspondence between those involved in producing the motion picture Compulsion.
After the legal files there are some miscellaneous files of research material and other items that might have been used as exhibits in the suits. These include newsclippings, the screenplay adaptation of Compulsion, and two articles written by Leopold on crime and imprisonment.
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Arrangement
Materials organized in sections, with Bergstrom's index and description of the files at the beginning, with a brief summary of both trials. The first section is the transcript from the original Leopold and Loeb murder case; the files following are of the Leopold vs. Levin et al. civil suits. Oversize newsclippings and microfilm reels are listed at the end of the collection (microfilm reels are stored in the Microfilm Storage Room).
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Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Names
- Darrow, Clarence, 1857-1938
- Leopold, Nathan Freudenthal, 1904 or 5-1971
- Levin, Meyer, 1905-
- Loeb, Richard A., 1905 or 6-1936
- Pocket Books
- Simon and Schuster, inc.
- Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Subjects
- Clippings
- Lawyers -- Illinois -- Cook County
- Manuscripts, American -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Microfilms
- Trials (Murder) -- Illinois -- Cook County
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Container List |
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| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Bergstrom, Robert- index and description of files, 1999 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2-4 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Transcripts, Vol. I, pp. 1-573 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5-6 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Transcripts, Vol. II, pp. 574-973 | |||||||||
| 2 | 7-8 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Transcripts, Vol. II, pp. 974-1363 | |||||||||
| 2 | 9-11 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Transcripts, Vol. III, pp. 1364-1892 | |||||||||
| 3 | 12-15 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Transcripts, Vol. IV, pp. 1894-2802 | |||||||||
| 3 | 16-17 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Transcripts, Vol. V, pp. 2803-3148 | |||||||||
| 4 | 18-19 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Transcripts, Vol. V, pp. 3149-3461-A | |||||||||
| 4 | 20-22 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Transcripts, Vol. VI, pp. 3462-3936 | |||||||||
| 4 | 23 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Transcripts, Vol. VII, pp. 3937-4070 (pp. 4055-4059 [part of Darrow’s testimony] is lacking. | |||||||||
| 5 | 24-25 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Transcripts, Vol. VII, pp. 4071-4411 | |||||||||
| 5 | 26 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Index: Psychiatric Examination, Nathan Leopold, Jr., | |||||||||
| 5 | 27 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Index: Psychiatric Examination, Richard Loeb, | |||||||||
| 5 | 28 | Leopold and Loeb Case, 1924 - Legal and criminal court documents, photostatic copies, | |||||||||
| 5 | 29 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Exhibit 1: Levin's novel Compulsion, New York: Pocket Books, 1959 | |||||||||
| 6 | 30 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Exhibits 2 and 2A: Levin's play Compulsion, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1959 | |||||||||
| (two copies) | |||||||||||
| 6 | 31 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Exhibits 3-33: Correspondence and Clippings, various, 1954-1959 | |||||||||
| 6 | 32 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Exhibit 66 to deposition of Nathan F. Leopold - Leopold's memoir Life Plus 99 Years, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1958 | |||||||||
| 6 | 33-34 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Plaintiff's Deposition, Abstract, 1960 | |||||||||
| 6 | 35 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Transcript, Oct. 5, 1960 | |||||||||
| 6 | 36 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Brief of the "Motion Picture Defendants" in opposition to Plaintiff's motion for summary judgement, Jun. 30, 1961 | |||||||||
| 6 | 37 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Judge's Orders and motions of defendants, Apr.-May 1964 | |||||||||
| 7 | 38 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Transcript, Feb. 27, 1965 | |||||||||
| 7 | 39 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Transcripts, Jan.-Apr. 1966 | |||||||||
| 7 | 40 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Request for Admissions of Fact, No. 2, and Exhibits A-L, Oct. 3, 1966 | |||||||||
| 7 | 41 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Transcript, report of proceedings, Jul. 25, 1967 | |||||||||
| 7 | 42 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087 - Transcript, report of proceedings, Mar. 29, 1968 | |||||||||
| 7 | 43 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087, transferred to Federal Court, 59 C 1896, Pleadings I, 1960 | |||||||||
| 8 | 44 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Cook County No. 59 C 14087, transferred to Federal Court, 59 C 1896, Pleadings II, Answers of Defendants to Complaint, and deposition of Ralph G. Newman, ca. 1959-1960 | |||||||||
| 8 | 45 | Leopold vs. 20th Century Fox et al., No. 59 C 1587 and 59 C 1896, Pleadings, 1959-1960 | |||||||||
| 8 | 46 | Leopold vs. Levin et al. - Pleadings VII-A, VII-B, Letter of Jan. 13, 1966 to Hon. Abraham W. Brussell, transmitting current authorities, 1965-1966 | |||||||||
| 8 | 47 | Leopold vs. Levin et al. - Pleadings VIII, Answering memorandum of Defendants filed Jul. 24, 1967, and Appendix A | |||||||||
| 9 | 48 | Leopold vs. Levin (20th Century Fox Film Corporation) - Pleading IX, Judge Brussell, Chronological History of proceedings and findings, orders and judgement, Mar. 29 and Apr. 1, 1968 | |||||||||
| 9 | 49 | Leopold vs. Levin et al. - Pleadings X, Appeal, 1964 | |||||||||
| 9 | 50 | Leopold vs. Levin et al. - Pleadings X, 2nd Appeal, 1966-1970 | |||||||||
| 9 | 51 | Leopold vs. Levin et al. - Pleadings, X-A, briefs and correspondence certified to Supreme Court, 1968 | |||||||||
| 10 | 52 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Illinois Supreme Court No. 38912 - Record on Appeal, Vol. I-A | |||||||||
| 10 | 53 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Illinois Supreme Court No. 38912 - Record on Appeal, Vol. I-B | |||||||||
| 10 | 54 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Illinois Supreme Court No. 38912 - Record on Appeal, Vol. II-A, transcript of Leopold's testimony, Nov. 15, 1960 | |||||||||
| 11 | 55 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Illinois Supreme Court No. 38912 - Record on Appeal, Vol. II-B, arguments before Judge Kluczinski, 1962 | |||||||||
| 11 | 56 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Illinois Supreme Court No. 38912 - Record on Appeal, Vol. III-A | |||||||||
| 11 | 57 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Illinois Supreme Court No. 38912 - Record on Appeal, Vol. III-B | |||||||||
| 11 | 58 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Illinois Supreme Court No. 41498 - Defendants-Appellees' excerpts from record (printed), Sept. term, 1968 | |||||||||
| 11 | 59 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Illinois Supreme Court No. 41498 - Brief of Defendants-Appellees (printed), Sept. term, 1968 | |||||||||
| 12 | 60 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Illinois Supreme Court No. 41598 - Oral Argument, May 22, 1969 | |||||||||
| 12 | 61 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Illinois Supreme Court No. 41498 - Opinion of the Court, May 1969, May 1970 | |||||||||
| 12 | 62 | Murphy, Richard, Compulsion (screenplay), 1958 | |||||||||
| 12 | 63 | Compulsion (film), reviews, 1959 | |||||||||
| 12 | 64 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., Research Material, 1961-1968 | |||||||||
| 12 | 65 | Leopold, Nathan, "Crime and Punishment", in San Juan Review, Nov. 1964 | |||||||||
| 12 | 66 | Leopold, Nathan, "Imprisonment has no future in a free society", in Key Issues, v. 2, 1965 | |||||||||
| 12 | 67 | Leopold vs. Levin et al., verdict, newsclippings about, 1970 | |||||||||
| 13 | 68 | Oversize: Clippings of Leopold and Loeb kidnap/murder trial of Bobby Franks (photostatic copies; negatives), 1924 | |||||||||
| 13 | 69 | Oversize: Clippings of Leopold and Loeb trial for mutilation of taxicab driver Charles Ream (photostatic copies; positives), 1927 | |||||||||
| 13 | 70 | Oversize: Clippings of Leopold's serialized confessions in the Chicago Daily News (photostatic copies; positives), 1927 | |||||||||
| 13 | 71 | Oversize: Clippings, various, 1999 | |||||||||
| Reels 1-2 | Microfilm: Leopold and Loeb Case, Transcripts, 1924 | ||||||||||
| Reel 3 | Microfilm: Leopold and Loeb Case, Index: Psychiatric Examinations, Richard Loeb, Nathan Leopold, Jr., 1924 | ||||||||||
| Reel 4 | Microfilm: Compulsion – Exhibits (including movie publicity; correspondence with Charles Einfeld, Harry Brand, Bradford Dillman, Richard Zanuck, and others; Contract, Darryl F. Zanuck and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation; lists of theatres showing Compulsion; Itineraries of publicists; Agreements with Pocket books and Simon & Schuster; and Richard Murphy’s screenplay), 1958-1959 | ||||||||||