I Want to Live! (1958)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Nelson Gidding (screenplay) and
Don Mankiewicz (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 November 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Barbara Graham's Last Scream From Gas Chamber...

Plot:

Barbara Graham is a woman with dubious moral standards, often a guest in seedy bars. She has been sentenced for some petty crimes...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Bar | Execution | Newlywed | Femme Fatale

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Susan Hayward	...	Barbara Graham
Simon Oakland	...	Edward S. 'Ed' Montgomery
Virginia Vincent	...	Peg
Theodore Bikel	...	Carl G.G. Palmberg
Wesley Lau	...	Henry L. Graham
Philip Coolidge	...	Emmett Perkins
Lou Krugman	...	John R. 'Jack' Santo
James Philbrook	...	Bruce King
Bartlett Robinson	...	District Attorney Milton
Gage Clarke	...	Attorney Richard G. Tibrow
Joe De Santis	...	Al Matthews
John Marley	...	Father Devers
Raymond Bailey	...	San Quentin Warden
Alice Backes	...	Barbara, San Quentin Nurse
Gertrude Flynn	...	San Quentin Matron

Also Known As:

The Barbara Graham Story (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1959) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | West Germany:12 | UK:15 (video rating) (1998) | UK:X (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Figaro

Trivia:

Inveterate researcher that he is, Robert Wise was determined to capture every grisly element of an execution for the climax of his movie. He visited San Quentin prison and asked for permission to see the gas chamber and witness an actual execution. After he'd seen it and had his art director photograph it and take measurements for set replication purposes, he was still uncertain about how he would structure the last act. He went back to the prison and made one final request for a detailed account of the entire execution procedure. This is what is painstakingly documented in the movie's climax.

Goofs:

Continuity: Keep an eye on the scene when the cops flush out the bad guys from the warehouse by calling them out one by one. As Graham cleans herself up in the mirror, the right side of her face is shown to be heavily scratched and her left cheek is clear, but as soon as she turns away to give herself up, the pattern is reversed.

Quotes:

Carl G.G. Palmberg: Life's a funny thing.
Barbara Graham: Compared to what?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Golden Girls: Sophia's Wedding: Part 1 (#4.6)" (1988)

Was she or not there?

A film starred by Susan Hayward is just an invitation to see it and much more if it is directed by Robert Wise. "I want to live" is the case of a real story shown incompletely. Barbara Graham (Hayward) was what we call a "happy" woman ready to go to parties, dancing, drinking and enjoying her life. She was a woman of doubtful ethics always involved in dirty businesses, and several times punished by the law. The film shows all this well, but not the fact for the one she is sentenced to capital execution. At this point one has to imagine or to guess whether she really participated in the murder of another woman. This question still remains because the film never answered to it. Another characteristic of the film is that Wise shows in details how the gas camera execution is prepared and how it is carried out. Moreover, her execution was a real torture since it was delayed several times. These scenes are certainly tough for any cinema spectator. One may suppose that she was really guilty but definitely not for such a sentence.