I Want to Live!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I Want to Live!

DVD/Video cover
Directed by Robert Wise
Produced by Claude Miller
Marcel Berbert
Written by Screenplay:
Nelson Gidding
Don Mankiewicz
Articles:
Ed Montgomery
Letters:
Barbara Graham
Starring Susan Hayward
Simon Oakland
Virginia Vincent
Theodore Bikel
Music by Johnny Mandel
Cinematography Lionel Lindon
Editing by William Hornbeck
Distributed by United Artists
Release date(s) November 18, 1958
Running time 120 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

I Want to Live! (1958) is a drama film noir directed by Robert Wise which tells the "true" story of a woman, Barbara Graham, convicted of murder and facing execution. It features Susan Hayward, Simon Oakland, Stafford Repp, and Theodore Bikel. The movie was adapted from articles written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ed Montgomery based on letters written by Ms. Graham. It was produced by Walter Wanger and directed by Robert Wise.[1]

Despite the epilogue at the end of the film by Ed Montgomery that the film was factual - largely portraying Graham as innocent - there was substantial evidence to the fact that she was complicit in the murder. Hayward told Robert Osborne her research led her to conclude that Graham was guilty.

Despite this, the film has endured as a well known film, earning Hayward her Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The film tells the story of the life and execution of Barbara Graham (Hayward) a prostitute, liar and addict. Graham is the product of a broken home, and works luring men into fixed card games.

At one point she attempts to go straight and marries the wrong man, and has a child.

When her life falls apart, she returns to her former profession and gets involved in a murder. She claims her innocence, yet is convicted and executed.

[edit] Cast

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

[edit] Critical reception

When released the staff at Variety magazine gave the film a favorable review, writing, "There is no attempt to gloss the character of Barbara Graham, only an effort to understand it through some fine irony and pathos. She had no hesitation about indulging in any form of crime or vice that promised excitement on her own, rather mean, terms...Hayward brings off this complex characterization. Simon Oakland, as Montgomery, who first crucified Barbara Graham in print and then attempted to undo what he had done, underplays his role with assurance.[2]

Film critic Bosley Crowther liked the film and wrote, "...Miss Hayward plays it superbly, under the consistently sharp direction of Robert Wise, who has shown here a stunning mastery of the staccato realistic style. From a loose and wise-cracking B-girl she moves onto levels of cold disdain and then plunges down to depths of terror and bleak surrender as she reaches the end. Except that the role does not present us a precisely pretty character, its performance merits for Miss Hayward the most respectful applause."[3]

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 100% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on eleven reviews."[4]

[edit] Awards

Wins

Nominations

  • Directors Guild of America: DGA Award, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, Robert Wise; 1959.
  • Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Lionel Lindon; Best Director, Robert Wise; Best Film Editing, William Hornbeck; Best Sound, Gordon Sawyer (Samuel Goldwyn SSD); Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. Nelson Gidding and Don Mankiewicz; 1959.
  • Golden Globes: Golden Globe, Best Motion Picture - Drama; Best Motion Picture Director, Robert Wise; 1959.
  • Grammy Awards: Grammy, Best Soundtrack Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast, Johnny Mandel; 1959.
  • Writers Guild of America: WGA Award (Screen), Best Written American Drama, Nelson Gidding and Don Mankiewicz; 1959.
  • British Academy of Film and Television Arts: BAFTA Film Award, Best Foreign Actress, Susan Hayward; 1960.

[edit] Adaptation

I Want to Live! was remade for television in 1983. It featured Lindsay Wagner, Martin Balsam, Pamela Reed, Harry Dean Stanton, Dana Elcar, Ellen Geer, Robert Ginty and Barry Primus.

[edit] References

  1. ^ I Want to Live! at the Internet Movie Database.
  2. ^ Variety. Film review, 1958. Last accessed: March 24, 2008.
  3. ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, "Vivid Performance by Susan Hayward; Actress Stars in 'I Want to Live'," November 19, 1958. Last accessed: March 24, 2008.
  4. ^ I Want to Live! at Rotten Tomatoes. Last accessed: March 24, 2008.

[edit] External links


v • d • e
American films of the 1950s
1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959