SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Lee Eisenberg The story of Barbara Graham is not one that most people in the 21st century would recognize, but it was a major story in the 1950s. Robert Wise's "I Want to Live!" is based on articles written about Graham, who got convicted of taking part in a murder. Susan Hayward plays the protagonist, depicting her as a sorry character whose whole life pretty much conspired against her.There have been questions as to the accuracy of Graham's depiction in the movie. Whatever the case, Hayward puts in a fine performance as the woman whose case almost certainly fired up emotions on both sides. The jazz soundtrack helps to drive the movie, emphasizing the gritty world that Graham inhabited. We might never know the full story of what happened, but it's still a good movie.Also starring Simon Oakland (the psychiatrist in "Psycho"), Raymond Bailey (Mr. Drysdale on "The Beverly Hillbillies") and Dabbs Greer (the older version of Tom Hanks's character in "The Green Mile").

gavin6942 Barbara Graham (1923-1955) is a woman with dubious moral standards, often a guest in seedy bars. She has been sentenced for some petty crimes. Two men she knows murder an older woman. When they get caught they start to think that Barbara has helped the police to arrest them. As revenge they tell the police that Barbara is the murderer.I was not familiar with the Barbara Graham case. I suppose I should say I am still not, at least not enough to compare the film to reality. So on that count, I have no opinion.But as a film in itself, this is great work. I can see the Oscar award was well-deserved. What I liked best, in fact, was how Graham was portrayed not necessarily as sympathetic. Innocent or not, she is coarse and rough around the edges. I appreciate they didn't make her seem too nice.

russellalancampbell There is little that I could add to the other reviews and, if you read them, most will attest to the power of "I Want to Live". This is a jarring, harrowing film from the acting to the jazz score. It is brutally honest in its sordid and ugly depictions of the seedier side of American life - the lowlifes, junkies, "goodtime girls", small-time crims and even a family man taking a walk on the wild side in the opening scene. The preparations and procedures related to capital punishment are even more chillingly depicted than those of "In Cold Blood". The camera angles and the jazz score add to the uncomfortable and off-kilter events of this other world that most of us know about and sometimes visit but do not inhabit. Lastly, Susan Hayward's performance is shattering. "I Want to Live" is a once seen never forgotten experience.

seymourblack-1 "I Want To Live!" is an incredibly powerful drama about a woman who was found guilty of murder in the early 1950s. The events depicted are claimed to be factual and the convicted murderess is portrayed as the innocent victim of a flawed judicial system which found her guilty because of her lack of credibility as a witness, her previous criminal behaviour and the testimony of other criminals who had their own ulterior motives. The lack of hard evidence against her makes the outcome of the trial seem to be a travesty and this plays into the strong position that this movie takes against the use of capital punishment.Following the failure of her third marriage, Barbara "Bonnie" Graham (Susan Hayward) who'd been involved in petty crime throughout her life, returns to work with one of her previous bosses Emmett Perkins (Philip Coolidge). She's unaware that Perkins and his associates John Santo (Lou Krugman) and Bruce King (James Philbrook) had recently carried out an attempted robbery during which an elderly widow called Mabel Monahan had been pistol-whipped to death. It comes as a great surprise, therefore, when she, Perkins and Santo are arrested by the police and charged with involvement in the old lady's murder.Despite her protestations of innocence, Graham becomes the prime suspect after Perkins, Santo and King all claim that she was responsible for the killing. Perkins and Santo think that if she's convicted, it will reduce their chances of being sentenced to death and King is granted immunity for turning state's evidence. Graham is subsequently found guilty of murder and is sentenced to be executed at San Quentin prison. A whole series of appeals and stays of execution then follow as every effort is made to prevent Graham's sentence from being carried out.Barbara Graham is depicted as a sympathetic character who, as the product of a broken home, had known no other way of life than being involved with the criminal fraternity. Her various convictions provide evidence of her reprehensible lifestyle but her propensity to eschew self-interest to help others (as she does in the circumstances which result in her being found guilty of prostitution and perjury) is also shown as a redeeming quality. Similarly, the circumstances under which she's tricked into incriminating herself by a fellow prison inmate and an undercover police officer are also conveyed as being just as odious as the way in which she was betrayed by her criminal associates.Judged purely on its merits as a drama, "I Want To Live!" is top class and Robert Wise's direction is terrific as so much pace is injected into the early part of the movie and then later it slows down very effectively as the tension intensifies when the story's conclusion approaches. Susan Hayward's Oscar-winning performance is also integral to the film's success because so much of the focus is on her throughout. Her ability to capture her character's range of emotions and behaviours at different stages of her life is flawless and a considerable achievement by any standards.