I Want to Live! (1958)

A prostitute, sentenced to death for murder, pleads her innocence.

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Nelson Gidding (screenplay), Don Mankiewicz (screenplay) (as Don M. Mankiewicz)

Stars:

Susan Hayward, Simon Oakland, Virginia Vincent

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as Gage Clark)
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

Storyline

Barbara Graham 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.

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Plot Keywords:

death row | jazz score | execution of woman | true crime | courtroom drama | 

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Taglines:

The murder trial that shook the world!

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

While the ending credits are filmed outside of the actual San Quentin prison, the gas chamber scene was filmed on a replica set constructed on a soundstage.

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Goofs

In her murder trial Barbara's attorney puts her on the witness stand where under cross examination the prosecution asks her about her previous conviction for perjury. No attorney, not even the worst court appointed attorney, would put a defendant on the witness stand knowing they had a previous conviction for perjury.

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Quotes

Edward S. 'Ed' Montgomery: It's Mrs. Graham's tough luck to be young, attractive, belligerent, immoral... and guilty as hell.

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Crazy Credits

Before the first images comes the disclaimer: "You are about to see a factual story. It is based on articles I wrote, other newspaper and magazine articles, court records, legal and private correspondence, investigative reports, personal interviews - and the letter of Barbara Graham." Edgar S. Montgomery - Pulitzer Prize winner. San Francisco Examiner.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Teen-Age Crime Wave (1994)

User Reviews

Black And White And Shades Of Gray

This is the story of Barbara Graham, party girl and petty criminal, who was charged, along with two men, in the March, 1953, real life slaying of Mabel Monohan, a wealthy and elderly widow who lived in Burbank, California. Technically, "I Want To Live" is a high quality production. It has excellent B&W photography, superb editing, a jazzy score; and, it features Susan Hayward's Oscar winning performance as Barbara Graham, a young woman portrayed as independent-minded, tough as nails, feisty, defiant, vulnerable, and a good mother.

Both at the beginning and at the end of this Robert Wise directed film the viewer is informed that the story is "factual". But the screenplay never delves into the actual "facts" of the murder. We don't learn anything about the victim, her relationships, the crime scene, or any of a thousand important details that must surely have surrounded this high profile case. Instead, the film focuses entirely on Graham, and goes out of its way to portray her as innocent, in the Monohan murder.

Even a cursory review of available literature suggests that the film, while "factual" in some respects, is fictional in others. For example, in reality, the police did not capture Graham and her two male friends in a warehouse at night, as the film portrays; they captured the three in a seedy apartment in daytime. The film omits her addiction to heroin. In more than one way, the film presents Graham sympathetically, and as a victim of the criminal justice system. There's an interesting story about the film's producer, and his motivations for making this film the way he did.

Nevertheless, I am not convinced, beyond a reasonable doubt, that she was guilty, mainly because I do not have access to the detailed "facts" of the Monohan case. After all these years, the truth regarding the murder has become cloudy, obscure.

It is the thick fog surrounding the real life case that makes the film's final thirty minutes so gut-wrenching, as we await Barbara Graham's fate. Suspense is heightened by a deadline-induced outcome that will either be black or white, all or nothing, but certainly not gray. In setting out to portray a woman wrongly accused of murder, the filmmakers have thus created an ending that is amazingly effective.

"I Want To Live" is a well made Hollywood production with riveting suspense. But keep in mind the film presents only the case for the defense, which may or may not be consistent with the truth.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 1958 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Barbara Graham Story

Filming Locations:

Bunker Hill, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,383,578 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walter Wanger Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1