Classic Film Guide

I Want to Live! (1958)

Susan Hayward finally won her Best Actress Oscar (on her fifth, and last, nomination) playing Barbara Graham in this "true" story. Ms. Graham was a small-time crook who "hung out" and partied with the wrong type of people. Because of these associations and her own actions, she was sentenced to death for her involvement with a couple of killers. Her letters, as she fought to escape the gas chamber, and newspaper writer Ed Montgomery's articles were used to develop the Oscar-nominated Screenplay (Nelson Gidding and Don Mankiewicz's only Academy recognition). Director Robert Wise was also nominated, as was its B&W Cinematography - Lionel Lindon's (Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)) last nomination, Editing - William Hornbeck's (A Place in the Sun (1951)) last nomination, and Sound. Notable supporting actors include Simon Oakland as Montgomery, Virginia Vincent, Theodore Bikel, and Gaven MacLeod.

Purchase this DVD now at Movies Unlimited - Buy it NOW!

Find your movie or DVD now @:Find your movie at MoviesUnlimited.com.

 

[Home] [Hitchcock] [Oscar's Best] [Essays] [Essential Films] [TCM Picks] [Obscure Films] [Links] [Other Reviews] [Academy Awards] [Silent Films] [Movie Index]