I Want to Live!

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I Want to Live!

Released Nov 18, 1958

2h 0m

Biography

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

18 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

This film tells the riveting true story of brazen bad girl Barbara Graham (Susan Hayward, in an Academy Award-winning performance), a perpetual offender who tries to go straight but is sent to death row after being implicated in a murder. When journalist Ed Montgomery (Simon Oakland), whose initial newspaper articles on Barbara's crime played up her recklessness, becomes convinced that she may be innocent, he begins a desperate campaign to save her from the gas chamber.

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Moira Walsh

The Catholic World

Most of the picture’s impact, however, is the contribution of Susan Hayward, giving the performance of her career as the doomed but indomitable Barbara.

Nov 28, 2023

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The movie works as a showcase for Hayward, who’s superb in the part.

Rated: 3/4

May 9, 2023

Full Review

Marion Aitchison

Miami Herald

It is strong factual drama, thoughtfully presented, with a harrowing climax that is little short of nerve-shattering.

Jun 23, 2020

Full Review

Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Susan Hayward gives one of her stagey but jolting performances...

Oct 21, 2019

Full Review

Isabel Quigly

The Spectator

Not for fun and hardly for werewolves.

Jul 19, 2018

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Sean Axmaker

Seanax.com

... intelligent, adult, and unflinching, making a powerful case against capital punishment while delivering a riveting drama.

Jan 27, 2017

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Isaiah Y

Susan Hayward's greatest performance makes this film worth watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/15/25

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Martin B

I Want to Live or Valley of the Dolls Hayward had one core character. Both she and the picture got acclaim for the raw emotion the account elicited. Really painful to watch. A movie built for an Oscar making it an unfair fight that year. My view the movie was goulash and should never have been made. The phone calls, temporary stays and detail of the process just too much. A documentary would have been better.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

05/14/25

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Alain E

Very intense with probably the longer execution sequence ever on film, including a Catholic priest lighting the cigarette of the condemned. Definitely an Oscar worthy performance.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/06/25

Full Review

Audience Member

Some complain that Susan Hayward's acting is a over-the-top, but I disagree. It's one of her finest performances and that makes it one of the finest acting jobs of her era. The film itself is in incisive portrayal of a flawed woman and America's legal system.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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steve d

Melodramatic but Hayward does a great job.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Rich S

Susan Hayward is the definition of vulpine: crafty, smart and savvy. But her character, Barbara Graham, eventually gets cornered and outnumbered when a job goes awry. This is her true story -- a story littered by her own lies -- as told by the newspaper man who reported on her arrest for murder.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/01/20

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Robert Wise

Director

Susan Hayward

Barbara Graham

Simon Oakland

Edward S. "Ed" Montgomery

Virginia Vincent

Peg

Theodore Bikel

Carl G.G. Palmberg

Wesley Lau

Henry L. Graham

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Synopsis

This film tells the riveting true story of brazen bad girl Barbara Graham (Susan Hayward, in an Academy Award-winning performance), a perpetual offender who tries to go straight but is sent to death row after being implicated in a murder. When journalist Ed Montgomery (Simon Oakland), whose initial newspaper articles on Barbara's crime played up her recklessness, becomes convinced that she may be innocent, he begins a desperate campaign to save her from the gas chamber.

Director: Robert Wise
Producer: Walter Wanger
Screenwriter: Nelson Gidding
Production Co: Figaro Films
Genre: Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 18, 1958, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 25, 2019
Runtime: 2h 0m

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