I Want to Live!

Play trailer

I Want to Live!

1958

2h 0m

Biography

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Moira Walsh

The Catholic World

11/28/2023

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.

Go to Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

05/09/2023

3/4

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

Go to Full Review

Marion Aitchison

Miami Herald

06/23/2020

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

Go to Full Review

Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

10/21/2019

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

Go to Full Review

Isabel Quigly

The Spectator

07/19/2018

Not for fun and hardly for werewolves.

Go to Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Seanax.com

01/27/2017

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

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Isaiah Y

May 15

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

See more

Martin B

May 14

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.

See more

Alain E

@AlainE Jan 6

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.

See more

05/11/2021

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.

See more

steve d

07/20/2020

Melodramatic but Hayward does a great job.

See more

Rich S

07/01/2020

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.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

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

Man of a Thousand Faces

80%

78%

Man of a Thousand Faces

Watchlist

I'll Cry Tomorrow

86%

74%

I'll Cry Tomorrow

Watchlist

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness

100%

84%

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness

Watchlist

The Long Gray Line

90%

73%

The Long Gray Line

Watchlist

Somebody Up There Likes Me

86%

86%

Somebody Up There Likes Me

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Weekly Ketchup: A "Simpsons Movie" Trailer, "Pirates 3" and "Dark Knight" Tidbits, And More!

Hollywood Giant Robert Wise Passes Away at 91

View more photos

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

Most Popular at Home Now