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I Want to Live!

Play trailer Poster for I Want to Live! Released Nov 18, 1958 2h 0m Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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I Want to Live!

Critics Reviews

View All (18) Critics Reviews
Nell Minow Movie Mom Rated: 4/5 Jul 25, 2002 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (108) audience reviews
Isaiah Y Susan Hayward's greatest performance makes this film worth watching. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/15/25 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review steve d Melodramatic but Hayward does a great job. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews
I Want to Live!

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Movie Info

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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