It's interesting to see that Robert Wise, whose most famous film must be The Sound of Music, and who definitely began fully embedded in the Hollywood system, seems to have had in the 1950s a brief foray into more independent productions like this and Odds Against Tomorrow, not made by big studios and with a more independent feel. This was produced by Walter Wanger. It's a well-made film.
I Want To Live! purports to be a completely factual account of the later life and death of Barbara Graham by journalist Edward Montgomery, who began his coverage of her as a murderous slut but came around to her bravery, sense of style and protestations of innocence. The screenplay's by Nelson Gidding and Don Mankiewicz, and there's some doubt about its accuracy and that maybe Graham was involved in the murder.
What is insane about the court case is that had they examined the testimony of one of the actual murderers who said she struck the victim with a gun (?) in her right hand, whilst she was left-handed, things never would have got so far.
The film is soaked in jazz (notably Stan Getz and Shelly Mann, Hollywood's go-to percussionist; John Mandel wrote the score) and has a good jazz-noir feel; is quite explicit about drug-taking and shows a nasty assault on the woman; the will-they won't-they ending - whilst I'm sure true - is perhaps trying for the audience. But to show the full horror of the execution was hopefully useful in changing capital punishment law in some of the more liberal states.
Didn't know anyone really in the cast. Simon Oakland is the journalist (much on TV, though also in features like Bullitt and The Sand Pebbles). Virginia Vincent the best friend. Theodore Bikel is the psychiatrist, Philip Coolidge and Lou Frugman are the murderers, Gage Clark the attorney, Alice Backes a sympathetic Death Row nurse.
Oh yes - I forgot to mention Oscar winner Susan Hayward, who's fabulous. I think maybe her style now would seem to be a bit too 'actory', but she makes a gutsy go of it and is still extremely watchable.
Photographed by Lionel Linden, editing by William Hornbeck.
We last watched it on 25 November 1991, 'ultimately gloomy' was the summary. Not sure it's a film you'd want to watch too often.
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