Underplayed Gems

I Want to Live! (1958)

I Want to Live! poster
Directed by
Robert Wise
Genre
drama film, prison film, biographical film, crime film, trial film
Country
United States
Runtime
2h
Rated
NR
Rating
6.9 of 10 from 120 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A prostitute and habitual criminal is convicted of murder and sent to death row. The film follows her final days as she fights to prove her innocence in a potentially unjust case.

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What happens

I Want to Live! is a 1958 American independent biographical film noir drama film directed by Robert Wise, and starring Susan Hayward, Simon Oakland, Virginia Vincent, and Theodore Bikel. It follows the life of Barbara Graham, a prostitute and habitual criminal, who is convicted of murder and faces capital punishment. The screenplay, written by Nelson Gidding and Don Mankiewicz, was adapted from personal letters written by Graham, in addition to newspaper articles written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ed Montgomery in the San Francisco Examiner. The film presents a highly fictionalized version of the case, indicating the possibility that Graham may have been innocent. Released in late 1958, I Want to Live! was a commercial and critical success, garnering favorable reviews from critics for Hayward's performance, as well as the film's realistic depiction of capital punishment. The film earned a total of six Academy Award nominations, with Hayward winning a Best Actress Oscar at the 31st Academy Awards as well as the Golden Globe Award in the same category. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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