Rent I Want to Live! (1958)

3.6 of 5 from 67 ratings
1h 54min
Rent I Want to Live! Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
Prostitute, party girl, perjurer, bad-check passer, petty criminal. She's all this and more… but is she a murderer? Arrested for fatally beating an elderly widow, Barbara Graham (Susan Hayward) at first goads the police, refusing to answer their questions. But when an alleged accomplice turns state's evidence, Graham insists that she's innocent. Condemned by the press and the public, Graham is found guilty of murder and sentenced to die in the gas chamber. But as her execution date nears, Graham desperately attempts to expose the truth and save her life against all odds.
Actors:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Directors:
Producers:
Walter Wanger
Writers:
Nelson Gidding, Don Mankiewicz
Others:
Gordon E. Sawyer, William Hornbeck, Lionel Lindon
Studio:
MGM Home Entertainment
Genres:
Classics, Drama
Collections:
A History of Films Inspired by Magazine Articles, Behind Bars: Visit These Essential Prison Films, A Brief History of Film...
Awards:

1959 Oscar Best Actress

BBFC:
Release Date:
03/05/2004
Run Time:
114 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, French Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, German Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
Subtitles:
Dutch, English Hard of Hearing, French, Greek
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.66:1
Colour:
B & W

More like I Want to Live!

Found in these customers lists

Reviews (1) of I Want to Live!

Protest Film. - I Want to Live! review by Steve

Spoiler Alert
Updated 07/02/2022

Robert Wise's anti-capital punishment polemic is based on the real life case of Barbara Graham who was executed in San Quentin in 1955 on unreliable evidence. It's a procedural film which explains how the prisoner is processed from their conviction all the way to the death penalty. The system is characterised as barbaric and legally hazardous.    

The film casts doubt over her guilt and argues that she was ill-used by a defective judicial system and the parasitic media. It was based on Graham's letters, and articles by Edward Montgomery, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who initially condemned her, but eventually tried to save her from capital punishment.

Graham was a prostitute with a history of petty crime. She lies by reflex. She is also shown as an affectionate mother who suffered at the hands of others. Susan Hayard is superb as the complex, condemned woman. For my money, Hayward was the great American female dramatic actor of the fifties. 

Wise actually puts us inside the gas chamber with Graham, trapped within the voyeuristic gaze of the press and representatives of law and order. The film makes a powerful case (though has been criticised for altering facts) but it's Hayward's intense, kinetic performance that ultimately dominates the screen.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

Unlimited films sent to your door, starting at £15.99 a month.