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Rating: 5 out of 5
Have you ever heard of Barbara Graham? Does it ring any bells? If you’re a young person like me, you may not have heard of her. Hell, you could be an older person and never heard of her. Here is another question. Here is a quick lesson. Barbara Elaine “Bonnie” Wood Graham (DAMN! That’s a long name) was a convicted criminal of murder. After living a life of crime and sex work, she was charged and found guilty of murder before being sent to the gas chamber at San Quentin Prison. She was given the nickname “Bloody Babs” and was the third woman in Cali history to be executed by gas.
Have you ever seen the movie I Want to Live!? If you are like me, you haven’t or might have heard of it but never got around to watching it. The film follows the life of Barbara Graham and was adapted from a screenplay written by Nelson Gidding and Don Mankiewicz, who drew their information from letters written by Graham and newspaper articles surrounding the case, which were written by Ed Montgomery, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his work. Warning note: the film is fictionalized and suggests that Graham might have been innocent.
This riveting film starts off in 1950 in San Francisco. We are introduced to Barabar Graham (Hayward) in the hot and heavy jazz bar where the music is poppin’. Barbara is a fast and wild living woman who is a petty criminal and prostitute. One night, she gets popped on a misdemeanor charge of soliciting sex. She decides to return to her hometown of San Diego but is soon charged with perjury after providing a false alibi for two of her friends. She does a stint for four or five years, and once she gets out, she returns to tricking and engaging in other criminal activities. Can’t take the hustler out of people. She works with Emmett Perkins by luring men to his gambling parlor. When he makes a significant amount of money, she throws up the deuces to Emmett, quits his business, and marries Hank, who is her third husband. Damn, gurl! Three times, and you are only in your twenties. The couple have a son, Bobby, but the love is soon lost in the relationship as Hank LOVES heroin as he is straight-up addicted to it and is physically abusive.
Barbara kicks Hank’s abusive ass out of the apartment but soon is evicted herself. With nowhere to turn or go, she leaves Bobby with her mom and goes back to working for Emmett, who is not in league with John Santo and Bruce King. Unlike the good times before, the cops have been watching, and soon they shut down the entire operation; Barbara decides to surrender. During the interrogation, Barabara thinks she will be slapped with another misdemeanor charge until she learns that she is being charged with murder for helping Perkins and Santo kill Mabel Monohan. Barabra is like, y’all shittin me and says she was home with her husband and son the night of the killing. The police and community think otherwise, and she is indicted by a grand jury. Barabara’s life just got real, and the choices of the past are about to bite her on the ass.
First, I want to commend the performance of Susan Hayward. She made this movie, and you watched it to see what would happen to Barbara. Hayward brought all the pain, love, manipulation, and survival instincts that Barbara had in her short life. Hayward was the diamond in this film, as she was a diva in prison, smoking and playing her music. She also was the scared little girl when the execution was delayed a couple of times. Every time Hayward came on screen, she stole the show. Even during the court case, Hayward portrayed Barbara as a terrified person, but it was unclear whether it was an act, as her lawyer had requested to be removed from the case. Everything Hayward did in this film showed why she won the Oscar for Best Actress.
I want to talk about the aesthetic and cinematography of this film. I loved how it was shot and the vibe it gave. The black-and-white feel of the film added to its overall appeal, but the shots were outstanding. The opening scene drew me into the movie with its jazz music and the club setting. I thought it was going to be about a woman who wanted to live life to the fullest, based on that opening scene. Oh, was I wrong. Even then, the film had excellent scenes. The scene before she was caught was intense. She was slapped around, but you could see the fear in everyone’s face. The sweat rolling down each person’s face. Done so well. The film takes off with the court case. I loved how the case went, and then it transitioned to a newspaper or news report. That dynamic showed how Barabra viewed the case versus what was being reported. The execution scene was beautifully shot. The carpet rolled out, and Barbara walked out in high-heeled shoes before one came off. The whole scene was shot so well, as she was called in and let out before being called in again. You could see that she was terrified and just wanted to get it over with.
The story is an account of articles and personal letters. I would like to read the news articles to gain a comprehensive understanding of the case. Two things the story does is try to almost put out in the world that Barbara is innocent and the idea that the death penalty is wrong. First, Barbara is a complex character who has done some things that one might not look too fondly upon. The film suggests that regardless of what she says or does during the case, she is perceived as guilty. Her husband is a heroin addict, so you can’t trust him. She was fooled by an undercover officer who she thought was her friend. You somewhat believe her until her perjury side comes up, and that is a game changer. When the shrink comes in at the end, he mentions that she couldn’t have done it because she is left-handed. Are these questions valid? Maybe.
The second is the idea of capital punishment or the death penalty. Some people believe that it should be around. Why keep a person around when they took the life of someone else. The execution scene was intense because the gas chamber was cyanide poisoning. You feel for the scene because after her appeal was denied, each time she was about to face death, the phone would ring, and she would have to go back to her cell. Think of knowing that you are going to die, but each time you’re on the cliff of death, you get pulled back a step. It almost seemed like a petty game. It makes you think if the way of doing this is the right way.
I Want to Live! is a great film. I was pleasantly surprised by the story of the film and how it was portrayed on screen. Susan Hayward did an outstanding job portraying Barbara Graham as she was a very complex character. I highly recommend this film because it will prompt you to think critically about the death penalty and the issue of lying in court. One of the best films of the year.
