There is little that I could add to the other reviews and, if you read them, most will attest to the power of "I Want to Live". This is a jarring, harrowing film from the acting to the jazz score. It is brutally honest in its sordid and ugly depictions of the seedier side of American life - the lowlifes, junkies, "goodtime girls", small-time crims and even a family man taking a walk on the wild side in the opening scene. The preparations and procedures related to capital punishment are even more chillingly depicted than those of "In Cold Blood". The camera angles and the jazz score add to the uncomfortable and off-kilter events of this other world that most of us know about and sometimes visit but do not inhabit. Lastly, Susan Hayward's performance is shattering. "I Want to Live" is a once seen never forgotten experience.
Review of I Want to Live!
