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I Want to Live! (1958)

Posted on July 2, 2013 | 2 comments

I Want to Live!
Directed by Robert Wise
1958/USA
Figaro
First viewing

[box] Carl G.G. Palmberg: Life’s a funny thing.

Barbara Graham: Compared to what?[/box]

This noir biofilm won Susan Hayward an Academy Award.

Hayward portrays Barbara Graham as a jazz-loving wise-cracking good-time girl. The film covers Graham’s life as she starts out a good-hearted call girl, then suffers hard times as the wife of a junkie, and finally gets involved with some hardcore criminals. A robbery goes wrong and a 63-year-old woman is murdered. The criminals claim that Graham was along for the crime and actually committed the murder. Graham denies that she was even present but her belligerent demeanor, shady past, and lack of proof of her alibi convict her. She becomes the third woman to be executed in the gas chamber in California.

Director Robert Wise mounted a very stylish production of the story, with superb framing and brilliant use of black and white cinematography. The final minutes of the film depict in minute detail the preparation for Graham’s execution down to the stethoscope strapped to her body before her walk to the chamber. Hayward is heartbreaking as she faces her death through a series of last-minute stays. The jazz score by Johnny Mandel is fantastic.

Although the film strongly suggests Graham was innocent, as she never ceased asserting, the audience does not witness the crime. Other accounts have concluded that overwhelming evidence pointed to her guilt.

Trailer

2 Comments

Posted in Movie Reviews, Noir Month

Tagged 1958, Hollywood, Wise

The Set-Up (1949)

Posted on June 2, 2013 | 4 comments

The Set-Up
Directed by Robert Wise
1949/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
Repeat viewing

[box] Stoker Thompson: Everybody makes book on something.[/box]

This superbly acted and utterly grim boxing film is a noir classic of the genre. The movie is one of the few to be told in real time. The action encompasses the 73 minutes it takes to tell the tale.

Stoker Thompson (Robert Ryan) is a washed-up fighter taking matches at the bottom of bills in regional clubs. His manager has so little faith in him that he takes a bribe for Stoker to throw a fight without bothering to tell his man. Stoker’s wife Julie (Audrey Totter) pleads with Stoker to give up the game and refuses to attend this night’s fight because she doesn’t want to see him beat up. Her absence eats away at Stoker and makes him more determined than ever to win his bout. Most of the last two-thirds of the film takes place either in the ring or in the dressing-room.

The Set-Up 1

I think Robert Ryan is one of the great actors of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s and he is phenomenal in this movie. He tells more with his eyes in a single close up than most actors can with pages of dialogue. Audrey Totter did not have a big career but is also excellent as are the supporting players. Both these actors may be better known for playing heavies but handle these sympathetic roles well.

The great noir cinematography is by Milton Krasner who won an award for his work here at Cannes. Robert Wise keeps everything flowing brilliantly. I especially liked the use of the bloodthirsty fans in the crowd, who are almost like a Greek chorus. Not an uplifting experience but highly recommended.