La mujer que no quería morir

Whether Barbara Graham was really framed for murder or not is never really the point of this melodramatic look at a woman on death row, played to the hilt by SUSAN HAYWARD in one of her gutsiest performances. The main point seems to be showing us what a devastating time any prisoner on death row has while waiting for that execution to proceed. And in this, Robert Wise succeeds with his powerful film about the accused murderess Barbara Graham.

That Hayward can actually make us feel sympathy for her character when she's depicted as a tough-talking, bitter dame who takes no nonsense from anyone (even those trying to help her), is a credit her talent as an actress who never tries to soften her portrayal of the party girl paying for a life of petty crimes that may include murder.

SIMON OAKLAND as a reporter who begins to have doubts about her guilt, is excellent. There's an almost documentary feel to the whole film and this is partly due to the uniform excellence of the entire cast, all of whom come across as real people. But the main credit must be given to director Robert Wise who does a fine job with some truly harsh material.

The jazz score background effectively balances the look and feel of the story. Well worth watching as an inside look at how justice sometimes works, while raising questions in the viewer's mind as to Graham's guilt or innocence.

Barbara Graham (Susan Hayward) is an aged lying grifter prostitute. She's been in and out of jail. She willingly perjures herself for two cohorts and gets a year in prison. She is released to probation and joins two con-men. She tries for a family but her husband turns into a drug addict. The cops follow her and arrests her, Emmett Perkins and John R. Santo. She's arrested for passing bad cheques among many charges. The men throw her under the bus and claim she's the murderer. She becomes a media sensation and maintains her innocence throughout.

Hayward is terrific as a ballsy broad. She's not an innocent naive character although the movie portray her as innocent of the murder. The media sensation adds another layer to the movie. It is a bit hard to root for the character but Hayward makes the movie work. She gets to do some juicy acting as she prepares to be executed.

This movie is in black & white, has a jazzy score and a great central performance by Susan Hayward. She has many great lines of dialogue, most of which are spit out, and she plays the part for all its worth. The last half hour is completely engrossing. See it and then you'll remember it forever.

Susan Hayward really knew how to pick a good role. From the intensity of 1947's "Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman", to the gutsiness of 1955's "I'll Cry Tomorrow", to everything in between, Hayward left a legacy of amazing characters. Even when the role was horrid (such as 1967's trash-fest "Valley of the Dolls"), Hayward was a real trooper and made it work. Always one to tackle unusual and, oftentimes, unglamorous roles, Hayward really got a chance to sink her teeth into this one - and received an Oscar for her efforts.

In this tough-to-take biopic, Hayward plays Barbara Graham, a party girl who gets in over her head with drug use, prostitution, perjury, and various other illegal acts. As a known "goodtime girl", she has a reputation with the local authorities. One brilliant sequence has the police tracking Barbara across town - apparent fellow neighbors are actually tapped and following her every move. Finally, a supposedly innocent "Babs" gets thrown in the slammer for the brutal murder of an elderly woman. Losing her sense of freedom and any contact with her baby boy, Barbara's life goes from bad (on the street) to worse (in jail). Watching Barbara act-up and defy authority in the prison is actually funny, but what happens next to this wild woman is no laughing matter. Things get as bad as they possibly can when Barbara realizes that she may have to face the gas chamber.

Hayward goes all out in portraying this fascinating character and is totally over-the-top, but completely on target, right up until the very end - and what an ending it is! It'll send shivers up your spine, and the images will linger in your head long after the show is over. The dark, moody photography is top-notch, although the rambunctious jazz score wears out its welcome.

Susan Hayward's powerful performance as Barbara Graham has been much written about, and it is the single best part of this film. But there are so many other perfectly pitched performances surrounding her as well, mostly by actors relatively unknown even to film buffs, or early turns by actors whose faces, if not names, did find a national audience--Virginia Vincent as Peg (she played the mother in The Hills Have Eyes), Gas chamber guard Dabbs Greer (the Rev. on Little House on the Prairie and Picket Fences), and especially Raymond Bailey who plays the San Quentin warden. His understated forthrightness and humaneness are a far cry from his later manic turn as Mr Drysdale on The Beverly Hillbillies (with the addition of a toupee). Robert Wise handles the execution preparations with a clinicism that turns the stomach more than any posturing would do, bringing the horror of impending death home. And following the clock's second with a moving camera closeup, instead of just cutting to the clock on the wall, done so many times, is craftsmanship of the highest order.