There's something about the use of words that always makes me stop and think, and that's precisely what happened as I read the opening sequence attributed to newspaper reporter Edward S. Montgomery. The story of Barbara Graham was presented as 'factual', which to me implied right out of the gate that it might not necessarily be true. Then upon reading other viewers' thoughts about the film, I learned that the real life story of Barbara Graham might have been entirely glossed over for the sake of a sympathetic picture where an innocent woman went to her death as the result of a frame up.
Setting aside the actual 'facts' of the Monahan murder, the picture succeeds at the level of a dramatic noir thriller. However I had some trouble adjusting to Susan Hayward's portrayal of petty criminal Barbara Graham. She had a number of emotional tirades that seemed to be entirely over the top, and those imaginary throws of the dice seemed to add an unwelcome comic element to her character. I didn't perceive her performance to be particularly notable, much less an Oscar worthy one. Even the scenes at the finale that hinged on the prospect of a phone call reprieve seemed to lose their impact after the first couple of times, thereby diminishing the suspense factor. Perhaps the real Ms. Graham went to her death with a whimper, but wouldn't it have been great (as long as so many liberties were taken with the story anyway), if she went out like Cagney in "Angels With Dirty Faces", kicking and screaming while proclaiming her innocence right to the last breath.
Keep an eye on the scene when the cops flush out the bad guys from the warehouse by calling them out one by one. As Graham cleans herself up in the mirror, the right side of her face is shown to be heavily scratched and her left cheek is clear, but as soon as she turns away to give herself up, the pattern is reversed. I always wonder why such an obvious error isn't caught and corrected by film makers before the final cut is made.
The other thing I got a kick out of was the sign in the women's prison cell - 'Stay Healthy, Keep Clean'. Which made me consider, was there another option when you live behind bars?
I guess the most intriguing part of the picture for me had to do with the cyanide preparations and the intricacy of checking over all the details to make sure a properly staged death sentence would be carried out. I never actually pictured a gas chamber as being a glass structure that officials could watch while a person was executed. In hindsight, that makes perfect sense given the fact that public executions throughout history were often times given to spectator sport. It was rather jarring to note that after the grim death sentence was carried out in the picture, the reporters left with their car horns honking as if in celebration instead of quiet reflection. It beats me how human behavior is sometimes anything but.
Setting aside the actual 'facts' of the Monahan murder, the picture succeeds at the level of a dramatic noir thriller. However I had some trouble adjusting to Susan Hayward's portrayal of petty criminal Barbara Graham. She had a number of emotional tirades that seemed to be entirely over the top, and those imaginary throws of the dice seemed to add an unwelcome comic element to her character. I didn't perceive her performance to be particularly notable, much less an Oscar worthy one. Even the scenes at the finale that hinged on the prospect of a phone call reprieve seemed to lose their impact after the first couple of times, thereby diminishing the suspense factor. Perhaps the real Ms. Graham went to her death with a whimper, but wouldn't it have been great (as long as so many liberties were taken with the story anyway), if she went out like Cagney in "Angels With Dirty Faces", kicking and screaming while proclaiming her innocence right to the last breath.
Keep an eye on the scene when the cops flush out the bad guys from the warehouse by calling them out one by one. As Graham cleans herself up in the mirror, the right side of her face is shown to be heavily scratched and her left cheek is clear, but as soon as she turns away to give herself up, the pattern is reversed. I always wonder why such an obvious error isn't caught and corrected by film makers before the final cut is made.
The other thing I got a kick out of was the sign in the women's prison cell - 'Stay Healthy, Keep Clean'. Which made me consider, was there another option when you live behind bars?
I guess the most intriguing part of the picture for me had to do with the cyanide preparations and the intricacy of checking over all the details to make sure a properly staged death sentence would be carried out. I never actually pictured a gas chamber as being a glass structure that officials could watch while a person was executed. In hindsight, that makes perfect sense given the fact that public executions throughout history were often times given to spectator sport. It was rather jarring to note that after the grim death sentence was carried out in the picture, the reporters left with their car horns honking as if in celebration instead of quiet reflection. It beats me how human behavior is sometimes anything but.