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Why was Susan Hayward’s performance in I Want to Live! important?
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Robert Wise
Robert Wise.
Susan Hayward’s performance in the 1958 film I Want to Live! was significant because it earned her the only Academy Award for best actress of her career.12
Directed by Robert Wise, the film is based on the true story of Barbara Graham, a woman who was convicted of murder and executed in the gas chamber despite questions regarding her guilt. Hayward’s portrayal of the "haughty hard-boiled" character was widely recognized as a moving performance, and the film also garnered Wise his first nomination for best director.12