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In the "Star Trek" episode "Court Martial", Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is brought on trial following the death of one of his officers, Lieutenant Commander Finney (Richard Webb). The U.S.S. Enterprise had encountered an ion storm and was being buffetted so badly it faced potential destruction. To flee the damage, Kirk had to eject a research vessel while Finney was still on board, sending his officer to his death. 

This was a difficult command decision, of course, but there was some debate as to whether or not Kirk ejected the vessel while the Enterprise was at red alert, or if Kirk panicked and ejected the vessel while the Enterprise was still at yellow alert. The latter would be seen as grounds for incompetence and Kirk would be ejected from Starfleet. There is a computer record of Kirk's reaction, including a video, showing he did indeed act hastily, but...

It’s a powerful plea against the death penalty, but also an Oscar bid for a fiery actress. And don’t forget the cool jazz music score. On top of this Robert Wise adds a formerly- taboo sequence, a realistic depiction of an execution in the gas chamber. Of such things were gritty, hard-hitting reputations made.

I Want to Live!

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1958 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95

Starring Susan Hayward, Simon Oakland, Theodore Bikel, Virginia Vincent, Wesley Lau, Philip Coolidge.

Cinematography Lionel Lindon

Original Music Johnny Mandel

Written by Nelson Gidding, Don M. Mankiewicz

Produced by Walter Wanger (for Joseph Mankiewicz)

Directed by Robert Wise

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Robert Wise’s I Want to Live! from 1958 is a Can of Worms movie… start discussing its subject matter, and opinions immediately become a stumbling block. So I’ll...

This week saw a number of sad losses in the entertainment industry. The singers of both “Louie Louie” and “Stand by Me” passed away this week, as well as Oscar-nominated screenwriter Don Mankiewicz, who was nominated for I Want to Live! Mankiewicz was the son of Herman J. Mankiewicz (Citizen Kane) and the nephew of Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve), and the father of John Mankiewicz (House of Cards). He was 93.

But perhaps most shocking was the loss of cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, who died suddenly this week at just 59 years old. Lesnie won an Oscar for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and he subsequently filmed all five of the remaining Lotr films and Peter Jackson’s King Kong and The Lovely Bones. Some of his more interesting credits are his work on Babe and Babe: Pig in the City. Lesnie’s last film however...

Brad Pitt 'Glory Days' costar Nicholas Kallsen Brad Pitt 'Glory Days' costar Nicholas Kallsen dead at 48 Nicholas Kallsen, who was featured opposite Brad Pitt in the short-lived television series Glory Days, has died at age 48 in Thailand according to online reports. Their source is one of Rupert Murdoch's rags, citing a Facebook posting by one of the actor's friends. The cause of death was purportedly – no specific source was provided – a drug overdose.* Aired on Fox in July 1990, Glory Days told the story of four high-school friends whose paths take different directions after graduation. Besides Nicholas Kallsen and Brad Pitt, the show also featured Spike Alexander and Evan Mirand. Glory Days lasted a mere six episodes – two of which directed by former Happy Days actor Anson Williams – before its cancellation. Roommates Nicholas Kallsen and Brad Pitt vying for same 'Thelma & Louise' role? The Murdoch tabloid also...

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Don Mankiewicz has died at the age of 93, according to multiple media reports. The writer of 1931’s “I Want to Live!” died of congestive heart failure at his home in Monrovia, California, on Saturday according to his son, producer John Makiewicz, who counts “House M.D.” and “House of Cards” among his credits. The younger Mankiewicz confirmed his father’s death to The La Times. Also Read: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2015 (Photos) Part of a legendary family, Mankiewicz’s father was Herman J. Mankiewicz, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Citizen Kane,” and his uncle Joseph L. Mankiewicz won Oscars for writing and directing “All About.

Don M. Mankiewicz, who received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay I Want To Live and was the creator behind TV’s Ironside and Marcus Welby, M.D., died of congestive heart failure at his home in Monrovia, CA, Saturday, his son told The Los Angeles Times. He was 93. Born in Berlin, German, Mankiewicz began his career as a staff writer for the New Yorker, and novelist, publishing his first novel Trial in 1954, which was later made into a film starring Glenn Ford and…...

Don M. Mankiewicz, who received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay I Want To Live and was the creator behind TV’s Ironside and Marcus Welby, M.D., died of congestive heart failure at his home in Monrovia, CA, Saturday, his son told The Los Angeles Times. He was 93. Born in Berlin, German, Mankiewicz began his career as a staff writer for the New Yorker, and novelist, publishing his first novel Trial in 1954, which was later made into a film starring Glenn Ford and…...

Don Mankiewicz, a member of a luminous Hollywood family who earned an Oscar nomination for I Want to Live! and penned the pilot episodes for two classic TV shows, has died. He was 93. Mankiewicz died Saturday of congestive heart failure at his home in Monrovia, Calif., his son, House of Cards screenwriter and executive producer John Mankiewicz, told the Los Angeles Times. Mankiewicz wrote the first episodes of Marcus Welby, M.D., the 1969-76 ABC medical drama that starred Robert Young and James Brolin, and Ironside, the 1967-75 NBC cop drama with Raymond Burr as a wheelchair-

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The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)

Just yesterday (well, last year), it seemed that RiffTrax was just a web concern, with nary a physical DVD release to their name. Now, the DVD releases are coming fast and furious, the latest being another two volumes of short subjects featuring riffsters (and MST3K alum) Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, & Bill Corbett - Wide World Of Shorts & Shorts-tacular Shorts-stravaganza (Legend, Not Rated, DVD-$9.95 Srp each). Both are excellent.