I'd Give My Life

Crime weaves a complex web in this tale of a young man willing and eager to go to the electric chair in order to protect a mother whom he has never known.

Nickie Elkins works for racketeer Buck Gordon but he balks when Gordon orders that a double-crosser be taken for a "last ride" in Nickie's private plane. Nickie is shocked to discover that Gordon is actually his real father and that his mother is the kindly wife of the state's tough-on-crime governor. When Gordon threatens to go public and ruin her reputation, Nickie kills him. Now, to protect his mom, he remains stoically silent about his motive throughout his trial and conviction and as his date with the electric chair looms.

Sir Guy Standing, very British even in name, was a curious choice for the role of an American governor but plays it with his usual dignity and professionalism. I'd Give My Life was released just months before Standing died as a result of a rattlesnake bite sustained in the Hollywood Hills. At his home studio Paramount, as a sign of respect, all activity was suspended for five minutes during his funeral services.

"Alpha Video scores major points for rescuing this philosophical, at times nearly O"Neillian B Noir from oblivion. For You I Die can take its rightful place beside such crime classics as Petrified Forest and John Huston's then-upcoming Key Largo. -- The Phantom of the Movies (Videoscope)

• drama