Two Seconds

Two Seconds (1932)

*** (out of 4)

Interesting Warner drama about a man (Edward G. Robinson) about to be executed in the electric chair. Before the execution a doctor tells the people watching that he will live for two seconds after the switch is pulled and in those two seconds his entire life will flash before his eyes. His entire life doesn't but we see how he ended up in this situation, which is do to falling for a questionable lady (Vivienne Osborne). I was happy to finally get the chance to see this after hearing some nice things about it over the years. For the most part the film does live up to its reputation as being a pretty strong pre-code that has some nice performances wrapped around a downbeat story. I think the best thing the movie has going for it is the performance of Robinson who really digs deep in a role many won't expect to see from him. I was really surprised to see Robinson handle the role of an every day's man who simply goes to work and comes home without much fan fair. I thought the actor was very believable in the role and he certainly made you feel for the character especially after the certain events take place and change his life. Osborne is also very good as she too perfectly fits in the role and really delivers as being that "nice guy" Robinson falls for only to quickly change into a snake. Guy Kibbee has a brief supporting role as does J. Carrol Naish and Preston Foster as the best friend. I think the film does go a bit over the top towards the end in regards to everything plays out. I won't spoil anything but what takes place with Robinson was just a bit too much for me but the courtroom scene was quite effective.

"Two Seconds" is a relatively minor film by "Warner Bros." The story is fairly basic and low key. The cast is quite small and the entire film was made on soundstages. It is the performance of Edward G. Robinson that makes "Two Seconds" so memorable. He gives a truly in-depth performance that is a mixture of humour, tension and then despair. The film's plot is mainly a flashback, with Robinson looking back on the circumstances that led to his being incarcerated in the first place. He is unfortunate enough to be in the hands of a callous and vindictive woman and he can only tolerate her for so long..... I particularly enjoyed the scene where Robinson talks to the camera, to give the impression that he is addressing a person. His monologue lasts for a few minutes as the camera slowly draws closer to Robinson and the set goes dark apart from one light that is focused upon him. It is a powerful scene and captivating. The film isn't a long one and the time races by.

Edward G. Robinson again shows what a powerful actor he was in "Two Seconds," a precode from 1932 directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The two seconds refers to the time it takes a man to die in the electric chair.

Robinson plays John Allen, who is condemned to death and about to be executed. As he waits for the electric current, he relives how he wound up there.

Allen and his best friend, Bud (Preston Foster) were welders on a huge building. That part of the story was probably inspired by the Empire State Building, which opened to the public in 1931.

Bud wants his girlfriend to find a girl for John so they can double date, but John hates the women Bud's girlfriend finds for him. And the current on is no exception. He leaves the three of them and goes to a dime a dance joint. There, he meets a pretty young woman who dances there, Shirley, and they start to date. Bud thinks she's a gold digger and handing him a big line, and warns John that he's going to end up married and miserable. John pays no attention.

One night, he gets blotto drunk and Shirley manages to get him to a Justice of the Peace and tie the knot. Bud confronts her, and we see more of Shirley's true colors as she undresses in front of Bud and plans to get the marriage consummated before John sobers up and wants an annulment.

John was making good money, but Shirley spends it faster than he can make it. When tragedy strikes, John is a completely broken man and can no longer work and Shirley goes back to the dime a dance joint. More tragedy will follow.

Very absorbing film, with an excellent performance by Robinson for those times - I say that because acting today has been toned down some, and he has a huge monologue that today seems a little over the top.

In the beginning of the film, we see a closeup of a college student (William Janney) who attends the execution as part of research for a paper. The film ends with the same closeup.

Very, very well done. Robinson was part of a small group of character actors who rose to leading man status - Spencer Tracy, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Wallace Beery. He was an actor of tremendous range and ability, and it shows here.

Highly recommended, a great precode.

Edward G. Robinson is practically the whole show, and what a show it is. This is Warner precode drama at its best, and why I never heard of it until I saw it on TCM is a wonder. It's got everything, from the seemingly mismatched roommates, thoughtful John (Edward G. Robinson) and gregarious Budd (Preston Foster), talking about scoring on a date in the most unsubtle of language while riveting on a tall skyscraper, to a barracuda in high heels, Shirley (Vivienne Osborne), who has her eyes on John's $62.50 a week from the start and tailors her act to suit his highest admiration - education and books. She tells John she's working in a dance hall to help support her folks so she can have time to study at night, and even the audience is not sure about her at first, so you're sympathetic with John for him not knowing either. However, it's not just John's steady paycheck Shirley's after. There was one true thing she told John before they were married - she has ambitions. As she tells a broken John later on - in wallet and spirit - "there are things a Mrs. can get away with that a Miss can't".

With Mervyn Leroy you'd expect superb direction, and that's what you get. This is so stylishly shot too. Even though there are no expensive sets - after all this is 1932 WB we're talking about - a lot is done with a little. Take the scene in the courtroom with only the sound of a fan at first, Eddie G. in what looks like a spotlight with the rest of the courtroom dark except for the judge's face - we're talking prototype noir here both in substance and style. From the baby face of William Janney that we see in the first frame to that same face full of wonder in the last, this thing is expertly constructed as the flashback of a man about to be executed who has "two seconds" to live his life over from the time the electricity floods his body until his brain stops functioning. Highly recommended.

Best precode moment:Shirley has dragged a drunken - but now married - John back to his apartment. Her first act as John's wife is to kick Bud out for good. Before Bud even has packed his stuff and left, Shirley is stripping down to her undies. Mind you, this is a one room flat. You can only assume she is going to consummate this marriage pronto before John has a chance to sober up and cry "annulment". As a parting shot of regard Bud finishes a cigarette he is smoking and tosses it on to her already bare back as she is raring to go as soon as Bud is out of the room...that is, I'd assume she'd wait until he left the room! Hot stuff from WB.

Two Seconds is quite a one of a kind picture and not seen as much as it should be. I've also seen it said that some thought the magnificent Edward G. Robinson performance is over the top - but, these folk don't seem to realise that's just as it should have been!. Playing high rise construction riveter John Allen, he's giving us is a character performance as true to type as we're ever likely to see. A common everyman who understands that there's so much more to know, and he wants to delve into learning more about everything. In fact, it's a serious study of the common people who make up the majority of working-class society. The pre-code dialogue tells it just the way they did in these circles, and the perverse characters that cruise within these situations - see in this simple idealistic man - a choice target for their predatory vulgarity.

A strong compliment of supporting cast members brings them to the screen bristling with life. Legendary director Mervin LeRoy keeps his story moving along its unpredictable path - with superb Sol Polito cinematic photography, creating eye-popping visuals that carry the viewer to the haunting finale within a darkened courtroom, then onto the final jolt. For a motion picture produced in 1932, the use of sound (especially in the linking devices) is exemplary.

No-one serious about the development of motion pictures as a dramatic art form or the sterling career of the one and only Mr Robinson should miss this minor classic. The Warner Archive DVD is so cheaply packaged they even have a still from another movie on the cover! Thank goodness the original film source supplies images clean enough to enjoy. Highly recommended.