Two Seconds

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 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.

There's no chance a movie like this is coming out of Hollywood this decade or the previous decade or in the nineties or eighties. Two Seconds is the story of an unhappy steel worker and his squalid little life. At times, Edward G. Robinson is very over the top, but when it matters, his performance is crackling with authenticity and passion and it is clear why this small and unattractive man became a huge Hollywood icon. His fire is undeniable.

Unpredictably plotted in the way many pre-code B pictures were, this piece is always engaging and alive and perhaps a bit too short. It contains an absolutely searing monologue that you will never forget and overall the work is a dirty window through which the desperation of life for the lower class in 1930 American can be gleaned.

A good film and a rich portrait.

(I saw 35mm prints of the movie at Film Forum, N.Y. on two occasions.)

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.

The movie, itself, may not be the finest available for viewing entertainment. However, the outstanding acting skills of Edward G. Robinson are fulling exploited and beautifully captured. And, that talent, that genius, makes "Two Seconds" a must see.

Robinson shows the depth of his talents and the emotions he is capable of demonstrating. Ah, that contemporary actors could act so well. Watch the expressions on his face, watch his hands, watch his walk, watch the pain -- this is not melodrama, this is a thespian par excellence showing the world how it is done.

Alas, the movies does not appear to be available for purchase, but this is one outstanding film that should be in any collection of those who are serious about studying drama and acting skills.