Two Seconds

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Ken R Two Seconds is somewhat a one of a kind picture and not shown as much as it should. I've also noticed 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 a large 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 - can 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. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/24/19 Full Review Audience Member eddie g makes this 1 go Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member An excellent performance by Edward G. Robinson highlights this story of a man who relives some key incidents of his life during the two seconds it takes to execute him for murder. I'm not familiar with Vivienne Osborne, the film's lead, but she did a good job in conveying a trashy dance hall dame who tricks Eddie (named John Allen here) into marrying her, then turns on him when he becomes ill after witnessing the falling death of his best friend. Overly dramatic at times, but still a film I'm glad I discovered (with the help of TCM...thanks!) Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member hmm has anyone else seen this film? it's a pretty good melodrama with edward g having a courtroom flashback at his sentencing for murder. catch it if u can. i've sent in the poster... Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member In Two Seconds, we see the man's demise in lengthy flashback, supposedly all recalled in the two seconds it takes him to die in the electric chair. He had started out as an okay guy, a riveter who worked on a skyscraper's steel skeleton, rooming with his co-worker and best friend, just looking for the right girl. After another botched double date, he wandered into a taxi dance hall (oh, how I wish these still existed!), where he met a conniving vixen who played to all desires. Against his roomie's warnings, the schmuck took her out again, and she got him so drunk that she was able to bribe a justice of the peace to marry them. Arguing about the situation up in the sky, the idiot raises his hand against his well-intentioned friend, sending the man plunging to his death. This sends our man into a permanent nervous state; he can't work, so his new wife goes back to the dance hall, against his insistence. She buys herself dresses and pays their rent, along with grocery and doctor bills, with this "dirty" money, while her husband sits at home with the shakes. When he comes into an unexpected windfall, he really looses his mind. He goes to the dance hall and finds her there, in the arms of another man. Paying back his debt in cash, he pulls out a gun and shoots the woman dead. We see him briefly in front of the judge, pleading for clemency in his famous whine, insisting that he deserved to die while he lived off the dirty money, but that he should be free, now that he's paid his debts. Of course, the judge can't abide by this logic, and we return to the chair, where the crank is pulled: the necessary two seconds have passed, and he's dead now. What a delightful ending! Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Two Seconds

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