Two Seconds
Posted: May 1st, 2016, 2:03 pm
I never heard of this fine pre-code crime drama until recently. I ran right to the library, and had them order it for me! Young (and brilliant) Edward G. Robinson is strapped to the electric chair and the switch is pulled. In the (you guessed it) two seconds it takes him to perish, his life passes before him. Director Mervyn Le Roy depicts a decent construction worker who makes one bad choice, a dame of course, and all spirals out of control. Best buddy, Preston Foster, without a moustache, sees it coming, but is powerless to intervene.
The story is told in flashback, showing the rapid deterioration of a life that might have been better, save one big mistake. Themes of gambling, prostitution and murder color this sordid but fascinating story as it efficiently rolls back to the beginning...and the chair! Robinson delivers some of the finest "pull no punches" acting I've ever seen. It's his best performance, even surpassing the resigned Christopher Cross in SCARLET STREET, and bull-headed Keyes in DOUBLE INDEMNITY.
This small, no budget thriller is unforgettable.
The story is told in flashback, showing the rapid deterioration of a life that might have been better, save one big mistake. Themes of gambling, prostitution and murder color this sordid but fascinating story as it efficiently rolls back to the beginning...and the chair! Robinson delivers some of the finest "pull no punches" acting I've ever seen. It's his best performance, even surpassing the resigned Christopher Cross in SCARLET STREET, and bull-headed Keyes in DOUBLE INDEMNITY.
This small, no budget thriller is unforgettable.