Two Seconds

Two Seconds (1932)

Runtime: 67 minutes

Directed by: Mervyn LeRoy

Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Vivienne Osborne, Preston Foster, Guy Kibbee, J. Carrol Naish

From: Warner Bros./First National

This was a random film, which thankfully was fine. I explain why below: 

This was another film I watched via TCM's streaming service; if your cable provider offers it, you can sign in and watch some films from the preceding week, and they are only available for a week's time. I had heard some praise for this before so I figured it was worth a watch... plus it is only 67 minutes long.

Edward G. Robinson is a man on death row, and in fact is about to be executed. This is a Pre-Code movie; among other things, the title refers to how long he'll live once the electricity is turned on, and in those two seconds we find out how he ended up getting the electric chair. Morbid. As it's an old-timey movie based on a stage play, besides there being plenty of talking (which I am not complaining about) and it being rather over-dramatic and over the top, this guy's downfall is OF COURSE a woman.

To be specific, Robinson plays John Allen, a riveter... that means he works on the crew that builds steel skyscrapers. He has a gregarious pal named Bud. Bud ropes him into a double date but as his woman would be a “fire wagon” (quite the term for an overweight girl), that goes awry and he ends up in a dance hall. From this film I learned there were once taxi dance halls, where guys buy tickets and if you give a ticket to a girl that works there, you get to dance with her for the length of a song. John meets one of those women, named Shirley. They form a relationship, despite Bud's protests. Melodramatic things happen because of that evil woman and John does something which results in him getting the chair. These days that wouldn't happen and especially after his deranged soliloquy in the courtroom, he would be at a mental hospital instead.

While it's ridiculous, at least I can say it's fine. Some of the other faces I recognized (Guy Kibbee, Preston Foster, Vivienne Osborne) but it was Robinson whose star shone the brightest here. His natural charisma helped make this pretty enjoyable to watch.