TWO SECONDS (1932). Director: Mervyn LeRoy.
High rise worker John Allen (Edward G. Robinson) is about to be executed for murder, and the entire film is a flashback detailing the events that led up to this in the "two seconds" it takes him to die. Allen marries a dance hall girl, Shirley (Vivienne Osborne), while he's drunk, and she proves to be a shrew of the first rank. This brings John into conflict with his best friend and former roommate, Bud (Preston Foster), leading to a horrific tragedy. But things, if possible, get worse ... Robinson gives a ferociously superb performance in this [although it's quite odd that he appears almost drunk in the courtroom/sentencing scene]. J. Carroll Naish offers yet another of his excellent portrayals as Tony, and Osborne's performance certainly has bite. Guy Kibbee has a small role as well.
Verdict: Not exactly great drama but the acting is terrific. **1/2.
High rise worker John Allen (Edward G. Robinson) is about to be executed for murder, and the entire film is a flashback detailing the events that led up to this in the "two seconds" it takes him to die. Allen marries a dance hall girl, Shirley (Vivienne Osborne), while he's drunk, and she proves to be a shrew of the first rank. This brings John into conflict with his best friend and former roommate, Bud (Preston Foster), leading to a horrific tragedy. But things, if possible, get worse ... Robinson gives a ferociously superb performance in this [although it's quite odd that he appears almost drunk in the courtroom/sentencing scene]. J. Carroll Naish offers yet another of his excellent portrayals as Tony, and Osborne's performance certainly has bite. Guy Kibbee has a small role as well.
Verdict: Not exactly great drama but the acting is terrific. **1/2.
No comments:
Post a Comment