By RM
sunday, september 7, 2025 at 12:20:00 p.m. edt
Like Compulsion, a brilliantly-done, terrifically-acted propaganda piece (anti-capital punishment). The best one, in my estimation, is Two Seconds (1932), in which a young reporter covers the execution of Eddie Robinson who, we learn in flashback, has been a (not-innocent) victim of circumstance.
The story is Eddie's life flashing by in the two seconds it takes for him to die in the electric chair. The movie ends with the horror-stricken look of the reporter-much more effective than the usual righteous preaching. And, of course, Eddie is riveting, even when he's over-acting!
-RM
"17,704 views oct 13, 2014"
"if you ever wondered why Edward G. Robinson was a star, watch this."
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3 comments:
I should have clarified- I was comparing COMPULSION to I WANT TO LIVE as a high-quality propaganda piece. TWO SECONDS is in a class by itself. Director Mervyn LeRoy should have a better reputation, considering his efforts include LITTLE CAESAR, I AM A FUGITIVE-, WATERLOO BRIDGE, QUO VADIS, MR. ROBERTS (after John Ford got the boot), et al.
-RM
Forgot to tack this on, if anyone cares to read it-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mervyn_LeRoy
Saw one of Jay Ward's FRACTURED FAIRY TALES cartoons recently where a wizard character was named "Merlin LeRoy"!
-RM
That's REALLY inside humor. I wonder if anyone today--besides RM and a few other afficianados-- would get the reference.
I'VE never heard of him,but LeRoy had quite the resume.
--GRA
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