KISSES BY COMMAND.”

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 329, 23 January 1932, Page 25 (Supplement)

KISSES BY COMMAND.”

All about spies—seductive, unscrupulous women who barter their loves and honours in the dangerous quest for diplomatic information—and of falcon men who search them out, “ Kisses By Command ” commenced at the Crystal Palace to-day. Mystery, romance and the fury of battle on the Russian front combine with magnificent sets and natural outdoor tableaux in a picture worthy of extreme praise. The film features Ivan Lebedeff with Genevieve Tobin and Betty Compson in a story which intrigues the interest with its fast action and excellent direction. The story concerns the adventures of a Russian officer who sent to neutral Bucharest for the purpose of breaking up a powerful spy system whose head is an unknown woman. In Bucharest he is besieged by the attentions of many women whom he is forced to regard as enemies until he eliminates them one by one in a series of thrilling coups. Out of this interesting plot springs romance which is strongly remindful of the silent era of the film in its beauty of treatment and pictorial handling. Lebedeff’s actual achievements as a soldier of the Czar read like fiction. Youngest commissioned captain in the service, he won a place among the immortals of military history by capturing a German general singlehanded. His captive was the highest officer made prisoner during the World War. The box plans are at The Bristol.