“ORDERS IS ORDERS.”

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20235, 20 February 1934, Page 3

“ORDERS IS ORDERS.”

Brilliant Satire in Comedy at Crystal. An American film producer who attempted to turn a British barracks into a motion picture studio would probably be shot at dawn for his temerity. In “ Orders is Orders,” which heads this week’s programme at the Crystal Palace Theatre, he is allowed to live, however, and his efforts form the theme of one of the most brilliant satires on military red-tape that has ever been screened. “ Orders is Orders ” does for the British Army what “ The Middle Watch ” did for the Royal Navy. Written by Anthony Armstrong and lan Hay, it fairly bubbles with fun. Army redtape comes in for some hard treatment, but the satire does not stop with the military machine. The methods of film producers are caricatured in a most amusing manner, and practically every scene is responsible for situations filled with riotous comedy. As the hardboiled picture director, James Gleason presents a study which is a brilliant satire on studio methods and manners. He is ably assisted by the lanky Charlotte Greenwood. Cyril Maude simply “ lives ” the part of Colonel Bellows, the fire-eating martinet, who becomes as wax in the hands of the ruthless Americans. The supports are good.