GREAT BRITISH FILM

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 163, 30 September 1927, Page 14

GREAT BRITISH FILM

“THE FLAG LIEUTENANT” Sailors at the Devonport Naval Base played the critic last night when they saw the first screening in New Zealand of “The Flag Lieutenant,” the bestproduced film that has come from a British studio. In the dockyard hall last night, the minds of the audience must have slipped back to the years before picture patronage was wooed with soft seats, sweet music, and many minor managerial attentions. Tho audience last night sat on forms, had no musical distraction, but were entertained by the film alone. A severe test this, but “The Flag Lieutenant” survived it, and the applause of the sailors was line tribute to England’s greatest naval film. For the first time in film history the Lords Commissioners of I-lis Majesty’s Admiralty yielded to the producer’s blandishments and co-operated in the production of the film. Many of the scenes were set and shot on H.M.S. Tiger, the greatest battleship afloat, and consequently the naval detail was perfect. One fault was all last night’s critics could find—a marine took his hat off in the admiral’s presence. “The Flag Lieutenant” illustrates well the difference between the aims and achievements of English and American producers. The Americans, coddling their audience to the extent of leaving nothing to the imagination, are in conflict with the English', who achieve much by subtle, artistic suggestion. The film story is an adaptation from a play written by Major W. P. Drury, a well-known writer of humorous naval stories, and Major Lea Trevor. There is nothing riotiously original in the theme, but it is pulse-stirring and healthy. A little love, a little fighting, things going wrong, and then righting themselves again. The part of Lucky Lascelles, the flag lieutenant, is played by Henry Edwards, whose spirited, engaging, natural work is a .pleasant contrast to the American film actor’s formula. The leading lady is Miss Dorothy Seacombe, a young Australian actress, known well to New Zealand audiences. She will be remembered for her work with Lawrence Grossmith. The photography is superb, and equal excellence is maintained on land and sea. When the filming ended, Commander F. C. Bradle,, of H.M.S. Philomel, said what most felt, “If that is a typical British film, give us more of them.”