Series: All Stars w/The Boy Friends Director: Arch Heath Producer: Hal Roach Dialogue: H.M. Walker Photography: Len Powers Editor: Richard C. Currier Sound: Elmer Raguse Stars: Mickey Daniels, Grady Sutton, Mary Kornman, David Sharpe, Gertrude Messinger, Dorothy Granger Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Released: 13 September 1930 Length: 2 reels Production No.: S-32 Filming dates: April 15 - May 2, 11, 12 and June 28, 1930 Rating: 5/10

Doctor's Orders

It's Gerty's (Messenger) birthday and her uncle Ed (Kennedy) has brought her home a gift, though he pretends he has forgotten. During an affectionate exchange between them, Gerty manages to get the boxed gift from Ed and runs off with it. He gives chase and wrestles with her to get it back. To the casual observer, it looks like he is assaulting her and a passing laundry truck driver (Dave Sharpe) spots this and leaps out of his vehicle to run over and assist the young lady, tieing up the uncle with a hosepipe. When the girl reveals the man to be her uncle, the young man bolts, but not before he confesses his love for her. He meets up with Alabam (Grady Sutton), a young man about to take his own life because of his love for a woman. The two men form a plan to win over the affections of the girls they are in love with. The next day, Mickey (Daniels) drives Alabam to the girl's house and parks his car up her garden tree, faking an accident. Dave plays the part of a passing doctor-in disguise and insists the 'injured man' be taken into the house. Not to be outdone, Mickey also wants in on the deal and stages his own accident, drawing attention of the ladies. The two apparently injured men are taken in by the young ladies and given beds. It soon becomes apparent that the whole thing is a set-up, when the women realise the boys have swapped beds and the 'doctor' loses his fake moustache and sideburns. Doctor Dave administers a drink of cleaning fluid to his patients and forces them to drink it in front of the girls.

Alabam and Mickey are not impressed with Dave's 'medicine' and both initially refuse to swallow it but eventually are forced into doing so. Dave quickly leaves and gets into a nurse's uniform and returns to the house where Uncle Ed lets him (or her) in to attend to the guys upstairs. Ed says he has some home remedies which he goes to fetch and tells Nurse Dave to undress Mickey and Alabam. Dave grabs Alabam and tries to strip him naked as Mickey doesn't hang around waiting for it to be his turn and tries to bolt. But it's no use, Dave has his way with both of the guys. Ed returns to the bedroom and orders Nurse Dave to give the guys a mustard foot bath. What follows next is Dave forcing himself on the two men and the sound of them moaning out loud!! Dave manages to escape out of the first-floor window and re-dress as the doctor before re-entering the house and pretending to take a telephone call for Uncle Ed to overhear. He hands the phone to Ed and tells him to tell the patient to "take a deep breath and relax" over and over. This gives Dave enough time to re-dress as the nurse and climb back up to the bedroom and be the nurse again. It's just not believable! Ed starts to get suspicious and goes upstairs to find the nurse trying to escape through the window again. Both men make their way back downstairs for the phone where Ed has sussed Dave out. Back upstairs and Dave (as the doctor) doesn't make it in time and so quickly dives into the bed with the help of Mickey, who takes his place. Ed sees Mickey walking funny across the floor and summons him over but Mickey and Alabam make their quick exit as Ed deals with Dave in the bed. Dave jumps out of the window where he meets Mickey and Alabam on the lawn. A suspicious cop chases them all down the street as the girls play out the end of the film with a rendition of "Smile When The Raindrops Fall" on a banjo.

Favourite bit Not many strong scenes in the film but the most memorable one for me was when Mickey and Alabam are forced to take their "medicine"!

Trivia • Copyrighted July 7, 1930. • The first film in the series. • Also made as Spanish version entitled Lo ordeno el doctor, which used the English original with full-frame cut-in titles, but wasn't accepted by MGM for release in this format. • In the very first scene in the car, the boys sing Smile When The Raindrops Fall, a popular theme song from the Hal Roach films which was adopted by Charley Chase. In the final scene the song is sung again by the girls as the boys are chased off down the street by the cop. • During the opening talking credits, the Crane sister on the right is very fidgety. • Dave drives a truck with an Empire Cleaning Dyers Laundry sign on the side. • Are you seriously telling me that Uncle Ed could not see that Dave Sharpe dressed as a nurse was actually a guy? • Unusually, there are quite a few scenes which end and begin with a transposed screen (where the beginning of a new scene overlaps from the previous one). • This was Grady Sutton's first film for Hal Roach. • As Alabam makes his escape from the bedroom he utters the line, "Come on Mickey let's get out of here".... but the next line is dubbed in later: "before he loses his temper anbd somebody gets hurt" in post production. • Why does Mickey start running down the stairs; stop; then slide down the bannister rail? Doesn't make any logical sense? • Mickey Daniels and Grady Sutton drive their car across the lawn in front of the girls' house and crash into a tree, leaving very prominent tire tracks on the lawn. Although this happened several minutes into the story, the tire tracks are clearly visible in the opening scenes - before the car was driven across the lawn. • Some stills for the film, provided to me by Richard Finegan, show that Maurice Black had his scenes removed from the final film. My opinion • It's okay, I suppose. Some poor editing and continuity can be overlooked in favour of the basic story and likeable characters on screen. David Sharpe is irritating, Mary Kornman is beautiful and Grady Sutton's debut for Hal Roach is decent. Nothing special but worthy of a viewing.

	David Sharpe Dave
	Gertrude Messinger Gertie
	Mary Kornman Mary
	Mickey Daniels Mickey
	Dorothy Granger Dorothy
	Grady Sutton Alabam
	Edgar Kennedy Uncle
	Tiny Sandford Cop
	Betty Mae Crane / Beverly Crane Talking titles

UNIDENTIFIED CAST

CREDITS (click image to enlarge)	INTERTITLES (click image to enlarge)

LOBBY CARD (click any image to enlarge)

STILLS (click any image to enlarge)

SHOT ON THE BACK LOT (click any image to enlarge)

SHOT ON LOCATION (click any image to enlarge)

Acknowledgements: Richard Finegan (some trivia notes) Jorge Finkielman (lobby card) Richard Finegan (16 stills) This page was last updated on: 26 July 2022