 Despite some mocking of the British Board of Film Censors over its award of an "Adult Certificate" for what amounted to "six chaste, sandy kisses", Greene approved of the film's acting and specifically lauded the acting of Colbert for whose admiration Greene noted was unbounded.In "The New York Times" review, Frank Nugent called "Under Two Flags" a "spirited and colorful revival" that "continues to be a stirring and romantic fable".His only qualm was that "Miss Colbert, gracious actress though she is, was not particularly fitted for the rôle of Cigarette, lacking somehow the whole-hearted "child of nature" qualities Ouida imagined."