Report Card

BOOKS

U SWEET TALK, by Beatrice Burton Morgan (Farrar & Rinchart, $2). The "eternal triangle" blossoms o u t in new form, with plenty of sweet talk by three sisters who try to win the attention of wealthy bachelors and end up in homes more suited to their middle-class Cleveland background. Story holds interest well, but is too obviously pointed to catch the attention of film scenarists.

B CAPTAIN CAUTION, by Kenneth Roberts (Double day, Doran, $2.50). A salty sea and smashing romance p r o v i d e the interest in this thriller, built with the War of 1812 as a background. A Maine skipper abandons the ordinary life of the "old salt" and turns privateer to provide the reader with high adventure. The routine of his new business is not routine for the reader, however, and Writer Roberts h a s avoided even the slightest possibility of your experiencing a dull moment.

MOVIES

A THE FIRST W O R L D WAR proves again that the editorial pen of Laurence Stallings can boil down the horrors of a four-year holocaust into a brief but forceful message for world peace. With the narration h e l d down to a bare minimum, the film gives you the brutality and inconsistencies of the World War in behind-the-scenes shots, many of which came from the cinematographic archives of the nations participating. Proof of the ability of the picture to "speak for itself" is given by the many slashing, booming, gorey minutes during which the e x p e r t commentator, Pedro de Cordoba, remains silent.

B KID MILLIONS -- When you pack into one film Eddie Cantor, Ann Sothern, t h e gags of Sheekman, Perrin and Johnson, the songs of Donaldson, K a h n, Lane, Adamson and Berlin, the dances of Seymour Felix, and the color combinations of Willy Pogany you have a Goldwynesque extravaganza that will wow you for a full hour and a half without the slightest bit of effort on your part. Despite the fact that some of the gags are already great-grandparents, Director Roy Del Ruth puts the products of these stars together into such a truly creditable production that you forget that Cantor is doing and saying much the same thing that he has before on the air and screen.

RADIO

A SUNDAY EVENING SYMPHONY--Victor Kolar directs the Ford Symphony Orchestra in a full hour of classical presentations. Each p r o g r a m features distinguished guest conductors or artists. Presenting the best in modern jaze in the Fred Waving broadcasts, the sportsor is certainly not neglecting the classics, for this program is one of the better of the symphonic hours. (CBS-WABC network, Sundays, S. P. M. EST.)