... Films of the Day History by Guitry George Campbell This is ordinarily the season when film producers, with a smile of ineffable benevolence, unload all the junk in their cellars, and eager aunts drag tolerant nephews to see it. Things are different this year. Of seven new films, only one is rubbish. The rest range all the way from Sacha Guitry's witty improvisations on the theme of royal ...

... \^7H1TAKER S Almanack (published at VV 12, Warwick Lane, E.C.4 12s. 6 d. [leather], 7 s. and 3s. 6 d. [abridged]) is one of the few books of reference that almost any one can pick up any time and find something not only that they did not know but that they would like to know. It takes the world as its matter and presents it to you concisely taped in 1130 pages. As well as favourite and useful ...

... The ninth edition of this invaluable book of reference has at last appeared, compiled and edited as usual by John Parker, pub lished as usual by Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., Parker Street, Kingsway, at 30s. Who 's Who in the Theatre is, of course, far more than a collection of biographies of everyone connected with the stage it con tains a directory to London Playbills, 1936-9 the late J. M. ...

... IT is difficult to say anything new about Who 's Who, in itself a criterion of fame. There is, in fact, nothing new to say, except that among the 40,000 factual auto biographies included, 1000 are newcomers and the rest have re-read and brought up to date their own notices. The scope of this remarkable book is -gradually widening to include not only these islands but the world and the state of ...

... taebrett's Peerage, Baronetage, i-J Knightage and Companionage (Dean and Sons, Ltd., 41-43, Ludgate Hill 105 s.) includes events in the families of its title up to December of last year a remark able achievement, in view of the war. A double pagination of over 3000 pages con tains as usual all family details of our nobility and chivalry, including 540 new honours. Subjects referred to in the ...

... The Bystander Bookshelf Innocence and Villainy V. S. Pritchett THERE is a growing form of child exploitation which I hope will die of the fury raised among rival parents. I mean the habit, which novelists are getting, of pushing out wistful works of literary charm about their own children. I thought it quite enough when Mr. Nichols insisted on sharing his cottage with us; now it has gone ...

... , Ltd., 186, Strand, W.C.2, produce their usual trio of in dispensable tomes recording a vast amount of information. The Post Office London Directory (60s.) contains a particularly useful feature namely, the wartime addresses of business firms that have temporarily moved their offices either wholly or partly out of I^ondon. The renaming of streets by the L.C.C. has again caused a vast number ...

... : Herbert Farjeon All Clear Queen's WHO would not go where to see Miss Beatrice Lillie? Which question being as complicated to answer as it is complimentary to ask, let me confine myself to the statement that I would (and did) go to the Queen's Theatre, and that you should (and, I trust, will) follow my example. The revue now being presented there is, on the whole, an up-and-down affair. In ...

... The Theatre Herbert Farjeon Panto and Ustinov (Players' Theatre) The Players' Theatre in Covent Garden, being a period theatre, has appropriately celebrated the Christmas season by presenting a period pantomime, that period being the Vic torian 'sixties, when writers of skill and wit were engaged to provide principal boys, principal girls, principal comedians and principal cats with their ...

... Films of the Day Our critic here selects his favourite films of last year. Some of them are illustrated on pages 58 and 59 George Campbell THERE are no films of the day, except Gulliver's Travels. People have been complaining of Max Fleischer's full-length cartoon that it isn't very original-- they say it s too like Disney's Snow White. Well, what of it? It's quite unlike Gulliver's Travels. ...

... The Bystander Bookshelf Cold Comfort Highbury V. S. Pritchett MISS STELLA GIBBONS and Miss Ruth Feiner are a skilful and comforting pair of romantic novel ists. Have a nice warm bath, they seem to say, and yon 'II feel better in the morning. Local girl makes good and pathos and heartbreak give the proper wistful blur to a success story which would be intolerable without them. And these two ...

... By Herbert Farjeon The Golden Cuckoo Duchess) THE action of this new comedy by Denis Johnston arises out of a very nice point. An editor com missions a contributor to write an obituary notice of an eminent scientist who has been investigating the possibility of manufacturing horse manure, the price fixed being thirty shillings. ine contributor writes the obituary notice, i but it is not ...