GUIDE TO GOOD READING IN JANUARY, 1945 the Ger- man army of von Rundstedt Opened its Ardennes offensive, smashing through the American ist Army and pressing in the direction of Liege, hoping to ad- vance to Antwerp and force a Sea-evacuation of British, Ameri- can and Canadian forces, In this tense situation Britain’s wartime leader, Winston Chur- chill, begged Stalin for help. “Very serious battles are taking place in the West,” cabled Chur- chill, “and the Supreme Com- mander may ~-be forced at any moment to take grave decisions.” He pleaded with Stalin to open an offensive “on the Vistula front or any other point during the month of January.” Churchill repays in cold war coin for Soviet armies’ aid fo allies The armies of the USSR were vesting on the Vistula, having advanced 1,200 miles from Stalin- grad. Within 24 hours after re- ceiving Churchill’s message, Stalin replied that despite un- favorable weather conditions, pre- parations for a renewed offensive would be speeded up. “You can be sure,” he concluded, “that we shall do everything possible to aid the glorious troops of our Allies,” Stalin kept his-word. The great Soviet offensive from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathian mountains rolled into action on January 12 — 150 Soviet divisions crashed through the German lines and the 5th and 6th German panzer armies fighting with von Rund- CAPSULE REVIEWS — Hitchcock's thriller fails STRANGERS ON A TRAIN A slick elaborately contrived Albert Hitchcock suspense drama _ about a murder committed by a wealthy young psychotic (Robert Walker) and his attempts to in- volve a young tennis player (Far- ' home for the aged. improbable to thrill MR. BELVEDERE RINGS THE BELL The irrespressible Lynn Belve- dere (Clifton Webb) invades a Based on stedt were rushed to the Eastern Front in a vain attempt to halt the debacle, “The great service rendered by Marshal Stalin’s armies was af- terwards to be paid by Mr. Chur- chill in other coin,” comments W. G. Burchett in his book, Cold War in Germany (available at People’s Cooperative Bookstore, 337 ‘West Pender, at $2.25). Chur- chill’s payment was his Fulton speech demanding a world line- up against the Soviet Union. “He Switched in fact as quickly as he did after World War One, when he sent his armies of intervention to destroy the Soviet revolution.” * PR BURCHETT, A LONG-TIME staff member of the London Daily Express, war correspondent in the Far East and first non- Japanese to visit Hiroshima after the dropping of the atom bomb, came into the news a year ago “I was reading Roy Brown's reports on the the Vancouver Sun,” Japanese treaty in when he resigned from the Ex- press and the London Times to devote his energies to the cause PEOPLE’S ART |‘ of peace. This decision was taken as a result of his post-war experiences as an Express and Times man in Germany and East- ern Europe. Cold War in Germany exposes the intrigues of the British and American occupation leaders in Berlin, designed to destroy four- Mexico's greatest iter completes two new murals A MAJOR cultural event took painter ley Granger). All _ lost, however, which ‘begins continues impossibly. BITTER RICE to the outside world could have made this a drama of great ori- ginality and vitality. But Italian film director Guiseppe De Santis has used this interesting locale and its: people merely as back- ground for a trite melodrama about stolen jewels and unhappy ‘love, HERE COMES THE GROOM Although there’s nothing out- standing about this film, starring Bing Crosby and J ane Wyman, it’s by no means: the worst of recent musicals. : IRON MAN _ A story about a boxer who hag the unluckiest break of all. In the ring he’s a killer, Generally _ fight crowds love killers, the rough and tough fighters. Here they don’t. It’s all most unusual, ‘THE VALENTINO STORY - With all the excitement. of the silent movie days to draw on, this biography of “The Sheik” never comes to life. It’s just not ait. GOODBYE, MY FANCY Although some of the liberal- ism of the stage play has been left, Hollywood has watered down * What was a successful comedy of social comment, ; ’ —_—_ | "THE WORKINGMAN’ STORE’ For Fresh Fruits and Vegetables at Prices You Can Afford to Pay. 483 Powell St. Ask your friends about the Store with the Blue Awning Hitchcock’s skill in building up suspense is through a story improbably and The struggles of the rice work- ers in a part of Italy little known the stage play, The Silver Whistle, this isn’t as good as earlier pic- tures but it’s still good for many laughs. Paths of glory Paths of glory lead but to the junkyard for General Wolfe’s Statue now reposing in a Brook- lyn junkyard while Toronto city fathers debate whether they shall Spend a total of 338,000 necessary to place it on University Avenue. i _stroy Germany but _ carried out this poli power unity and to turn the Western world against the Soviet Union. “Despite the lip service th Western powers the idea of a u (= have given to nited Germany, they fought against the establish- ment of such conference at which Was discussed both after the war,” “When the Germany was ten into the Po Says Burchett, a state at every Germany during and idea of a united accepted and writ- tsdam Agreement, it was difficult for the Western powers openly to renounce Ger- man unity without turning Ger- man public opinion against them They preferred to preach unity, 2 at the same time manouvering behind the Scenes to carry their original Plans to carve Germany into Separate states, “The steps wh out up ch led to the final division are Well known. The Bevin 1946 for e British and American zones; the eventual fusion of the two zones into Bizonia in 1947 -Byrnes agreement in conomic fusion of the place in Mexico City last month when one of the greatest living artists, David Alfaro Sequeiros, formally presented to the ministry of education his new murals ex- ecuted in the Palace of Fine Arts. Hundreds of workers, -intellec- tuals and prominent public fig- ures came to view _the murals and attend the ceremony at which Education Minister Manuel Gual Videl and Fernando Gambao, plastic arts director of the Na- tional Institute of Fine Arts, paid tribute to Siqueiros. The new work of the great painter, who for over one-quarter of a century has been @ member of the Mexican Communist party, consists of two murals, utilizing Symbolically and with much con- temporary significance, the’ his- torical theme of one of Mexico’s principal national heroes, Cuauh- .temoc, last chief of the Aztec In- dian people, who fought courag- eously against the Spanish con- querors, was captured, tortured ithe trans. 2nd eventually ero cavedt One formation of the economic inte, 9 eral Ae enn SAB Gs a political fusion ; the agreement £ Maite niocs ane bs Hea OLnBe on the West German State AaA Cuauhtemoc Reborn. The lat- the setting up of the Bonn re- ter shows. Cuauhtemoc wearing n Germany on 49, as a. Separate state comprising the British, American and French zones.” And now, a “Deace” treaty with Western Germany is in the mak- ing designed to make that state the European cl The author e the armour of the *panish con- querors, standing triumphant Over fallen centaur Pierced by a lance, “My murals are not historical paintings,” Siqueiros told this writer, “They are a symbol of the struggle of weak peoples fight- ing for independence against the national oppressors. cabinet, and Finance but for all peoples fighting for” independence. I have tried th show that the people can defeat the enemy with his own weaP- ons,” ‘ To add contemporary signifi- cance to the paintings, Siqueiros painted the atomic energy SDE bol in one of the fallen centaurs ~ hooves, conveying the meaning that those who use atomic enerBy to attack other peoples, will themselves be destroyed. The new murals are done in dynamic style, characteristic of | Siqueiros. They face his earlier powerful mural called “New Democracy,” on the opposite wall, | which was painted in the last months of the Second World War and depicts the liberation of Europe’s people’ from fascism. On the other two walls are murals of Diego Rivera, and the late Jose Clemente Orozco, who, with Siqueiros, constitute the big #hreé of Mexican painting. Simultaneously with presenta- _ tion of the new murals, the Na- tional Institute of Fine Arts pub- lished a book with 250 reproduc- tions of Siqueiros’ work. The book is sponsored by four cabinet min- isters, including Interior Minister Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, chief of the — Minister Amon Beteta. : “Siqueiros last year won two prizes at the Venice biennial eX- _ position in competition with 300 artists from 22 countries. He is leaving on a European tour this This sym- month when he will visit the Peo- ontrasts this with : ee , aa the setae ce the 'Soviet Tic bol is valid m8 only for Mexico, ple’s Democracies. clearly expressed by M. Molotov OO 90000108 at the July, 1946, meeting of the 4 Foreign Ministers in Paris 23 is not to de- to transform ic and peace- alongside of Would have its own d freign trade, but d be deprived of the nd military potential again as an aggressive think our purpose her into a democrat loving state whach, agriculture, industry an which woul economic a; ity to risé force.” How well the Soviet Union has Cy in the Eastern Zone is graphically de- scribed in Several chapters of Burchett’s interesting and highly informative book. eed OS 0 OE (2) m— (0) ‘NEW SEASON APPROACHING! : NEW FALL STYLES ARRIVING! You will approve of COME IN AND LOOK AROUND ‘SILVERS LADIES WEAR 1470 Commiercial Drive our choice of Specialized Styles