It's hard to say whether "The Devil Is a Sissy" was written for Freddie Bartholomew, Jackie Cooper, and Mickey Rooney, or whether it was discovered as a suitable vehicle for its child stars. At any rate, it is not a first class production, mostly because the theme has been treated more than once. Essentially it is rich boy versus poor boys, but give the rich boy an English accent and an English father-architect struggling for a living while his well-to-do wife cavorts in Florida, and you have a slightly different situation. Both the devil and the sissy are the pert, Fauntleroy-like Freddie Bartholomew, who distinguishes himself above his older colleagues, where acting is required. In places the reform story of the son of an executed murderer and the son of a voluble A.E.F. veteran who made "the world safe for democracy," drags. It is maudlin to hear the judge in the juvenile court make friends with the boys, suspected of a burglary, by telling them the devil failed to be an angle because he wasn't tough enough. Elsewhere it moves with the pace characteristic of polished direction and capable acting. The scene of Bartholomew picking a fight with big Jackie Cooper is well done; also the touching shot of the boys attempting to buy a $500 tombstone for "Gig's" (Mickey Rooney's) father. In general the picture will satisfy the indifferent moviegoer.

The co-feature, "Rose Bowl," is what the title suggests and not much more. Since Hollywood released their first football picture some years ago, they have changed little. There still romps the sleek, cocky star fullback, who breaks the small-town girl's heart, and the second-team "regular fellow," who runs wild in the final game to carry off both the victory and the same home town girl. In the middle of this very long film the producers showed a shallow streak of guilty conscience in the person of a meek professor, who objects to his small college vying for the Rose Bowl bid on the grounds that it will attract too much publicity of the wrong kind. It is not strange that the football players in football romances get away with one scene, at the most, of studying, but very strange that the public has not yet grown sick of films that mix a little fake football, some wishy-washy cracks, and high school romance.

A Paramount News and an artistic, colorful cartoon, "To Spring" --by far the best part--complete a fair-to-middling program.