"Back Streets of Paris" is a good example of how the French, unhampered by any gangster-cow-boy heritage, can make a decent blood 'n' thunder movie. The characters somehow standout from the screen as real people; you may disapprove of the life they lead, but still it's a perfectly credible life. Not that the film lacks any violence; on the contrary, there's a lot. But you quite literally always know what the shooting's about. "Back Streets of Paris" treats the activities of the French underworld in a frank and unassuming way; some scenes are so natural they might easily have been taken with a concealed camera.

Almost all the action takes place in the Hotel Bijon, a name singularly appropriate because the proprietress, Madame Rose (Francoise Rosay), herself dabbles in stolen baubles. The Hotel Bijon isn't exactly the Waldorf of Paris--as a matter of fact, its dusty brick walls conceal quite a bit of shady activity. Daytime scenes are taken up with the stolen goods racket. I suspect the Boston censors have flourished their knives at the nighttime scenes, but not so much that the results unduly tax the imagination.

"Music Magic," on the same bill, tells the story of the London Philharmonic Orchestra during the war. The movie is acted by actual Orchestra members, and therefore lacks professional finish. But if you're interested in seeing Constant Lambert, Sir Adrian Boult, and the Philharmonic in action, it's worth sitting through.