Magokoro

Teruko Kato and Etchan are schoolfriends. However, when reports cards come out, Etchan's mother, Sachiko Murase, is upset. She complains to her husband, Minoru Takada. He says she's a healthy, well-adjusted girl, so she goes to the teacher, who says nice things, but indicates that she needs to study harder. When she finds out that Miss Kato is now at the top of her class, she goes on about how her daughter is turning into a juvenile delinquent and Takada should have married Miss Kato's mother, Takako Irie. Etchan overhears this, tells her friend, and they think this is weird.

This mild comedy is a potboiler from a novel by Yôjirô Ishizaka. Everyone is very sweet and kind and moral, with the exception of Miss Murase. There's a bit of obligatory flag-waving, with Takada waiting for his draft notice to come in, which pleases everybody. It's a typically highly competent movie by Mikio Naruse. Like any skilled director, he could turn out a good movie, and his highly competent cast and crew deliver a pleasant 67 minutes.