1.6 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #6: YANKEE DOODLE GOES TO TOWN (1939)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Screenplay by Joseph Sherman / Story by Richard Goldstone & Alvan Sommerfield
Cast:
Albert Russell ...... Abraham Lincoln
Clem Bevans ......... Curdleface
Josiah Tucker
Synopsis:
Made just before America would be forced into the Second World War, this short subject is a brief
dramatized history of American democracy. It targets a perceived threat to democracy from board
room and soapbox fascists who advocated a government based upon contemporaneous European models

1.7 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #7: THE GIANT OF NORWAY (1939)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Written by Doane R. Hoag
Cast:
Lumsden Hare ... Fridtjof Nansen
Synopsis:
This short tells the story of Norwegian explorer and diplomat Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930). After a
life of adventure, he was instrumental in resettling tens of thousands of refugees and displaced
persons resulting from World War I. He continued this work in 1922 after the war between Greece and
Turkey. The film ends by reminding moviegoers to think of the plight of contemporary refugees caused
by the fighting in Europe.

1.8 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #8: THE STORY THAT COULDN'T BE PRINTED (1939)
Directed by Joseph M. Newman
Written by ?
Cast:
Victor Kilian ... John Peter Zengler
Synopsis:
The story of John Peter Zengler, who was tried for sedition based on what he printed in his
newspaper. His subsequent acquittal established the concept of freedom of the press.

1.9 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #9: ONE AGAINST THE WORLD (1939)
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Screenplay by Doane R. Hoag / Story by Barney Gerard
Cast:
Jonathan Hale ... Dr. Ephraim McDowell
Synopsis:
Dramatized events surrounding the first invasive surgical operation performed in the United States,
performed by Dr. Ephraim McDowell on December 13, 1809. Jane Crawford of Danville, Kentucky is diagnosed
with a tumor and Dr. McDowell determines that surgery is the only treatment option. The townsfolk are
against this and threaten to lynch him if he goes through with it.

1.10 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #10: UNSEEN GUARDIANS (1939)
Directed by Basil Wrangell
Written by George Wallace Sayre, Doane R. Hoag, Samuel H. Chain
Synopsis:
The "unseen guardians" of the title are the Postal Inspection Service, which investigates mail order
racketeering; the Underwriters' Laboratories, which are shown testing electrical equipment, fire
extinguishers, and large floor safes; and those who run orphanages, who assure that the children in
their care are placed in proper adoptive homes

1.11 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #11: FORGOTTEN VICTORY (1939)
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Screenplay by Robert Lopez
Cast:
Donald Douglas ..... Mark Carleton
Synopsis:
USDA scientist Mark Carleton appears to be traveling on some kind of junket as wheat farmers face disaster
from drought, frost, and diseases. But in Russia, he finds a variety of wheat that's resistant to drought.
He brings it home, and the Kubanka strain is an instant hit with the farmers. But the farmers that had been
singing his praises are cursing him at harvest time. The wheat is much harder than the popular but fickle
spring wheat, and millers will not accept it because it would cost them millions to retrofit their mills.
Carleton tries to persuade them, and to increase demand for macaroni (the best use for the resulting flour),
but to no avail. The following year, a severe blight of black rust hits, wiping out the spring wheat crop.
But the Kubanka durum is resistant to the blight, and the millers, seeing no alternative, accept the wheat.
It becomes a standard. Carleton himself, however, dies in poverty. (The film omits Carleton's other important
crop introduction, Kharkof [Turkey] red winter wheat.)

1.12 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #12: XXX MEDICO (1940)
Directed by Basil Wrangell
Synopsis: Highlights a new system that will enable doctors to operate over long distances

1.13 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #13: THE HIDDEN MASTER (1940)
Directed by Sammy Lee
Screenplay by Doane R. Hoag
Cast:
Peter Cushing ........ Robert Clive of India
Emmett Vogan ......... Dr. William Roentgen
Louis Jean Heydt ..... Harry Jones
Synopsis:
Shows how important luck can be in a person's life

1.14 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #14: A WAY IN THE WILDERNESS (1940)(bw)(11 min)
Producer/ Narrator: John Nesbitt
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Screenplay: Herman Boxer
Cinematography: Paul Vogel
Film Editing: Albert Akst
Art Direction: Richard Duce
Music: David Snell
Cast:
Shepperd Strudwick ..... Dr. Joseph Goldberger
Barbara Bedford ........ Sick Farmer's Wife
Edward Hearn ........... Prisoner
Wally Maher ............ Second Doctor at Prison)
Synopsis 1:
This Passing Parade entry tells the story of Dr. Joseph Goldberger (1874-1929), a Hungarian immigrant
who devoted his life to finding the cause of pellagra, a disease that killed hundreds of thousands
in the southern United States. Although the medical community believed that the condition was caused
by a virus, Goldberger proved that a healthy diet was the cure
Synopsis 2:
Profile of Hungaraian Dr. Joseph Goldberger (Shepperd Strudwick) who worked in the American
South at the turn of the century, trying to find the cause of pellagra, a disease that killed
thousands.

1.15 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #15: TRIFLES OF IMPORTANCE (1940)
Directed by Basil Wrangell
Screenplay by John Nesbitt and Robert Lopez
Synopsis:
This short shows how three seemingly unimportant things can affect people ...
The first is how the number 7 affects a student accused of theft charges.
The second segment shows that a person's doodles can reveal personality traits.
The final segment shows why certain items are on men's suits, such as lapels.

1.16 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #16: THE BARON AND THE ROSE (1940)
Directed by Basil Wrangell
Screenplay by Robert Lopez / Story by Samuel H. Chain
Synopsis:
The story of Henry Stiegel, a blacksmith in Elizabeth Furnace, Pennsylvania, who, in colonial days
became a famous glass-maker, acquired land and wealth, and squandered it. As an old man he had given
a lease on one of his properties to a church, with the rent to be determined later. Despite his
financial condition, Steigel, always the artist, made the annual rent one red rose, which is why the
church in Mannheim, Pennsylvania still paid it rent that way in the 20th century in 1940.

1.17 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #17: UTOPIA OF DEATH (1940)
Cast:
Harold Austin ... Himself
Synopsis:
This short is a report of an expedition, led by Harold Austin, to Mexico's Tiburón Island in the Gulf
of California. Austin was in search of the Seri Indians, who were believed to be a dying people when
this film was made. We see several Seri natives carrying on their daily lives as they have for many
centuries. Concern for the Seris' survival has proved to be premature.

1.18 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #18: DREAMS (1940)
Directed by Felix E. Feist
Cast:
Peter Cushing ...... First Dreamer
Synopsis:
This entry in MGM's Passing Parade series looks at the meaning of dreams & nightmares,
including one by Abraham Lincoln that foretold his death.
(TV Syndication: 31Mar/01Apr66 Ch.11 WPIX (Independent) NYC, Thur/Fri 12:00 midnight)

1.19 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #19: AMERICAN SPOKEN HERE (1940)
Directed by Basil Wrangell
Written by Robert Lopez
Synopsis:
Off-screen narrator John Nesbitt tells us that English is two languages, standard and slang. We watch
several quick conversations spoken entirely in slang. Then, in reenactments of scenes from the past,
actors illustrate the origins of some common expressions while the narrator explains them: minding
one's P's and Q's, kicking the bucket, pin money, doing a Brodie, and, in a lengthy concluding segment,
the derivation of "fink."

1.20 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #20: WHISPERS (1941)
Directed by Basil Wrangell
Written by Herman Boxer
Synopsis:
How gossip can be used to spread propaganda or ruin a person's reputation. The story focuses on a
businessman who spearheads a drive to tear down slums to make room for low-cost public housing.
His opponents seize upon a small bit of truth and twist it to turn public opinion against him.
Narrator John Nesbitt warns moviegoers to be sceptical of rumors, especially during wartime.

1.21 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #21: MORE TRIFLES OF IMPORTANCE (1941)
Directed by Basil Wrangell
Cast:
Lumsden Hare .......... Duke
Eleanor Wesselhoeft ... Foxglove Woman
William Tannen ........ Doctor
Vondell Darr .......... Patient
Synopsis:
This entry in the Passing Parade series deals with medical discoveries that are discovered by accident.

1.22 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #22: OUT OF DARKNESS (1941)
Directed by Sammy Lee
Story & Screenplay by Doane R. Hoag
Synopsis:
This short is about Germany's and the German Army's, efforts to shut down the underground resistance newspaper,
La Libre Belgique (Free Belguim), in occupied Belgium during World War I and how it sprang up again in occupied
Belgium during World War II.

1.23 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #23: WILLIE AND THE MOUSE (1941)
Directed by George Sidney
Original Story and Screenplay by Julian Hochfelder

1.24 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #24: THIS IS THE BOWERY (1941)
Directed by Gunther von Fritsch
Story & Screenplay by Herbert Morgan
Synopsis:
This short looks at New York City's Bowery district. It is here that the disenfranchised and downtrodden
eke out their meager existence. We visit the Bowery Mission, where men are given food, a set of clean clothes,
and a chance to become a useful member of society again.

1.25 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #25: YOUR LAST ACT (1941)(bw)(11 min)
Producer/ Narrator: John Nesbitt
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Screenplay: Norman Rose, Doane Hoag
Cinematography: Harold Lipstein
Film Editing: Albert Akst
Art Direction: Richard Duce
Music: Lennie Hayton
Cast:
Vince Barnett ...... Alexander Hartley
Edward Hearn ....... Policeman
Claire McDowell .... Old Lady with Memories
Pat O'Malley ....... Policeman
Grant Withers ...... Train Detective
Synopsis 1:
This short looks at the odd bequests that people have made in their wills over the years. They
include a woman who left her fortune to her pet cat and a murderer who ensured that his corneas
would be donated to a blind girl after he was put to death in the electric chair. At the end,
the will of Charles Lounsberry, who died with no earthly possessions, is read in its entirety
Synopsis 2:
Opens with the line, spoken by John Nesbitt: "Fifty billion dollars of the nation's money is
controlled by dead men." The Story of several unusual bequeaths and last wills. Some examples
are humorous, some spiteful, some touching. A man on death row leaves his corneas to a blind girl,
for example, while a frivolous person leaves $700 a week for the care of a cocker spaniel.
Ending with an account of the Last Will left by a dying hobo in a boxcar, "Your Last Act"
demonstrates the variety of tones that can be successfully explored in just 11 minutes of
running time, with a miniscule budget and no synchronized dialogue.

1.26 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #26: OF PUPS AND PUZZLES (1941)
Directed by George Sidney
(no synopsis)

1.27 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #27: HOBBIES (1941)
Directed by George Labrousse
(no synopsis)

1.28 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #28: STRANGE TESTEMENT (1941)
JOHN NESBITTS PASSING PARADE - Strange Testement
Directed by Sammy Lee
Cast:
Edward Ashley ... Julian Poydras
Synopsis:
Story of Julian Poydras, whose encounter with a girl at Mardi Gras had a profound effect on
his later life.

1.29 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #29: WE DO IT BECAUSE (1942)
Directed by Basil Wrangell
Written by Harry Poppe Jr. & Douglas Foster
Host John Nesbitt presents wry and sometimes tongue-in-cheek commentary on the origins of many of today's
seemingly meaningless rituals including hand-shaking, hat-tipping to women, shaving, clinking glasses,
a finger bowls, the tradition of the wedding ring and bridal veil, kissing, the blunted table knife,
and the breaking of a wine bottle at ship launchings.

1.30 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #30: FLAG OF MERCY (1942)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Screenplay by Herman Boxer
Synopsis:
Two and-a-half years after the release of  #5 "Angel of Mercy,"(1939) MGM added new commentary to it to involve
America's entry into World War II, following the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, on Dec 7, 1941.
Aside from this slight editing, this one is still "Angel of Mercy," depicting the efforts of Clara Barton
to organize a hospital service for soldiers on the battlefields of World War I. Her efforts led to the
formation of the American Red Cross.

1.31 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #31: THE WOMAN IN THE HOUSE (1942)
Directed by Sammy Lee
Screenplay by Warner Law / Story by John Nesbitt
Cast:
Ann Richards ... Catherine Starr
Synopsis:
This short looks at the illness anthropophobia, the fear of people. In 1901, young Catherine Starr, who lives
in a small English coastal town, has an argument with her fiancé. He leaves her house, goes off to serve in
the Boer War, and dies of malaria. Catherine blames herself for his death and fears others will also blame her.
She does not leave her house for forty years. Groceries are delivered to the house, but no one sees who
retrieves them. When the Nazis bomb her house in September 1941, she is forced to cope with the outside world.

1.32 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #32: THE INCREDIBLE STRANGER (1942)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Written by ?
Synopsis:
In turn of the century Bridgewood, a mysterious stranger from Chicago requests, by letter to the local contractor,
that a four bedroom house be built in town. The stranger moves into the house by himself without saying a word
to any of the townsfolk. He lives there seemingly alone, but orders through the local store clothing, including
that for a woman and two children. But no one knows what is happening in the house as the stranger never says
anything to anyone, and no one else ever goes in or out of the house. The entire town eventually learns why
the man moved to Bridgewood and why he doesn't speak. But it's the secret kept behind the locked doors of his
house that tells the full heartbreaking story.

1.33 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #33: VENDETTA (1942)
Directed by Joe Newman (aka Joseph M. Newman)
Written by DeVallon Scott
Cast:
Horace McNally (aka Stephen McNally) ..... Carlo Pozzo di Borgo
Synopsis:
Two young Corsican boys take a blood oath that they will always do what is necessary to keep Corsica free.
One of the boys, who grows up to become the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte, breaks his promise when he
annexes Corsica to France. Napoleon's boyhood friend, Carlo Pozzo di Borgo, vows to get his revenge

1.34 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #34: THE MAGIC ALPHABET (1942)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Story & Screenplay by Robert Lopez
Cast:
Horace McNally (aka Stephen McNally) ... Dr. Christiaan Eijkman
Synopsis:
This short dramatizes how the work of Dutch physician Christiaan Eijkman, who searched for a cure for beri-beri
on the island of Java in the 1890's, and led to the discovery of vitamins. At the end of the film, American
housewives are encouraged to learn about vitamins and feed their families the proper diet as part of the effort
to win the war.

1.35 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #35: FAMOUS BONERS (1942)
Directed by Douglas Foster
Written by Harry Poppe Jr.
Synopsis:
This Passing Parade series entry looks at three instances of people who either caused or were the
victims of errors.

1.36 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #36: THE FILM THAT WAS LOST (1942)
Directed by Sammy Lee
Screenplay & Story by Doane R. Hoag
Synopsis:
A look at the problems of film preservation efforts in the 1930s and 1940s. Focuses on MOMA's efforts which
commenced on August 8, 1935. It illustrates the problems with celluloid stock. It emphasizes early newsreel
clips of world leaders. We are shown early footage of King George V, The Kaiser, Queen Victoria, Theodore
Roosevelt and others.
(More on Film Preservation in #43 "Forgotten Treasure")

1.37 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #37: MADERO OF MEXICO (1942)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Screenplay by Doane R. Hoag / Story by Brainerd Duffield
Cast:
Paul Guilfoyle ..... Don Francisco Madero
Synopsis:
This film chronicles the short political life of Francisco Madero (1873-1913), who tried to bring democracy
and land reform to Mexico.

1.38 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #38: WHO'S SUPERSTITIOUS? (1943)
Directed by Sammy Lee
Written by Douglas Foster and Richard H. Landau
Synopsis:
Examines the origins of several superstitions, including crossing one's fingers when lying and
why opening an umbrella inside a building is bad luck. Several minutes are devoted to the legend
of the Flying Dutchman sailing ship.

1.39 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #39: THAT'S WHY I LEFT YOU (1943)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Story & Screenplay by Doane R. Hoag
Synopsis:
A young husband writes a letter to his wife recounting the ups and downs of their marriage.

1.40 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #40: TRIFLES THAT WIN WARS (1943)
Directed by Harold Daniels
Original Story and Screenplay by Harry Poppe Jr. and Edward Bock
Synopsis:
This Passing Parade series entry looks at three seemingly innocuous items that are contributing to the war effort:
(i) When billiard ball manufacturers were searching for a substitute for ivory, they had no idea that celluloid
would lead to the plastics used in today's airplanes, warships, and other items;
(ii) A scientist discovers that when collodion evaporates, it leaves a residue that keeps glass from shattering.
This discovery led to the safety glass used in car windshields and, more important, in the cockpit windows of
combat pilots;
(iii) The silk strands spun by spiders proved to be the best material for cross hairs in sights in periscopes and
bomb sights.

1.41 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #41: DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT (1943)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Screenplay by Gene Piller / Story by Cran Chamberlin
Synopsis:
This Passing Parade entry looks at several historical "truths" that just aren't so:
Steve Brodie never jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge;
Mrs. O'Leary's cow did not start the great Chicago fire;
Nero didn't fiddle while Rome burned;
and Lady Godiva never rode naked through the streets of Coventry.

1.42 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #42: NURSERY RHYME MYSTERIES (1943)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Written by George B. Seitz Jr.
Synopsis:
This Passing Parade series entry looks at the origins of Mother Goose and three popular nursery rhymes.

1.43 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #43: FORGOTTEN TREASURE (1943)
Directed by Sammy Lee
Written by Doane R. Hoag
Synopsis:
This short highlights the film preservation efforts of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Several scenes
from early newsreels are shown, including the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906, the funeral of
Edward VIII of England (the Duke of Windsor), and U.S. president William McKinley at the 1901 Pan American
Exposition in Buffalo, New York the day before he was assassinated.
(More on Film Preservation in #36 "The Film That Was Lost")

1.44 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #44: STORM (1943)
Directed by Paul Burnford
Writtern by Dorothy Baldwin and Robert Russell
Synopsis:
A look at how the weather bureau tries to warn farmers and businessmen about approaching large storms.
Although some precautions can be taken to lessen their impact, storms have to run their course, and
there is really not much we can do about them.
(More on Weather Forecasting in #51 "It Looks Like Rain")

1.45 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #45: TO MY UNBORN SON (1943)
Directed by László Kardos
Story & Screenplay by Lewis Jacobs
Synopsis:
A Czech father writes a letter to the son he will never see, explaining his resistance to the Nazi
invasion of Czechoslovakia

1.46 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #46: THIS IS TOMORROW (1943)
Directed by ?
Written by John Nesbitt
Synopsis:
Narrator John Nesbitt discusses the evolution of the American city starting with the colonial farming villages
of our forefathers. The desire for "something better" brought about the industrial revolution, which led to
the workers living in cramped, filthy towns near the factories. The rise of the modern metropolis led to more
beautiful cities, but the hustle and bustle and congestion of cars and people are undesirable to many. Finally,
the wonders of the future planned suburban community are promoted, and the narrator reminds us that the current
military war is also a fight to realize our city of tomorrow

1.47 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #47: THE IMMORTAL BLACKSMITH (1944)
Directed by Sammy Lee
Screenplay by John Nesbitt / Story by Harland Manchester
Cast
Chill Wills .......... Tom Davenport
Pamela Blake ......... Emily Davenport
Hobart Cavanaugh ..... Oliver Davenport
Synopsis:
This Passing Parade short tells the true story of Vermont blacksmith and inventor Tom Davenport,
who lived the first half of the 19th century. He purchased an electro-magnet, not sure what he would
do with it. He eventually invented the modern electric motor. This is an unusual entry in the Passing
Parade series, because the characters speak their own dialog, with narration at a minimum

1.48 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #48: GRANDPA CALLED IT ART (1944)
Directed by Walter Hart
Cast:
Thomas Hart Benton
Charles Birchfield
Reginald Marsh
(no synopsis)

1.49 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #49: RETURN FROM NOWHERE (1944)
Directed by Paul Burnford
Original Story and Screenplay by Lewis Jacobs and Edith Martin
Synopsis:
A man recovers his lost memories when he is forced to relive events in his dreams.

1.50 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #50: A LADY FIGHTS BACK (1944)
Screenplay by George B. Seitz Jr. and Herbert Morgan / Story by Herbert Morgan
Synopsis:
The "lady" of the title is the French luxury liner Normandie. When it was built, it was the largest and
most luxurious ocean liner afloat. On its maiden voyage in 1935, she set a trans-Atlantic speed record
that stood for 3 years. When war came to Europe in the late 1930s, she was moored in New York to keep
her out of German hands. Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government seized
the ship, renamed her the USS Lafayette, and started refitting her as a troop carrier. A fire in February
1942 gutted her, and so much water was used to extinguish the fire, that she listed and lay on her side
at her New York pier. It took about 17 months to get her shipshape again to serve in the war.

1.51 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #51: IT LOOKS LIKE RAIN (1945)
Directed by Paul Burnford
Screenplay by Rosemary Foster / Story by Dorothy Baldwin and Robert Russell
Synopsis:
A survey of the tools and methods used to forecast the weather. The importance of correct forecasts
to farmers is emphasized.
(TV Syndication: 21Nov64, Ch. 11 WPIX (Independent) NYC, Sat 8:30am)
(More on Weather Forecasting in #44 "Storm")

1.52 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #52: THE SEESAW AND THE SHOES (1945)
Directed by Douglas Foster
Story & Screenplay by Rosemary Foster
Synopsis:
This short shows how two objects led to important discoveries. Children playing with a seesaw inspire
French physician Rene Laennec to invent the stethoscope, and a pair of shoes made of caoutchouc lead
Charles Goodyear to discover the process for vulcanizing rubber.

1.53 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #53: THE GREAT AMERICAN MUG (1945)
Directed by Cy Endfield
Written by George B. Seitz Jr. (writer)
Synopsis:
A visit to a barbershop, the place where men go to relax, gossip, and trade old stories and jokes.
It's a place of the latest gadgets too. Then, using a photo on the wall as a taking-off point, the
film hearkens back to a turn-of-the century tonsorial parlor. There, a shave and a haircut are two
bits. Beards and sideburns are trimmed, special brushes help keep hair from falling out, and for 30
minutes, a man can relax in a mohair chair that cost the barber $20 installed. In the back, a traveler
can take a bath for 20 cents. The stories and jokes seem to be the same - only the prices have changed.

1.54 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #54: STAIRWAY TO LIGHT (1945)
Directed by :Sammy Lee
Screenplay by Rosemary Foster / Story by John Nesbitt
Cast:
Wolfgang Zilzer ...... Dr. Philippe Pinel
Synopsis:
This Passing Parade series entry tells the story of Dr. Phillipe Pinel (1745-1826), a French physician.
When he was assigned to a government institution for the mentally ill, he was appalled at the conditions
he found. People were treated like animals, chained in dark basement cells for decades. Dr. Pinel treated
the patients with kindness and understanding. His then-unorthodox methods became the model for treating those
with mental illness.

1.55 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #55: PEOPLE ON PAPER (1945)
Directed by Herbert Morgan
Story & Screenplay by John Nesbitt
Cartoonists appearing as themselves:
H.H. Knerr, Bud Fisher, Fred Lasswell Jr., Frank King, Chester Gould, Dick Calkins
Milton Caniff, Chic Young, Raeburn Van Buren, Ham Fisher, Hal Foster, Harold Gray, Al Capp
Synopsis:
A history of the modern comic strip, beginning with "The Yellow Kid" with clips of various
cartoonists at work.
(TV Syndication: 21Nov64, Ch. 11 WPIX (Independent) NYC, Sat 8:30am)

1.56 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #56: GOLDEN HUNCH (1945)
Synopsis:
Great moments in the lives of famous men who found found an answer or made a great discovery
in the flash of a golden hunch.

1.57 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #57: MAGIC ON A STICK (1946)
Directed by Cyril Endfield
Written by Charles Larson
Cast:
Paul Langton ...... John Walker
Synopsis
This short traces how English chemist John Walker invented the wooden friction match in
the first half of the 19th century.

1.58 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #58: OUR OLD CAR (1946)
Directed by Cyril Endfield
Screenplay & Original Story by John Nesbitt
Cast:
Arthur Space ........ Mr. Nesbitt
Jacqueline White .... Mrs. Nesbitt
Billy Gray .......... Boy
William Tannen ...... Neighbor
Synopsis:
John Nesbitt looks back to 1900, when his parents were courting and his dad took mom out in a 1900
Columbus Roadmaster. The narrator follows the family's fortunes on this block in Anytown , USA, as
dad and mom marry, have two children, need a larger car, and drive a 1905 Holzman, a Stanley Steamer
(bought after the neighbors get a 1910 Mitchell Touring car), a 1913 Model T, big brother's roadster
(great for picking up flappers), the narrator's jalopy, and then, by 1935, a reliable sedan that mom
drives. The changing automobile, which opened the world to folks in the first half of the twentieth
century, is celebrated as part of birth, courtship, marriage, and business.

1.59 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #59: A REALLY IMPORTANT PERSON (1947)
Directed by Basil Wrangell
Screenplay by Harriet Frank Jr. and George B. Seitz Jr. / Story by Beatrice Joy Chute
Cast:
Dean Stockwell ...... Billy Reilly
Connie Gilchrist .... Mrs. Reilly
Clancy Cooper ....... Police Officer Timothy Reilly
Chick York .......... Librarian
Synopsis:
Billy Reilly, the young son of a policeman, wants to enter a contest that offers a baseball glove for
the best essay on an important person. As Billy is in the library, struggling to come up with an idea,
a man suggests that he look around him instead of looking in books. Later, when Billy is playing ball
with his friends, he accidentally breaks a window. Eventually this helps him learn a lesson that also
gives him an idea for his essay.

1.60 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #60: TENNIS IN RHYTHM (1947)
Cast:
Alice Marble as Herself

1.61 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #61: THE AMAZING MR NORDILL (1947)
Directed by Joseph M. Newman
Written by John Nesbitt
Cast:
Leon Ames ... Everett Nordill
Synopsis:
Based on the exploits of counterfeiter Everett Nordill, one of the cleverest counterfeiters who
ever baffled the agents of the U.S. Treasury department.

1.62 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #62: MIRACLE IN A CORNFIELD (1947)
prod. no. K-971
Synopsis:
The story of the birth of a volcano in a Mexico cornfield is described. The rise of Paricutin in the heart
of the Mexican farmlands is shown, plus actual eruptions in the new volcano's crater are photographed.. [LA]

1.63 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #63: IT CAN'T BE DONE (1948)
Synopsis:
A trip through a Washington Hall of Fame recalls men whose great ideas were scorned in their day;
includes stock footage from ...
'That Mothers Might Live' (1938), 'The Magic Alphabet' (1942), 'The Immortal Blacksmith' (1944),
'The Story of Dr. Jenner' (1939), and 'A Way in the Wilderness' (1940).

1.64 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #64: GOODBYE MISS TURLOCK (1948)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Written by John Nesbitt
Synopsis:
Narrator John Nesbitt laments the disappearance of the rural one-room schoolhouse in America.
He reminisces about his own days as a student in such a school and how his teacher, Miss Turlock,
influenced so many students. Many of them reunite at the school on Miss Turlock's last day, when
the school was closed in 1940.

1.65 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #65 : MY OLD TOWN (1948)
Written by John Nesbitt
Synopsis
Narrator John Nesbitt visits his old hometown and reminisces about how much simpler things were there when
he was growing up. He also says that he wouldn't want to visit that time again, because people tend to remember
the good things but not the hardships. There is, however, one thing that the old and new versions of his
hometown have in common: faith in the future.

1.66 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #66: SOUVENIRS OF DEATH (1948)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Original Story & Screenplay by Alan Friedman
Synopsis:
As seen through the indifferent eyes of a callous Mauser pistol, the story line tracks its chain of custody
after being picked up on a French battlefield by an American GI near the body of its dead owner, a German
soldier. Although he takes precautions for its safe display, the GI's young son is able to access it and
show it to friends, one of whom ends up killing the family dog. Although the father disables it, the boy's
mother insists it be disposed of, so he sends it to his brother for use as a souvenir paperweight. It is
lost in a poker game, hocked, and bought by a gunsmith who restores its firepower. Ultimately it reaches
its seventh and last owner, a gangster who uses it to rob a casino and murder a policeman.

1.67 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #67: THE FABULOUS FRAUD (1948)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Written by John Nesbitt
Cast:
John Baragrey ........ Franz Anton Mesmer
Phyllis Morris ....... Rich Woman
Marcia Mae Jones ..... Blind Girl
Morris Ankrum ........ Blind Girl's Father
Narrated by John Nesbitt
Synopsis 1:
The story of Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), the source of the word "mesmerize" and the first to use hypnotism
as a way to treat illness. Mesmer arrives in Paris, becomes famous and rich treating the maladies of the idle
class using shock treatments. Then, while treating a blind lass, he discovers the potential of hypnotism, and
sets aside at least some of his quackery to try to be a legitimate healer. Some of his successful treatments
are short lived and more of his patients die than recover, so he is driven from Paris, living out his life as
a quiet Swiss physician. We see him, old, in front of his fire, wondering if his life has been for the good.
Synopsis 2:
The Story of Anton Mesmer, whose use of hypnotism, brought him renown as a healer. [TA]
(TV Syndication: 01/02Apr66 Ch.11 WPIX (Independent) NYC, Fri/Sat 12:00 midnight)

1.68 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #68: (unknown) (1948 or 1949)
1.69 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #69: (unknown) (1948 or 1949)
1.xx [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #: ANNIE WAS A WONDER (1949)
Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Written by John Nesbitt
Cast:
Kathleen Freeman ..... Annie Swenson
Howard Negley ........ Mr. Nesbitt
Ruth Lee ............. Mrs. Nesbitt
Hugo-Sven Borg ....... Gus
Charles Bates ........ Younger Son
Synopsis:
In this entry in the Passing Parade series, narrator John Nesbitt tells the story of Annie Swenson,
who worked as a cook/housekeeper in the Nesbitt home when she was growing up. Annie was one of
thousands of Scandinavian immigrant girls who came to America in the early years of the 20th century
in search of a better life.

1.70 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #70: CLUES TO ADVENTURE (1949)
Written by John Nesbitt
Synopsis:
This short dramatizes how disparate events in history contributed to the adoption of three provisions in the
U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights. The events (and the affected Constitutional provisions) are
(i) The political basis for the nursery rhyme 'Hush-a-Bye Baby' (freedom of speech);
(ii) The trial of newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger (freedom of the press);
(iii) the unsolved mystery of the 'Man in the Iron Mask' (prohibition of the infliction of 'cruel and unusual punishments').

1.71 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #71: MR WHITNEY HAD A NOTION (1949)
Directed by Gerald Mayer
Screenplay by John Nesbitt
Cast:
Lloyd Bridges ........ Eli Whitney
Erville Alderson ..... Thomas Jefferson
Howard J. Negley ..... Military Committee Man
Harry Hayden ......... Senatorial Committee Man
Mitchell Lewis ....... Eli Whitney's Workman
Synopsis:
This Passing Parade entry tells of a little-known story in American history. Eli Whitney, famous for inventing
the cotton gin, was given a US government contract to produce a large number of rifles over a two-year period.
In order to fulfill the contract, he developed the concept of mass production. Instead of one person crafting
a whole rifle, several persons make individual parts that are assembled later.

1.72 [--] John Nesbitt's Passing Parade #72: CITY OF CHILDREN (1949) (final episode)
Written by John Nesbitt
Synopsis:
A look at the community of Mooseheart, Illinois that is the home to orphaned children.


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