Following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, America was rife with rumors about the size of Japan's armed forces and how well-equipped they were to wage...

The saga of the Normandie is recounted from her life as a luxury liner, the horrific fire that nearly destroyed her, and her resuscitation to join in...

In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short, we learn the story of Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer, the man who discovered hypnotism.

A look at how the weather bureau tries to warn farmers and businessmen about approaching large storms. Although some precautions can be taken to...

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short takes a look at the gentlemanly life and masterful counterfeiting exploits of Everett Nordill, one of the...

This dramatized short film describes the historical mystery of France's "man in the iron mask". King Louis XIV imprisoned a man who was never...

Sunny-sweet the prune shows us how prunes are made from certain kinds of plums, why they're so good for you, and, in live action, some recipes made...

A policeman's son searches for a suitable subject for an essay about an important person.

This short film shows how the war department utilizes a Ph.D., a chimp, and three dogs to help design aptitude tests for men applying for work.

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short tells of the Nazis' efforts to shut down an underground resistance newspaper in occupied Belgium.

Young couple Joe and Mary Thompson love each other and their children despite the struggles that they have that are typical of most young couples...

This MGM An Historical Mystery short traces the final voyage of the Mary Celeste, a ship discovered at sea, in December 1872, devoid - for no...

That Mothers Might Live is a 1938 American short drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann. The short is a brief account of Hungarian physician Ignaz...

Young lovers Jack and Sally are from families that compete to send horses to the 1938 Kentucky Derby, but during the Civil War, her family sided with...

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...

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...

The "unseen guardians" of the title are the Postal Inspection Service, which investigates mail order racketeering; the Underwriters' Laboratories,...

This short film examines the origins of several superstitions including crossing your fingers, knocking on wood, rabbit's feet, and breaking...

This Best Short Subject Academy Award winning film begins in the spring of 1940, just before the Nazi occupation of the Benelux countries, and ends...

This MGM Passing Parade series short tells the story of Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross.

In this somewhat whitewashed documentary on Manhattan's Bowery a newcomer to the area takes his first step toward redemption after a meal, bed, and...

An American art collector, living in France in the 1870s, who loses his fortune in a stock market crash devises a scheme to get back his wealth...

This MGM Passing Parade series short presents how separate events led to the creation of three provisions - freedom of speech, freedom of the press,...

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...

Historical short showing how Eli Whitney (best known for the invention of the cotton gin) played a significant role in the introduction of mass...

In December 1892, a silent mysterious and very private man, for whom a new house has just been built, arrives in the small town of Bridgewood to keep...

A Yugoslav man, dying after being shot while attempting to help defend his village, writes a letter of encouragement and hope to his unborn child,...

Narrator John Nesbitt reminisces about his hometown and childhood in this Passing Parade series short.

Adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of a destitute little girl who sells matches, and uses them to escape the cold on Christmas Eve,...

In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short, a look is taken at the problems of film preservation efforts in the 1930s and early 1940s.

Rural Minnesota school teacher, Miss Enter (Bette Davis) becomes a courageous survivor during a snow blizzard that leaves her stranded with several...

Short documentary film about the Dumbarton Oaks plan and the proposed formation of the United Nations.

In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short, a man traces his history by the succession of cars his father owned. [This short appears in its entirety...

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short tells the story of John Peter Zenger, who in Colonial New York was tried for sedition based on what he...

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short highlights the film preservation efforts of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Several scenes from...

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short takes a look at the evolution of the American city, from the initially small farming village, to the...

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short takes a look at the typical American barbershop throughout the years.

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short tells the story of Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite, and later established the Nobel Prize.

Frank Morgan is hired to put together a movie using odds and ends from the MGM vaults. He does so by splicing together a string of completely...

In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short we see how gossip can be used to spread propaganda or to ruin a person's reputation.

This MGM John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short takes a look at the origins of North American slang.

The "new roadways" of the title refer to various projects, carried out in the USA's research laboratories, that benefit mankind. These include solar...

In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short, a man recovers his lost memories when he is forced to relive events in his dreams.

This short tells the story of Norwegian explorer and diplomat Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930). After a life of adventure, he was instrumental in...

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short explores the origins of various customs such as shaking hands, kissing, and why ships are christened.

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short looks at how a few specific inventions made a major contribution to the U.S. war effort.

This final John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short looks at a community, Mooseheart, in Illinois that orphaned children call home.

In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short, narrator John Nesbitt tells the story of Scandinavian immigrant Annie Swenson, who worked as cook...

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short tells the story of 18th Century French physician Dr. Philippe Pinel, who initiated enlightened, humane...

This patriotic short film promotes America's war effort at home. The story looks at a fictional small town's main street, seeing where additional...

This short film takes a look at the tools and methods used to forecast the weather.

This short focuses on the story of Dr. Edward Jenner, who developed vaccination.

This Passing Parade series entry looks at three instances of people who either caused or were the victims of errors.

Made just before America would be forced into the Second World War, this short subject is a brief dramatized history of American democracy. It...

The Devil works with Adolf Hitler to cause inflation in the United States.

This MGM John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short tells the story of how a Mauser pistol used on the battlefield by Germans during WWII makes its...

This short film takes a look at the off-screen personas of screen actors.

The 1939 dramatic short "Angel of Mercy," about Red Cross founder Clara Barton, is reedited to relate the story to America's involvement in World War...

This MGM Passing Parade series short takes a look at changing definitions of art in the United States.

A film recreating a broadcast of the Westinghouse Radio Program starring John Charles Thomas and John Nesbitt. Program narrator was Gayne Whitman and...

This Passing Parade series short chronicles the political life of Francisco Madero, who tried to bring democracy and land reform to Mexico.

Shows how important luck can be in a person's life.

Americans are preoccupied with the news, but need an escape from many of the events reported in the news. These escapes in the past have included...

This Passing Parade series short examines the origins of three popular Mother Goose nursery rhymes.

This MGM John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short tells the story of Mark Carleton, a worker for the USDA who travels across the world trying to...

This MGM John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short dramatizes how the work of Dutch physician Christiaan Eijkman, who searched for a cure for...

This MGM Passing Parade series short tells the story of Julian Poydras, whose encounter with a girl at Mardi Gras had a profound effect on his later...

This MGM Passing Parade series short recounts how English chemist John Walker invented the wooden friction match during the 1820s.

This short film focuses on the mysterious and legendary Seri Indians who live in a utopian colony off the west coast of Mexico.

This short film presents the story of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, who came under scrutiny for his pioneering of surgical practices.

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...

This short shows how two objects led to important discoveries. Children playing with a seesaw inspire French physician Rene Laennec to invent the...

This entry in MGM's Passing Parade series looks at the meaning of dreams, including one by Abraham Lincoln that foretold his death.

John Nesbitt's "Passing Parade" purports to show how the behavior of mice can be studied in relation to the interaction of school children.

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...

Part of John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series, this short shows how three seemingly unimportant things can affect people. The first is how the number...

Three specific and separate stories of life's passing parade are presented.

This entry in John Nesbitt's "Passing Parade" series is about the great moments in the lives of famous men who found found an answer or made a great...

A "Passing Parade" MGM short featuring tennis star Alice Marble

John Nesbitt takes a look at hobbies in this Passing Parade short.