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 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.
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.
A policeman's son searches for a suitable subject for an essay about an important person.
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 life.
This short focuses on the story of Dr. Edward Jenner, who developed vaccination.
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 find wheat that farmers can grow despite various disasters.
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.
This Passing Parade series entry looks at three instances of people who either caused or were the victims of errors.
This short film presents the story of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, who came under scrutiny for his pioneering of surgical practices.
In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short, narrator John Nesbitt tells the story of Scandinavian immigrant Annie Swenson, who worked as cook and housekeeper in his family's home while he was growing up.
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 promise.
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 early newsreels are shown.
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 during MGM's short feature "The Great Morgan".]
This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short tells the story of Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite, and later established the Nobel Prize.
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.
The "new roadways" of the title refer to various projects, carried out in the USA's research laboratories, that benefit mankind. These include solar energy projects, making glass that can be rolled up like a carpet, and diet experiments with mice that might lead to a cure for color blindness.
This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short looks at how a few specific inventions made a major contribution to the U.S. war effort.
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, explaining what he was fighting for in resisting the Nazi invasion of his homeland. A John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short.
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 way into the hands of an American gangster.
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 dime store novels. The most accessible of these escapes is what are known as the funny papers, the set of serialized comic strips that are included within many newspapers. They appeal to all socio-economic classes, and all ages. Some of the earliest known from the late 19th century include the Yellow Kid, Little Nemo, Happy Hooligan, the Katzenjammer Kids, Mutt & Jeff, and Bringing Up Father. Many cartoonists are seen in action. Some originated their characters, while others have taken over following the passing of the originator. The joy of many comic strips are the absurd and the fantastical, which are limited only by the imagination of the cartoonist. Others are grounded in reality, which add to their poignancy within the public mindset.