Movies: John Nesbitt

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 early on in their married life, such as the basics of trying to make ends meet. But after Joe leaves Mar...

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 discernible reason - of crew, passengers and captain. At "the famed nautical court of Gibraltar", investiga...

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 o...

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 malari...

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 the South while his sided with the North--and her Uncle Peter will have nothing to do with Jack's fa...

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

This short film examines the origins of several superstitions including crossing your fingers, knocking on wood, rabbit's feet, and breaking champagne bottles to christen ships, plus the role of superstitions in the Flying Dutchman tale....

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

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 tells the story of John Peter Zenger, who in Colonial New York was tried for sedition based on what he printed in his newspaper....

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....

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

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 with prunes. As a subplot, he also explains why California prunes are better than those from the Pacif...

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 ...

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 s...

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....

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

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 vu...

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 Semmelweis and his discovery of the need for cleanliness in 19th-century maternity wards, thereby signif...