Doane R. Hoag

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.

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

A lawyer defends a migrant worker in a sensational murder trial.

This short film presents three legends of hidden gold in California's Death Valley.

A man's sanity is a point of contention as he confesses to murdering an elderly man, driven by the victim's pale blue 'vulture eye', culminating in guilt-induced auditory hallucinations of the victim's beating heart.

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.

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

In this MGM Crime Does Not Pay series short, a man destroys his life through gambling debts and stealing company funds.

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 Mary and their inner city life, she finds an unpostmarked envelope under their apartment door with her name written in Joe's handwriting. It contains a letter explaining why he left. It has primarily to do with his feeling that another part of his life was being left behind for his married life, that other life which consists of a want to travel, especially sail the south seas. The actual impetus to leave was inadvertently fostered by Mary through the birthday present she bought for him. So what actually did happen to Joe and will he ever return to his loving wife?

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

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 short, a look is taken at the problems of film preservation efforts in the 1930s and early 1940s.

An expose of attempts by wealthy people to avoid payment of customs duties. Part of the MGM "Crime Does Not Pay" series.

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.

Portrays all Americans as makers, with a rich tradition of pride in workmanship and satisfaction of needs.

This latter-day parable focuses on two brothers. Peter Rogers is an ambitious, hard-driving attorney. Bob Rogers is a thoughtful, contemplative doctor who decides to forsake his practice to do missionary work in war-torn China. When Peter's young son is tragically killed in an accident, he visits his brother and learns first-hand the importance of compassion and charity. In a world rocked by strife and pain, love can overcome and triumph.

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