The Bell System Science Series

The Bell System Science Series

1956 · 2 seasons · 8 eps · Documentary

Ended

The Bell System Science Series consists of nine television specials made for the AT&T Corporation that were originally broadcast in color between 1956 and 1964. Marcel LaFollette has described them as "specials that combined clever story lines, sophisticated animation, veteran character actors, films of natural phenomena, interviews with scientists, and precise explanation of scientific and technical concepts — all in the pursuit of better public understanding of science.

Directed by Frank Capra

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It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life · 1946

It's a Wonderful Life

MovieDramaFamily

George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

It Happened One Night

It Happened One Night · 1934

It Happened One Night

MovieComedyRomance

A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington · 1939

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

MovieComedyDrama

After the death of a United States Senator, the idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his replacement in Washington. The naive and earnest new senator soon finds himself battling political corruption.

Arsenic and Old Lace

Arsenic and Old Lace · 1944

Arsenic and Old Lace

MovieComedyCrime

Mortimer Brewster, a newspaper drama critic, playwright, and author known for his diatribes against marriage, suddenly falls in love and gets married; but when he makes a quick trip home to tell his two maiden aunts, he finds out his aunts' hobby - killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar!

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town · 1936

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

MovieComedyDrama

Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune, Longfellow moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone. Deeds outwits them all until Babe Bennett comes along. When small-town boy meets big-city girl anything can, and does, happen.

You Can't Take It with You

You Can't Take It with You · 1938

You Can't Take It with You

MovieComedyRomance

Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things don't turn out the way Alice had hoped.

Meet John Doe

Meet John Doe · 1941

MovieDramaComedy

As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement.

Pocketful of Miracles

Pocketful of Miracles · 1961

Pocketful of Miracles

MovieComedyDrama

A New York gangster and his girlfriend attempt to turn street beggar Apple Annie into a society lady when the peddler learns her daughter is marrying royalty.

Lady for a Day

Lady for a Day · 1933

MovieComedyDrama

Apple Annie is an aging New York City fruit seller whose daughter Louise has been raised in a Spanish convent since she was an infant. As she grows up, Louise is led to believe that her mother is a society matron called Mrs. E. Worthington Manville. Annie worries that her lie is in danger of being uncovered when she learns that Louise is sailing to New York with her new fiancé and his nobleman father.

Westward the Women

Westward the Women · 1951

Westward the Women

MovieWesternDrama

There's a deficit of good, honest women in the West, and Roy Whitman wants to change that. His solution is to bring a caravan of over 100 mail-order brides from Chicago to California. It will be a long, difficult and dangerous journey for the women. So Whitman hires hardened, cynical Buck Wyatt to be their guide across the inhospitable frontier. But as disaster strikes on the trail, Buck just might discover that these women are stronger than he thinks.

Lost Horizon

Lost Horizon · 1937

MovieAdventureFantasy

British diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash-land in the Himalayas, where they are rescued by the inhabitants of the hidden, idyllic valley of Shangri-La. Protected by the mountains from the world outside, where the clouds of World War II are gathering, Shangri-La provides a seductive escape for the world-weary Conway.

State of the Union

State of the Union · 1948

State of the Union

MovieComedyDrama

An industrialist is urged to run for President, but this requires uncomfortable compromises on both political and marital levels.

Forbidden

Forbidden · 1932

MovieDramaRomance

On a cruise to Cuba, Lulu Smith falls in love with Bob Grover. Back home, she breaks off the romance when he tells her he is married. Lulu has a baby but doesn't tell Bob, who turns out to be a rising politician. She passes herself off as the baby's nanny. When Bob learns what is going on, he adopts the little girl, not telling his wife or anyone else where she came from. Lulu gets a job at a newspaper. Things get complicated when the editor gets the dirt on Bob, but also wants to marry Lulu.

The Power of the Press

The Power of the Press · 1928

The Power of the Press

The naive newspaper cub Clem lands a scoop when he's sent out to cover a murder. In his enthusiasm he writes that the main suspect is Jane. When she confronts Clem, she convinces him to help her prove her innocence.

Why We Fight: Prelude to War

Why We Fight: Prelude to War · 1942

Why We Fight: Prelude to War

MovieDocumentaryWar

Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.

The Bitter Tea of General Yen

The Bitter Tea of General Yen · 1933

The Bitter Tea of General Yen

MovieDramaRomance

Shanghai, China, the 1920s. In the midst of a bloody civil war, General Yen, a ruthless warlord, rescues Megan Davis —who was about to marry a missionary— from certain death amid the chaos.

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