Yankee Doodle Goes to Town

Jun 17, 1939

0h 11m

★ 0.0

Overview

Made just before America would be forced into the Second World War, this short subject is a brief dramatized history of American democracy. It targets a perceived threat to democracy from board room and soapbox fascists who advocated a government based upon contemporaneous European models.

Genres

History

Drama

Production Companies

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Yankee Doodle Goes to Town Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Narrator (voice)

John Nesbitt

Curdleface (uncredited)

Clem Bevans

Bartender (uncredited)

Joe Devlin

Shopkeeper (uncredited)

Robert Dudley

Abraham Lincoln (uncredited)

Albert Russell

May, 1980. Man-seob is a taxi driver in Seoul who lives from hand to mouth, raising his young daughter alone. One day, he hears that there is a foreigner who will pay big money for a drive down to Gwangju city. Not knowing that he’s a German journalist with a hidden agenda, Man-seob takes the job.

8.1

1987: When the Day Comes

Dec 27, 2017

In 1987 Korea, under an oppressive military regime, a college student gets killed during a police interrogation involving torture. Government of officials are quick to cover up the death and order the body to be cremated. A prosecutor who is supposed to sign the cremation release, raises questions about a 21-year-old kid dying of a heart attack, and he begins looking into the case for truth. Despite a systematic attempt to silence everyone involved in the case, the truth gets out, causing an eruption of public outrage.

5.0

Strange Testament

Nov 15, 1941

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.

7.0

To My Unborn Son

Oct 30, 1943

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.

5.5

Mr. Whitney Had a Notion

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Historical short showing how Eli Whitney (best known for the invention of the cotton gin) played a significant role in the introduction of mass production techniques to the USA in the late 18th century.

8.0

The Film That Was Lost

Oct 31, 1942

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.

6.1

Mandela

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A documentary that chronicles the life of South African leader Nelson Mandela. Mandela is probably best known for his 27 years of imprisonment, and for bringing an end to apartheid. But this film also sheds light on the little-known early period of Mandela's life.

0.0

The Hidden Master

Apr 20, 1940

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

5.8

The Professor and the Story of the Origami Girl

Jun 10, 2005

A director feels he is about to lose himself to the market forces and thinks that the only way he can protest is by making a political film. He contacts Thomas Hylland Eriksen, who will become his mouthpiece and articulate what is wrong. But along the way the director becomes distracted by another person, a young, fumbling girl reminiscent of himself.

6.0

The Story of Alfred Nobel

Feb 18, 1939

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

6.5

Souvenirs of Death

Jun 19, 1948

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.

0.0

Jana Nayagan

Jan 9, 2026

No overview available.

7.2

No

Aug 9, 2012

In 1988, Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet, due to international pressure, is forced to call a plebiscite on his presidency. The country will vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to Pinochet extending his rule for another eight years. Opposition leaders for the ‘No’ vote persuade a brash young advertising executive, René Saavedra, to spearhead their campaign. Against all odds, with scant resources and while under scrutiny by the despot’s minions, Saavedra and his team devise an audacious plan to win the election and set Chile free.

0.0

We Do It Because

Jan 24, 1942

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

5.0

Return from Nowhere

Oct 28, 1944

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

0.0

A Way in the Wilderness

Jun 22, 1940

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 pellagra, a disease that killed hundreds of thousands in the southern United States. Although the medical community believed that the condition was caused by a virus, Goldberger proved that a healthy diet was the cure.

6.0

Angel of Mercy

May 20, 1939

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

0.0

News Without A Newsroom

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As local newsrooms vanish, "News Without a Newsroom" explores journalism's uncertain future in the digital age. Through powerful stories and expert insights, the film examines the collapse of traditional media, the rise of misinformation, and the fight to preserve truth, trust and accountability in an era of disruption.

6.7

The Monroe Doctrine

Oct 14, 1939

The story of President Monroe's response to attempts by Spain to interfere in South America.

5.0

Dreams

Nov 10, 1940

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