Unseen Guardians

Here's a pleasant episode of John Nesbitt's long-running MGM series about the people who keep out an eye for people without their knowing: postal inspectors who prevent mail fraud; the people who test goods for Underwriters' Laboratories; and the folks in charge of orphanages, making sure their charges are adopted by good people.

It's a never-ending struggle, and alas, their failures seem more numerous than their successes. But they're there, working away, doing their best to keep us all a little safer and happier, unheralded except for the Passing Parade.

Unseen Guardians (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Passing Parade short takes a look at three professions people overlook yet these jobs are important to keeping safety. Postal inspectors looking out for fraud, underwriters who test for fire safety and the head of an orphanage who makes sure children go to the right homes. If you're familiar with this series then you know we pretty much just get images with narration by John Nesbitt. I found this entry to be among the best in the series just because these are jobs we all know exist but might not know what goes on with them. I'm sure a documentary today would be more detailed about the subject but it's important to remember when this was made. I found the story involving the postal inspectors to be the most interesting but film buffs would benefit even more by checking out the Bela Lugosi film Postal Inspector.