Story of Alfred Nobel, The (1939)
*** (out of 4)
The third entry in John Nesbitt's "Passing Parade" series tells the story of Alfred Nobel (Paul Guilfoyle), the man who invented dynamite as a way to help mankind but it turned out to cause more deaths than he had expected. Towards the end of his life Nobel decided to try and do right by giving all of his earnings away so that peace might follow. If you've never seen one of the "Passing Parade" episodes I guess the best way to sum the series up is that they told stories of people who you might know their creations but not the name of those who actually created it. This one is pretty simple as I'm sure the majority of people know about Nobel and they've certainly heard of the Nobel Peace Prize but this is a pleasant entry in the series. I think, as usual, Nesbitt's narration really adds a lot because there's just so much passion in his voice that it really makes you feel as if he cares about the importance of telling the story. Guilfoyle doesn't get any spoken lines but he too was quite good in the part as is Eleanor Wesselhoeft who plays the mother of a victim harmed by Nobel's creation.