Stairway to Light

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short tells the story of 18th Century French physician Dr. Philippe Pinel, who initiated enlightened, humane treatment of the mentally ill.

Cast

John Nesbitt

as Narrator (voice)

Dewey Robinson

as Head Keeper (uncredited)

Gene Roth

as Hector Chevigny (uncredited)

Harry Wilson

as Keeper Hosing Down Patient (uncredited)

Wolfgang Zilzer

as Dr. Philippe Pinel (uncredited)

Reviews

CinemaSerf

The unassuming Philippe Pinel (Wolfgang Zilzer) takes up a position in charge of a prison for the mentally ill in Paris and is horrified by what he discovers. There are people, unkempt and uncared for, who have been kept in the dark, chained to walls and fed a diet of gruel, bread and water - and th...

Similar Movies

Pieces

PIECES is an authentic, heartfelt drama about the healing power of care, compassion, and love.

⭐ 3.0

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

A petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse who runs the ward.

⭐ 8.4

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.

⭐ 7.9

Bittersweet

A hopeless baker's attempt at taking his own life is interrupted by a persistent child in need of a birthday cake.

⭐ 0.0

Fifteen Love

Alexandra has been playing tennis for as long as she can remember. After years of training under the instructions of her father, Julio (a retired tennis player who intends to relive his victories through his daughter), she has become one of the most promising junior tennis players in the Spanish circuit. During one of the most important tournaments of the 1978 season, the increasing pressure from her father will exert on and off the court will begin to affect her mental health. With the arrival of adolescence and the questions it brings, Alex will realize that, perhaps, this is not her destiny.

⭐ 0.0

Shock Corridor

With the help of his girlfriend Cathy and Dr. Fong, a psychiatrist, ambitious journalist Johnny Barrett poses as a madman in order to be admitted to a mental institution where a bloody murder has been committed.

⭐ 7.0

The Ninth Configuration

Army psychiatrist Colonel Kane is posted to a secluded gothic castle housing a military asylum. With a reserved calm, he indulges the inmates' delusions, allowing them free rein to express their fantasies.

⭐ 6.4

Shrew's Nest

Spain, 1950s. Montse's agoraphobia keeps her locked in a sinister apartment in Madrid and her only link to reality is the little sister she lost her youth raising. But one day, a reckless young neighbor, Carlos, falls down the stairwell and drags himself to their door. Someone has entered the shrew's nest... perhaps he'll never leave.

⭐ 6.9

Bedlam

London, 1761. St. Mary's of Bethlehem, a sinister madhouse, is visited by wealthy people who enjoy watching the patients confined there as if they were caged animals. Nell Bowen, one of the visitors, is horrified by the deplorable living conditions of the unfortunate inhabitants of this godforsaken place, better known as Bedlam.

⭐ 6.5

Trust Me

Animated short documentary following a young woman's diagnosis of bipolar: a journey of self-acceptance to challenge everyday stigma. In "Trust Me", a genre-bending short documentary, a young woman uses humour and compassion to share her moving and deeply personal story of coming to terms with her mental health condition. When she starts exhibiting atypical and extreme behaviour, her loved ones trick her into hospitalisation against her will. She is diagnosed with bipolar disorder which starts her challenging journey of self-acceptance, confronting internalised and societal stigma, and learning to trust herself and others again.

⭐ 10.0

Letters To Daniel

Best friends set out to conquer Hollywood but are ambushed when one of them is diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

⭐ 0.0

Flag of Mercy

The 1939 dramatic short "Angel of Mercy," about Red Cross founder Clara Barton, is reedited to relate the story to America's involvement in World War II. Edited from Angel of Mercy (1939)

⭐ 0.0

Safe Place

A traumatic event – a sudden suicide attempt – opens a gap in the everyday life of a family of three. Their lives change fundamentally, as if they've been pulled into a war invisible to everyone else. The plot is limited to the most acute, a short period of time and a situation that boils down to the most important thing – to save a loved one. The film was based on the personal experience of the director, who also plays the leading role.

⭐ 6.0

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Pepa resolves to kill herself with a batch of sleeping-pill-laced gazpacho after her lover leaves her. Fortunately, she is interrupted by a deliciously chaotic series of events.

⭐ 7.4

Boiling Point

A head chef balances multiple personal and professional crises at a popular restaurant in London.

⭐ 7.2

LSD: Trip to Where?

Three sailors are talked into trying LSD and marijuana--which, this film implies, are basically the same thing--and the effects of the drugs endanger the lives of their fellow sailors aboard ship.

⭐ 9.0

Flawed Enough

Addy is having a perfectly normal day until her online girlfriend surprises her with a proposed first meeting. She should be over the moon. Except there's a problem. Addy hasn't told her she's deaf. Torn by the possibility of meeting her girlfriend but having it all go wrong, Addy struggles to decide whether she should go to the meeting or not. Luckily, her sister is there to help. Until she isn't. And suddenly, meeting Isla isn't a choice anymore. It's a last wish

⭐ 0.0

Apnea

After her fall, Sophie is aiming to the surface, but she's unable to trust her entourage anymore.

⭐ 0.0

Northern Lights

Emma approaches adulthood, she tries to live an ordinary life and keep up to her late mothers expectations. However her anxiety weighs over her, stopping her from enjoying the last few youthful years.

⭐ 7.0

Sorceress

A young woman raised in the US returns to her birth country in Eastern Europe after a devastating tragedy. Questioning her sanity and her sexuality, she starts believing she possesses supernatural powers.

⭐ 5.0