Prelinger Archives

1–48 of 10,345 films, free to watch, from the world's open archives.

Where these films come from, and who sees what

Every film here plays from the archive that keeps it: the Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons, the NASA Image and Video Library, the Library of Congress and Open Images (the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision). Nothing is copied to this site. Each film's page names its archive, links to its page there, and states its licence or status as the archive does.

Archive films carry no age ratings, so each is placed from the collections it sits in and the subjects the archive gives it, cautiously. Sexual content and nudity are left out altogether.

Little OnesFilms for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool.
KidsCartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature.
TweensDocumentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures.
TeensEverything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower.
AdultSexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage.
Internet Archive About Bananas 1935 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Complete presentation of the banana industry from the clearing of the jungle and the planting to the shipment of the fruit to the American markets. Internet Archive Doctor in Industry (Part I) 1946 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles Epic history of industrial medicine in the first half of the 20th century, showing how manufacturers and the medical profession came to terms with one another… Internet Archive Sleep for Health 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Told from the viewpoint of a child, this film emphasizes that children should train themselves in good sleeping habits. In typical "Goofus and Gallant" style,… Internet Archive Eat for Health 1954 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Ralph learns the five food groups, helping him to eat a balanced diet, and has more fun because of his better health. Internet Archive Care of the Skin 1949 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Structure of the skin; good cleanliness habits; the proper way to wash; the correct use of soap. Internet Archive Personal Hygiene (Part I) 1950 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Military training drama showing how the residents of a barracks convince a sloppy soldier to clean up his act. With many folk songs on cleanliness. Internet Archive 122 Eyes 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Hard times in 1950s St. Louis and the social services that aimed to alleviate them. Internet Archive Health: Your Posture 1953 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Young girl's mirror image teaches her fundamentals of good posture. Internet Archive From the Ground Up 1954 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles Promotional film for "Nutrilite," a 1950s-vintage food supplement. Internet Archive Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? 1958 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Imaginative film showing how automatic gadgets in homes and workplaces alienate people from one another. Internet Archive Right to Health, A (Part I) Short · 15 min · Subtitles A Right to Health, Neighborhood Health Centers in Profile. A Production of Professional Arts, Inc. in San Mateo, CA for the Office of Health Affairs and… Internet Archive Case of Spring Fever, A 1940 · Cartoon · 8 min · Subtitles Gilbert Willoughby is punished for voicing Luddite ideas (complaining about pesky springs) by "Coily," an obnoxious, animated spring who subjects him to the… Internet Archive Panorama Ephemera 2004 · Feature · 1 h 29 min · Subtitles PANORAMA EPHEMERA (2004, 89:35 min., color and black and white) is a collage of sequences drawn from a wide variety of ephemeral (industrial, advertising,… Internet Archive Spot News 1937 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Dramatization of how photographs are transmitted by wire, an exciting new technology in the 1930s. Internet Archive Joan Avoids a Cold 1947 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles How young children must behave to avoid transmitting germs to one another. Internet Archive Good Eating Habits 1951 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Drama focusing on gluttony and "hidden hunger," where well-nourished people eat poorly and malnourish themselves. Internet Archive Duck and Cover 1951 · Cartoon · 9 min · Subtitles Selected for the 2004 National Film Registry of "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant" motion pictures. Famous Civil Defense film for… Internet Archive Achievement USA 1955 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles General Motors celebrates production of 50 millionth automobile with a parade through Flint, Michigan. Internet Archive How to Go Places 1954 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Actress Gale Storm and family take a road trip in their Chevrolet and review the do's and don'ts of auto traveling. Internet Archive Bacteria: Friend and Foe Educational · Subtitles Produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Films, Inc., in collaboration with Stewart A. Koser, Ph.D, Department of Bacteriology and Parasitology, the University of… Internet Archive Experiments in the Revival of Organisms 1940 · Short · 19 min · Subtitles This disturbing film records the successful experiments in the resuscitation of life to dead animals (dogs), as conducted by Dr. S.S. Bryukhonenko at the… Internet Archive Babies and Breadwinners (Part II) Short · 9 min · Subtitles Presented by: U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service and Bureau State Services. Produced by the Communicable Disease Center… Internet Archive Automotive Service 1940 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Opportunities for employment servicing America's vast motor fleet. Internet Archive Private Life of a Cat 1947 · Short · 22 min · Subtitles Alexander Hammid's intimate study of a female cat and the birth and maturation of her five kittens. Internet Archive Make Mine Freedom 1948 · Cartoon · 9 min · Subtitles This Cold War-era cartoon uses humor to tout the dangers of Communism and the benefits of capitalism. Internet Archive Sniffles and Sneezes 1955 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Children as carriers and victims of infections. Internet Archive Japanese Relocation 1943 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles U.S. government-produced film defending the World War II internment of Japanese American citizens. Internet Archive Park Conscious 1938 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles Elegy to recreation and relaxation in state and national parks. Internet Archive Don't Be a Sucker 1947 · Short · 17 min · Subtitles Admonishes Americans that they will lose their country if they let fanaticism and hatred turn them into "suckers." "Let's forget about 'we' and 'they' --… Internet Archive Always On Call Short · 9 min · Subtitles Story by Kensiger Jones, directed by John Kennedy. Produced by Premiere Hardcastle, St. Louis. 0551 PA8484 Always On Call 033.10; Internet Archive Using the Bank 1947 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Banking services and procedures in the pre-computer era. Internet Archive Golden Years, The 1960 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Bowling made respectable and appealing to middle-class Americans through modernization and "Populuxe" design. Internet Archive Design for Dreaming 1956 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Set at the 1956 General Motors Motorama, this is one of the key Populuxe films of the 1950s, showing futuristic dream cars and Frigidaire's "Kitchen of the… Internet Archive My Japan 1945 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles Complex and disturbing anti-Japanese propaganda film produced to spur the sale of U.S. war bonds. CONTENT ADVISORY: Explicit racism and extreme violence. Internet Archive Classic Television Commercials (Part I) 1948 · Commercial · 8 min · Subtitles Collection of TV commercials significant to the history and development of TV as an advertising medium. Internet Archive For Health and Happiness 1941 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Lively children illustrate the results of good nutrition, affection, and intelligent care. Internet Archive How to Be Well Groomed 1949 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Siblings Don and Sue show how they keep themselves well groomed throughout the school week and for their Friday night dates. Internet Archive Ride for Cinderella, A 1937 · Cartoon · 10 min · Subtitles Cinderella relies on a Chevrolet to carry her home by midnight through obstacles and storms. Internet Archive A is for Atom 1953 · Cartoon · 14 min · Subtitles Animated classic presenting what an atom is, how energy is released from certain kinds of atoms, the peacetime uses of atomic energy and the byproducts of… Internet Archive San Francisco (1955 Cinemascope film) Short · 21 min · Subtitles Cinemascope homage to the city of San Francisco made by amateur filmmaker and inventor Tullio Pellegrini. Internet Archive Hindenburg Explodes 1937 · Short · 5 min · Subtitles Footage from Castle and Pathé coverage of the Hindenburg disaster at Lakehurst. Also shots of the big ships over New York. Internet Archive Dating: Do's and Don'ts 1949 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Classic instructional film for teen daters, presented here in the rare (but incomplete) Kodachrome version. Internet Archive One Got Fat: Bicycle Safety 1963 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles A group of children, all wearing ape masks, rides their bicycles to the park for a picnic. Along the way, all but one are eliminated for violating basic bike… Internet Archive Why Play Leap Frog? 1949 · Cartoon · 9 min · Subtitles Cold War-era cartoon aimed at convincing workers that increased productivity brings about greater purchasing power. Internet Archive Angels Flight Film · Subtitles Bunker Hill, LA - "waiting to be leveled, to make way for a new world of concrete steel and glass" Shows old homes on Bunker Hill, destruction and… Internet Archive Day of Thanksgiving, A 1951 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles An American family unable to afford a Thanksgiving turkey reviews the things for which they feel thankful. This patriotic film is unusual in that it does not… Internet Archive Date With Your Family, A 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Advises children to do whatever is necessary -- even lie -- to achieve harmonious family relations. This portrait of manners among the affluent places a… Internet Archive Despotism 1946 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Measures how a society ranks on a spectrum stretching from democracy to despotism. Explains how societies and nations can be measured by the degree that power…