Prelinger Archives
4,801–4,848 of 10,346 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 Ones | Films for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool. |
|---|---|
| Kids | Cartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature. |
| Tweens | Documentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures. |
| Teens | Everything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower. |
| Adult | Sexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage. |
Internet Archive
City of Magic
about New York City Skeletal Entry
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 98905: District of Columbia, Florida and Mexico
Cardboard sleeve around can (not retained) states: Start of trip, July 6, 1955, Washington, St. Augustine, Florida & Mexico No. 6,
Internet Archive
Chevrolet Advertising Rings the Bell
0594 PA8173 Chevrolet Advertising Rings the Bell
Internet Archive
Richthofen (R3)
Reel 3 of the silent film Richthofen. The film was broken into reels approximately 15 minutes in length for the rental market. "The life of Baron Manfred von…
Internet Archive
Ask Me, Don't Tell Me (A Roll)
From the Field Guide to Sponsored Films by Rick Prelinger: "Exploration of juvenile delinquency in San Francisco featuring interviews with teenagers from…
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Buffalo Collection: "Cine Memories"]
woman running home movie projector, smiling at camera
Internet Archive
Uncle Sam's Siberians: A Documentary Film of the North in Summer
A number of interesting shots to log. St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. "Its Eskimo people are nationals of the United States, but by blood, culture and…
Internet Archive
A Safe Day
Film about the importance of practicing "safe thinking" on the job and all aspects of daily life. Follows a protagonist, John Jones, throughout his day and…
Internet Archive
Color Harmony for Your Home
Internet Archive
Dentu-Creme
PA8542
Internet Archive
Movie Trailers (American Flag Waving)
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Ivan Besse collection: Britton, South Dakota 1938-39] (Reel 2)
Internet Archive
[Home movie: 098785: 1941 ice skating on a lake in winter, with outdoor domestic scenes]
From 1941, ice skating on a frozen lake, with outdoor sequences like burning a Christmas tree in the snow, a white dog plays in the snow; a K-class dirigible…
Internet Archive
Behavioral Effects of Psychotogens
Internet Archive
[Panama-Pacific International Exposition]
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Badlands and Black Hills Region, South Dakota]
Badlands, Wall Drug, Mt. Rushmore and other attractions of the region.
Internet Archive
What's In It For Me?
Sponsored film outlining good sanitary practices for dairy farmers and advertising PennSalt products. Includes footage of farmers cleaning equipment and dairy…
Internet Archive
Heart of a Hero, The
Biography of Revolutionary War patriot Nathan Hale.
Internet Archive
Organize
Film documenting the culture and rising protest movement against coal mining companies. Filmed in and around Pikeville, Kentucky and Appalachia. "Shows an…
Internet Archive
Safety Everywhere... All the Time
A family of four discusses the need for safety in their lives. Highlights the dangers of daily life, depicting a series of dangerous scenarios. Can notes: "#3…
Internet Archive
Home movie: 000408: 1934 family vacation
Vintage Black and White Home Movies: Family Life, Rural Scenes, and Niagara Falls Summary This silent black and white archival film compilation offers a…
Internet Archive
South Dakota Saga
History of South Dakota and mining at the Homestake mines.
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Brazil and Uruguay]
Title on blackboard at start: South America, Jan. 1935
Internet Archive
Food and Magic
Internet Archive
Message to No One
Family issues around listening and paying attention translate to fathers work
Internet Archive
Vista Stock Shots: People from Crowds to Closeups
Vista Stock Shots: People from Crowds to Closeups
Internet Archive
Rubber
Tire making
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 98618: Family and Children
To come.
Internet Archive
Wild Pig Kills Rattlesnake!
Internet Archive
[York Knitting Mills 02]
Examination of work methods operating industrial knitting machines in a mill setting. York Knitting Mills Ltd., Zimmerknit Division, Hamilton, Ontario; J.D.…
Internet Archive
El Pueblo Se Levanta
Centered in New York City's East Harlem community, this film shows Puerto Rican communities responding to racial discrimination, poor city services,…
Internet Archive
[Star Trek Convention]
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 97315: Home and Travel
Viewing notes state: Late 50s Kids climbing tree’s Huge bridges Old Faithful Bears eating from garbage cans Parade Giant redwoods Waterfall from the road…
Internet Archive
[Panama-Pacific International Exposition]
Internet Archive
[Narcotic Addiction]
The film discusses the growing issue of drug addiction, emphasizing the psychological reasons behind substance abuse rather than the substances themselves. It…
Internet Archive
IT'S YOUR PENNSYLVANIA: KEEP IT GROWING!
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 10058: Lake Ozonia, St. Lawrence County Fair and Boonville, New York, 1931
Home movie including scenes at Lake Ozonia, St. Lawrence County, New York; the St. Lawrence County Fair; and the village of Boonville, Oneida County, New…
Internet Archive
[Good Grooming for Girls]
Internet Archive
To Inform and To Serve
The production and distribution of a daily newspaper in Buffalo, New York.
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Wildland and Mountain Fire Near Los Angeles]
Internet Archive
Soundie #3
Internet Archive
Ideal Thunderstreak Commercial
Internet Archive
Teeth: A Film Lesson in Health and Hygiene
Internet Archive
Specialized Lubrication
Silent film showing problems and solutions entailing the use of oils and graphite.
Internet Archive
Heart of a Hero, The
Biography of Revolutionary War patriot Nathan Hale.
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Donnola Home Movies #1]
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Coast to Coast, Part 5]
Skeletal entry. Info in logbook.
Internet Archive
[Home movie: 098751: A cross-country road trip with stops at marquee locations in a dozen states both west and east]
36-minute reel that includes trip highlights from probably two trips, starting in the arid interior West, a few stops on the Pacific coast, then picking up…