Prelinger Archives
5,809–5,856 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 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
Stillman Fires Collection: Fires Miscellaneous
from Stillman Fires Collection.
Internet Archive
Detroit You've Never Met, The (Part II)
0684 PA8556 Detroit You've Never Met, The
Internet Archive
[Cascade Pictures Animation Sample Reel 2]
Featuring 1950s cartoon modernism and space age graphic elements as well as typefaces and illustration trends of the 1950s, this assembly of animation samples…
Internet Archive
Bell Labs Picturephone
Skeletal entry No Sound
Internet Archive
[Television Public Service Announcements and Program Promos]
Skeletal entry tv spots in order: - National Safety Council: Winter Driving Safety tips with Julie Bishop (4 spots) - Women's Army Corps - National Guard (2…
Internet Archive
Adirondack Holiday: Stock Shots, Part 7
Outtakes from the film ADIRONDACK HOLIDAY retained by producer as stock shots. Log sheet for this part states: Part 7: Sleigh ride Pisgah skiing Sleigh ride…
Internet Archive
[Television Public Service Announcements and Program Promos]
Skeletal entry tv spots in order: - National Safety Council: Winter Driving Safety tips with Julie Bishop (4 spots) - Women's Army Corps - National Guard (2…
Internet Archive
[Television Public Service Announcements and Program Promos]
Skeletal entry tv spots in order: - National Safety Council: Winter Driving Safety tips with Julie Bishop (4 spots) - Women's Army Corps - National Guard (2…
Internet Archive
[Television Public Service Announcements and Program Promos]
Skeletal entry tv spots in order: - National Safety Council: Winter Driving Safety tips with Julie Bishop (4 spots) - Women's Army Corps - National Guard (2…
Internet Archive
Strohm 0051 (Reel 2)
Industry and rural life in 1950s China featuring political activity, agricultural work and mining. Color footage of many of these shots exists in Strohm 0041…
Internet Archive
Mode-Art Can 1767
Outtake footage for an Iron City Beer commercial for Ice 'n Go Cooler Pak. Includes various shots of Iron City beer cans and coolers. Mode-Art production no.…
Internet Archive
New York City Scenics
Various scenics of Manhattan, New York. Probably outtakes from a documentary. Cue sheet in can indicates key numbers and subject matter as follows: 76360…
Internet Archive
[Television Public Service Announcements and Program Promos]
Skeletal entry tv spots in order: - National Safety Council: Winter Driving Safety tips with Julie Bishop (4 spots) - Women's Army Corps - National Guard (2…
Internet Archive
Home Movies: Can 11328: Outdoor Dining, Fishing, San Francisco Bay, Fleet Week, ca. 1929-31
Home movies showing an outdoor meal attended by upper-middle-class people, fishing on San Francisco Bay (the Marin islands and East and West Brother Islands…
Internet Archive
[Gould can 5515: Story of the Jewel]
"Story of the Jewel" Film produced for the PPIE.
Internet Archive
Stillman Fires Collection: FDNY Nozzle High Spray
from Stillman Fires Collection.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: Nicholson Collection: 004171
Early spring wildflowers and mountain hikes with a young family of four children. Note in can: X 1955 California trip Dotty Lyle Geiger grade Virginia City…
Internet Archive
[Untitled: Low Rent Housing]
Housing problems in Philadelphia; interviews with residents, housing providers and supportive housing groups
Internet Archive
Nightmare For The Bold (Pt 2)
Internet Archive
[Hardcastle Stock Shots]
Highway Safety Missouri State Highway Patrol
Internet Archive
[Gould Collection: Panama-Pacific International Exposition Parade (tentative title)]
parade, probably in San Francisco parade, probably in Oakland moving money into the US Subtreasury at San Francisco dignitaries? up gangway into steamship
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Can 10346: Trip to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, July-August 1946]
Internet Archive
Good Neighbors Awards 04 (Reel 1)
Outtakes from the film shot for the Good Neighbors Awards of 1963 and likely 1971. Includes footage of the Johnson & Johnson headquarters and manufacturing…
Internet Archive
Ovulation in the Rabbit
Photomicrography of rabbit ovulation.
Internet Archive
Racing Fool (Reel 3)
Feature film excerpt. "Racing driver Jack Harlowe falls in love with Helen Drake, the daughter of his father's rival automobile manufacturer. Having promised…
Internet Archive
[New Haven May 6, 1970] (Reel 1)
Documentary footage of the rallies and protests in New Haven, Connecticut in May 1970, during the time of the Black Panther Trials. leader gives "J34990 -…
Internet Archive
Park Avenue
The 1940s footage provides a vivid snapshot of urban life, capturing various scenes from city streets bustling with activity. Prominent street signs such as…
Internet Archive
[Home Movie: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, June 1942]
Skeletal Entry
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Croft Collection: Can 44: Trip to Houghton, Michigan, August 1955]
Internet Archive
[Television Public Service Announcements and Program Promos]
Skeletal entry tv spots in order: - National Safety Council: Winter Driving Safety tips with Julie Bishop (4 spots) - Women's Army Corps - National Guard (2…
Internet Archive
Home movie: 170004_003: 1940s California Alameda County family
Home movie: 170004_003: 1940s California Alameda County family
Internet Archive
Mode-Art Can 1468
Outtakes from an industrial film featuring footage of workers in a steel manufacturing plant. Mode-Art Production Number: 471 Can notes: "Prod 471 / KC…
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Can 10889: San Francisco]
Internet Archive
[Television Public Service Announcements and Program Promos]
Skeletal entry tv spots in order: - National Safety Council: Winter Driving Safety tips with Julie Bishop (4 spots) - Women's Army Corps - National Guard (2…
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Can 10608: Parade, Family, New Years]
Internet Archive
The Wildcat (Reel 3)
Part 3 of the silent film, The Wildcat. The film was broken into reels approximately 15 minutes in length for the rental market. "A professional boxer's…
Internet Archive
Home Movie: Knowlton Collection: 004402
Family life in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, including images of family gatherings, picnics, children playing in the yard, and more. Also includes…
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 001504
An African American family travels from Michigan to Africa by jet in a multi-city trip. They visit family and friends, see the gravesite of a loved one, and…
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 98642: 1964 Scenes
To come.
Internet Archive
How to Merchandise Your Garden Shop
06:45:29:17 VS mostly older women, some men, customers looking at flowers in a nursery. 06:45:50:18 Pretty young woman at outdoor nursery placing white…
Internet Archive
Home Movie: Ottke Collection: 000569
Content warning: Sequences of men and boys performing violent acts against women, including forced affection, wrestling, and spanking. Mostly in-uniform but…
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 000964
Small town life in the Great Depression, captured through naturalistic portraits of the town's people, Black and white, young and old, across all walks of…
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Can 10517: Summer of 1933]
begins with winter footage
Internet Archive
[Gould can 5577: Kinograms Newsreel]
London scenes
Internet Archive
Kidding the Kidnapper
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 97293: Lake View, Summer '58
To come.
Internet Archive
[Television Public Service Announcements and Program Promos]
Skeletal entry tv spots in order: - National Safety Council: Winter Driving Safety tips with Julie Bishop (4 spots) - Women's Army Corps - National Guard (2…
Internet Archive
Story of Carpet, The
0687 PA8636 Story of Carpet, The