Prelinger Archives

673–720 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 [Amateur film: Golden Gate Bridge] 1939 · Home movie · 10 min · Subtitles Views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Yosemite National Park and Golden Gate International Exposition. Internet Archive Circus Day in Our Town 1949 · Film · Subtitles This film has amazing footage of a circus coming into a town, the townspeople helping with construction of the circus tents, the clowns preparing for their… Internet Archive Financing the American Family 1935 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles How the Household Finance Corporation helps working families with installment loans during the Depression. Internet Archive Drugs in Our Culture Film · Subtitles Examines the widespread use of drugs in American society and presents experts discussing different reasons for increased drug abuse by youth. Focuses on the… Internet Archive Key to Our Horizons 1952 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles A mid-century tribute to the automobile and its importance in American life and the economy. Internet Archive Chevrolet Leader News (Vol. 1, No. 2) 1935 · Newsreel · Subtitles Promotional newsreel containing a variety of Chevrolet-centric stories, including the construction of U.S. 1 linking Key West, Florida with the mainland; a… Internet Archive Beautiful State of Mind: Massachusetts 2026 · Film · Subtitles 10:01:56:23 CU gold statue of a Native American with feather in hair arms outstretched looking up to the sky, camera does quick zoom out shows statue on large… Internet Archive [Oakland Oaks Baseball Season Opens] 1918 · Short · 2 min · Subtitles Baseball season opens in Oakland, California: April 2, 1918; auto parade through downtown streets and pregame warmup. Internet Archive Easier Way, The 1946 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Presents the case for motion study in the workplace and advises supervisors on how to convince skeptics that it is a good thing. Internet Archive Basic Typing, Part I: Methods (Part II) 1944 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Demonstrates correct posture for typing; proper fingering of the keys; use of the shift key, back spacer, tabulator, carriage return lever, etc.; and… Internet Archive How the Eye Functions 1941 · Film · Subtitles EXPLAINS GROSS & DETAILED STRUCTURE OF HUMAN EYE. BRIEFLY DESCRIBES HOW LIGHT WAVES ARE REFRACTED BY LENS OF EYE & FOCUSED ON THE RETINA. EMPHASIZES LENS, ITS… Internet Archive Movie Trailers: "Doomsday" Horror Animation 1950 · Cartoon · Subtitles Tongue-in-cheek horror movie trailer. Internet Archive Service and Citizenship 1951 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Korean War-era film points out that military service should be understood as part of citizenship and that training in the everyday duties of citizenship is a… Internet Archive News Magazine of the Screen, The (Vol. 1, Issue 6) 1951 · Newsreel · 21 min · Subtitles Newsreel stories reformatted for classroom use. Segments include: United Nations Condemns Red China (on the Korean War); General Eisenhower Surveys Atlantic… Internet Archive 1936 All-American Soap Box Derby, The 1936 · Film · Subtitles "The great American boy is hard at work...inventing, creating, building something. The energy that is forever behind both the competitive sports of youth and… Internet Archive Camera Thrills of the War 2026 · Film · Subtitles 07:01:06:29 Still of World War II US soldier wearing helmet with bayonet resting on shoulder beside text “Camera Thrills of the War!”; intertitle “Tearing Up… Internet Archive Agricultural Aviation 1955 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles How airplanes and helicopters help farmers. With excellent Kodachrome footage of cropdusting and crop spraying; insecticides and their application, and pests… Internet Archive You and Your Friends 1946 · Film · Subtitles "Here we are at a nice, friendly party. Watch carefully everything the people at this party do and say, then ask yourself, 'would I rate them plus or minus as… Internet Archive Robinson Crusoe A 1927 · Film · Subtitles Silent film version of Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe, directed and produced (and starring) M.A. Wetherell. In three parts. Internet Archive Day at the River: A Film Lesson in Nature Study, A 1928 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles Shows a fish hatchery and fish lifecycle, complete with microcinematography of fish eggs. Internet Archive Why We Respect The Law 1950 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Ken and three friends steal boards to make backstop for baseball field. Ken suffers from guilt & sees family lawyer who helps him develop respect for laws.… Internet Archive [Amateur films: Ivan Besse collection: Britton, South Dakota 1938-39] (Part II) 1938 · Home movie · 20 min · Subtitles Daily life in a South Dakota town during the Great Depression, shot by Ivan Besse. From towards the end of 0692_HM_Ivan_Besse_collection_Britton_South_Dakota_1… Internet Archive Man and His Culture 1954 · Film · Subtitles Shows, in the imaginative form of a 'REPORT FROM OUTER SPACE,' how the ways of mankind might appear to visitors from another planet. Considers the things most… Internet Archive Ideal Doll Commercial #3 Commercial · 1 min · Subtitles This vintage commercial highlights the Beautiful Crissy doll, known for its unique hair-growing feature that allows children to lengthen or shorten the doll's… Internet Archive Your Town: A Story of America 1940 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Tribute to the strengths of the American system of free enterprise, funded by a large manufacturers' association. Young Jerry, who stops to observe a rowdy… Internet Archive Man Against the River 1937 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Describes the work of members of the Works Projects Administration in helping refugees of a winter flood of the Ohio River. Internet Archive Word to the Wives, A 1955 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles How two women trick a husband into buying a new kitchen. Internet Archive [Amateur film: Medicus collection: New York World's Fair, 1939-40] (Reel 5) (Part II) 1939 · Home movie · 17 min · Subtitles Detailed documentation of the "World of Tomorrow" in beautiful Kodachrome. Internet Archive Survival Under Atomic Attack 1951 · Film · Subtitles Explains the dangers of the atomic bomb, the effects of radiation and what the individual should do to protect himself if caught in the open or in his home.… Internet Archive Information Machine, The 1958 · Film · Subtitles [Subtitle: "or Creative Man and the Data Processor"] The background and development of data processing is cleverly presented through the use of animation. Internet Archive ABCs of Walking Wisely 1959 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Illustrates how people walk in streets like the alphabet. Shows among others the G-Walker, who doesn't look where he's going but says 'Gee, look at that,' the… Internet Archive Refreshment on the Job 1951 · Film · Subtitles Coca-Cola made this film to promote Coke use on the job. Three main ideas are expressed: (1) Workers must be spoken to in very simple language; (2) Replace… Internet Archive Plowshare (Part I) 1961 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Argues for peaceful uses of nuclear weapons in construction, civil engineering and extraction of natural resources. A document of the U.S. Atomic Energy… Internet Archive Machine : Master or Slave? 1941 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles The film explores the impact of labor-saving machinery on employment and the economy. As factories ramp up production for defense needs, workers face… Internet Archive Last Date 1949 · Short · 19 min · Subtitles Tells the story of Jeanne, a popular pretty girl until speed and an accident ruin her life. Directed by Lewis D. Collins. Story by Bruce Henry. With Richard… Internet Archive [Completion of Northwestern Pacific Rail Road] (Part II) 1914 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Golden Spike ceremonies and celebration for the completion of the Northwestern Pacific Rail Road, October 23-25, 1914. Filmed in Willits, Cain Rock, Arcata… Internet Archive Spinning Levers 1936 · Film · Subtitles "The transmission in the modern motorcar -- the mechanism that makes it possible to have three forward speeds and a reverse -- is a series of levers, levers… Internet Archive Where the Sun Reigns 1955 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles Tour of the scenic Miami-Dade County area. With many views of attractions at ground level and from a helicopter. Director: John Behney. Internet Archive 1960 Kennedy-Nixon Debate (Part I) 1960 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles A kinescope of the John F Kennedy and Richard M Nixon presidential debate. Internet Archive Bridging San Francisco Bay 1937 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles Building the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Internet Archive Chevrolet Leader News (Vol. 2, No. 4) 1936 · Newsreel · 8 min · Subtitles Promotional newsreels featuring a variety of Chevrolet-centric stories, including: the "Boudoir Express," dressing rooms on wheels in which women can change… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Medicus collection: New York World's Fair, 1939-40] (Reel 3) 1939 · Home movie · Subtitles 05:00:45:21 - 06:02:24:00 color silent 1939-40 World's Fairs: New York, 1939-40; Amateur films. Detailed documentation of the "World of Tomorrow" in beautiful… Internet Archive Freedom of the American Road (Part II) 1955 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Henry Ford II introduces this film designed to encourage private citizens to unite and support road improvement. Part of the lobbying campaign that culminated… Internet Archive School Rules: How They Help Us 1953 · Educational · Subtitles Discusses rules and stresses the point that rules are ways of making life more pleasant, smooth and safe. SHOWS EVERYDAY SCENES IN WHICH RULES INFLUENCE OUR… Internet Archive [Oakland, California Real Estate Promotional Film] 1928 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Real estate promotional film on Oakland, California and her sister cities made by Wickham Havens, a local developer. Internet Archive Drug Addiction 1951 · Short · 21 min · Subtitles Classic "slippery slope" narrative of post-World War II stoned slackerdom. Internet Archive The Growth of Plants Film · Subtitles Basics of plant germination, photographed in laboratory conditions featuring pea plants, with time-lapse photography, brief stop-motion bee sequence, also… Internet Archive Atomic Energy as a Force for Good (Part I) 1955 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles Drama showing the reactions of citizens of a small town to the construction of a nuclear energy plant in their community, and their acceptance of the peaceful…