Prelinger Archives
7,537–7,584 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
Adirondack Holiday Reel 1 A
This silent film footage from the 1950s provides a rich tapestry of scenes depicting various activities and landscapes. It begins with a fast-flowing river in…
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 97377: Maine
To come.
Internet Archive
Bible Lands
Travelogue through mid-20th century Palestine and Israel with stops at major buildings and monuments and with emphasis on sites of interest to the history of…
Internet Archive
Niagara Falls: Various Views of America's Most Famous Waterfall
Static and moving landscape shots.
Internet Archive
1083 Regal Pale Beer Screen Ad
to come
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 004136
Footage documenting the construction of Ronald Moran Cadillac, an automobile dealership in Hermosa Beach, California; founded in 1948, later known as Penske…
Internet Archive
The Dan Smoot Report: The Right to Work (#516)
Anti-union commentary from conservative activist Dan Smoot in support of state right-to-work laws. He urges his audience to write to their legislators…
Internet Archive
The Dan Smoot Report: The Power of Public Opinion (#568)
Content warning: This film falsely attributes violent acts of the Ku Klux Klan to civil rights activists. Conservative activist Dan Smoot urges his audience…
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 98806: Vacation to New York
To come.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 97354: Pennsylvania Family
To come.
Internet Archive
Mode-Art Can 2265
Pennsylvania regional light rail cars, light rail line documented under construction and in apparent testing mode without passengers, in both summer and…
Internet Archive
Cross in the Sand (A-Roll)
A-roll footage for a film about Capuchin (The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church) missionaries…
Internet Archive
Pathe News: Epochal Air Flight
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 97296: Hawaii
To come.
Internet Archive
Queerosities: Monkey Auto Race
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 000484
Home movie showing people hunting and fishing in a rural foothill community and a rodeo, possibly shot in Wyoming or Montana.
Internet Archive
Vista Stock Shots: San Francisco Scenics and Long Shots
driving past downtown on Bay Bridge and Embarcadero Freeway
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Ozarks]
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 12055: Untitled Collection 6
To come.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 11209: Election, Christmas and Family, 1936
To come.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 10597: Local 415 Strike
To come.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 11698: Hamden, CT Family Santa Monica, San Juan Capistrano & Sherwood Farms Trip
To come.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 97383: Grandfather and Jones Beach
To come.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 003801
Scenes at an aircraft show, children swimming in a swimming pool, and celebrating 4th of July with a fireworks show.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 10343: Golden Gate International Exposition
Note on can states: G.G.I.E. Sept. 1940 F.B.F.
Internet Archive
Home Movie PA 000231
Home Movie PA 000231
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 010715
Tourist visit to Mexico in the early twentieth century. The film is extremely degraded and the image is very warped. It begins with a series of still images.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 004744
Trains, interurban railroads and trolley cars, beginning in the Pacific Electric terminal in Los Angeles, showing street scenes and streetcars in Los Angeles,…
Internet Archive
Queerosities: The Human Spider
Man walking cables of Brooklyn Bridge, New York, N.Y.
Internet Archive
Northern Rampart
Internet Archive
People Who Live on a Great Plain: A Film Lesson in "World Geography"
Internet Archive
Home Movie PA 000232
Home Movie PA 000232
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 97274: Unidentified
City street scene at start.
Internet Archive
Hiking Through Colorado Canyons
Silent. Scenes from hiking through the Colorado Canyons.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 11867: Untitled Collection 2
To come.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: Jay Hansell Collection: 003620
Can notes: Roll 1 - KURTZ FAMILY 1962 - Kurtz, Julius and Treva 50th reunion in Denver, CO 1964 - Oct. Millie visits parents in Denver her dad with camera…
Internet Archive
Mode-Art Can 1743
Likely outtakes from "Young Man River." Mode-Art production number 757. Notes on leader: C.S. #37987- Prod 757 CORPS OF ENG - Tails- REGULAR…
Internet Archive
[Home Movie: 098924: Michigan and Minnesota, 1960s]
Midwestern family tours regional sights, mid-1960s
Internet Archive
Investment in Human Welfare, An
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 97153: East Trip and Newport
Newport, Rhode Island and Eastern trip
Internet Archive
The Otepka Case
Didactic docudrama related to the case of Otto Otepka who was disciplined within the U.S. security forces: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Otepka (accessed…
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 004185
A family spends a lot of time by the lake, swimming, cooking, fishing, and taking boat rides. Note on can: "#3 Maine 1942"
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 97330: Male Child
To come.
Internet Archive
Minsky Film 016
Robots at the MIT AI Lab
Internet Archive
Sageworks
This silent color negative roll was filmed at a branch of Bowery Savings Bank in May, 1980. There are many takes of several scripted scenes between bank…
Internet Archive
Theatrics-Church-Bob-Mime Outtakes
Outtakes from an unknown amateur film production. A man drinks and has an angry fit in the kitchen; a priest gives a sermon to an empty room; a woman mimes…
Internet Archive
[Hardcastle Stock Shots]
Highway Safety Missouri State Highway Patrol
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 003783
A prosperous white family goes golfing, horse back riding, and more. African American domestic workers appear at the end of the film, serving the family…