Prelinger Archives

769–816 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 Westinghouse Traveler's Choice 66 1966 · Film · Subtitles Promotional film aimed at retail sales outlets of air conditioners; many different models are shown. Trips are promised to successful salespeople. Clips are… Internet Archive Boulder Dam (Part I) 1931 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Shows the beginning of construction on the Hoover Dam (later called Boulder Dam) project in southern Nevada. With excellent footage of Boulder City, the model… Internet Archive When You Know 1936 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles The parallels between safe flying and safe driving. With footage of Army Air Force cadets studying Morse Code, having their reaction time and depth perception… Internet Archive Human Voice, The Film · Subtitles animation of larynx and voicebox animation of vocal chords animation of resonance space when different speech sounds are vocalized Internet Archive Gift of Green 1946 · Film · Subtitles Explains through animation the process of photosynthesis. Discusses its importance to our daily lives. 13:00:50 Color - lots of shots of trees and plants… Internet Archive Dating: Do's and Don'ts 1949 · Film · Subtitles Shows the progress of the date, from choosing the right girl and asking her through the last "good night." Internet Archive Facts About Film 1948 · Film · Subtitles The Atlanta Board of Education and the International Film Bureau present Facts about Film. Produced by Phototronics, Inc. Internet Archive Death to Weeds 1947 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles Shows new herbicides incorporating 2-4-D. Internet Archive Master Hands (4K) 1936 · Short · 31 min · Subtitles First 4K scan of Master Hands, made by Adrianne Finelli on March 5, 2019 at Internet Archive from a 35mm print. Classic "capitalist realist" drama showing the… Internet Archive Developing Responsibility 1949 · Film · Subtitles TELLS STORY OF HOW FRANK ASSUMES HIS EVERYDAY RESPONSIBILITIES AT HOME, AT SCHOOL, & ON HIS PAPER ROUTE, & IS REWARDED BY BEING GIVEN A PEDIGREED DOG BY A MAN… Internet Archive Gift of Green 1946 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles Explains through animation the process of photosynthesis, and discusses its importance to our daily lives. Internet Archive Einstein Theory of Relativity, The 1923 · Film · Subtitles Some shots worth logging. Title: "Time is Relative. It STRETCHES and SHRINKS!" other great titles, some animation Title: "A subject requiring a life-time to… Internet Archive All Out for Victory 1943 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles Contributions of handicapped and disabled workers to World War II industrial production. Internet Archive Freedom and Power (Part II) 1952 · Cartoon · 12 min · Subtitles This opulently produced film defines freedom as the abundance of electric power, and reviews U.S. history from an electrocentric viewpoint. With animation. Internet Archive Darkness Before the Dawn: The 1955 · Short · 21 min · Subtitles How the "Pride of Judea" organization, located in New York City, assists "at-risk" Jewish teenage boys. Producer: Arnold Panken. Associate Producer: Walter… Internet Archive Dropout, The (Part I) 1962 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Uses case studies to show why teenagers drop out of high school. Explains that some have problems in school, need money, are socially isolated and wish to… Internet Archive [East Bay and Northern California, unedited footage] 1956 · Film · Subtitles Shot list could use improved locational specifics. 05:27:09:15 Night shot: illuminated multi-pane attraction feature panels with figures and landscapes,… Internet Archive American Girl, An - the Problems of Prejudice (Part I) 1958 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles An adolescent girl in a small town tests her democratic heritage when she pretends to be Jewish and encounters prejudice. She explores the problem of… Internet Archive [Amateur Film: Wathen Collection: Niagara Falls and Austin, Texas] 1947 · Home movie · 8 min · Subtitles Excellent amateur footage of Niagara Falls and scenes in Austin, Texas, including the Texas State Capitol building. Internet Archive Triumph of America (Part I) 1933 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Auto manufacturing as an expression (and motivator) of America's economic success. Internet Archive As the Twig Is Bent... 1943 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles On the problem of youth crime during World War II and the fear that America would lose a generation of children to delinquency. Internet Archive Lost World, A 1948 · Film · Subtitles Shows the world of dinosaurs and prehistoric monsters of a million years ago, and includes a battle between two giant creatures. Based on Conan Doyle's story.… Internet Archive [Amateur films: Ivan Besse collection: Britton, South Dakota 1938-39] (Part III) 1938 · Home movie · 14 min · Subtitles Daily life in a South Dakota town during the Great Depression, shot by Ivan Besse. Internet Archive Business Films 1968 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles Key speakers on business films from the 20th annual conference of the Public Relations Society of America. Internet Archive Chevrolet Leader News (Vol. 1, No. 3) 1935 · Newsreel · 8 min · Subtitles Promotional newsreels featuring a variety of Chevrolet-centric stories, including: heavy-duty trucks used in construction; St. Augustine, Florida, site of the… Internet Archive How the Ear Functions 1940 · Cartoon · 11 min · Subtitles Structure and function of the human hearing system, with excellent animation. Internet Archive Story of a City: New York, The 1947 · Film · Subtitles PICTORIAL EXPLANATION OF HISTORIC & ECONOMIC CAUSES FOR EMERGENCE OF NEW YORK AS ONE OF WORLD'S LARGEST CITIES & OF ITS VITAL RELATION TO REST OF AMERICA.… Internet Archive [Griffith Park Relief Workers Demonstration] 1933 · Short · 2 min · Subtitles Demonstration in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, "against city and city officials which caused murder of 100 relief workers in Griffith Park Fire."… Internet Archive Desert Empire (Part I) 1948 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Railroad tour through the state of Utah, stopping off at many natural attractions and in Salt Lake City. Shows Arches National Monument and the mineral… Internet Archive Black Marketing 1940 · Film · Subtitles Great 1940s gangster film. Great shots of mobsters in the country and doing black market business with butchers. Great courtroom scenes with prosecutor… Internet Archive Roads to Romance (Northern Horizons / Land of Everlasting Hills) 1951 · Film · Subtitles Adirondack National Park & Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Colorful "See America First" Chevrolet travelogues. PA-2353: 17:53:15:11 (0:53:28): OAK CREEK… Internet Archive Chevrolet Leader News (Vol. 2, No. 2) 1936 · Newsreel · 8 min · Subtitles Promotional newsreels featuring a variety of Chevrolet-centric stories, including: a Chevrolet pulling an aquaplane along the beach; an isolated Kentucky… Internet Archive Chevrolet Leader News (Vol. 1, No. 1) 1935 · Newsreel · Subtitles Promotional newsreels featuring a variety of Chevrolet-centric stories, including: the building of Norris Dam in Tennessee; an automobile racing an ice boat… Internet Archive American Frontier (Part II) 1953 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Humanistic film showing the effects of an oil discovery on Williston, North Dakota and the surrounding region. The beginning of this movie is missing. Internet Archive Flying Businessman 1953 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles How businesspeople can benefit from general aviation. With many shots of flying businessmen, airports and airport and aviation facilities in the Fifties.… Internet Archive Safety Patrol 1937 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles A member of a schoolboy safety patrol takes a walk with his friend, a police sergeant, and over a triple ice-cream soda reviews safety precautions for… Internet Archive Japanese Relocation 1943 · Film · Subtitles Narr. by Milton S. Eisenhower, director of the War Relocation Authority. An historical record of the transfer of Japanese residents from the Pacific Coast to… Internet Archive Where the Mountains Meet the Sea (Part II) 1959 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles Introduces the city of Santa Monica, showing its amenities and the lives of its residents. A great snapshot of life in coastal California at the end of the… Internet Archive Poverty in Rural America (Part II) 1965 · Short · 17 min · Subtitles Visits poor areas of the United States and discusses "War on Poverty" social and economic programs. Internet Archive Social Seminar: Tom 1972 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles Presents Tom, a 26-year-old who has dropped out and has dropped everything, LSD, mescaline, psilocybin and some things familiar only to obscure chemists in… Internet Archive Farther Faster Safer 2026 · Film · Subtitles Many shots to be logged. Montage of early transportation: covered wagon, steam train, etc. Streamlined train Racing car trials at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah… Internet Archive Oklahoma: Heartland USA 1953 · Film · Subtitles "Script: Dwight V. Swain. Producer/director: D.N. Hockman. A-roll pix and sound have been shotlisted. B-roll pix not shotlisted but contains similar… Internet Archive Streamlines 1936 · Short · 6 min · Subtitles Streamlines are not just beautiful, but also safer, cheaper and more comfortable. Internet Archive News Magazine of the Screen, The (Vol. 7, Issue 3) 1956 · Newsreel · 21 min · Subtitles Newsreel stories reformatted for classroom use. Internet Archive People of Western China 1940 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Life and work of the people who live in Chengtu, located in a valley in western China. Internet Archive Sound And The Story 1956 · Film · Subtitles RCA Victor presents Sound and the Story, copyright Radio Corporation of America Internet Archive Let Us Break Bread Together 1954 · Film · Subtitles A pictorial documentation which shows how integration and brotherhood are being promoted in a school district in New York City. PA-4146 Let Us Break Bread… Internet Archive [Amateur film: Colaci collection, roll 1-B] 1940 · Home movie · 11 min · Subtitles Life in the San Francisco Bay Area just after World War II: families stand on the Golden Gate Bridge and watch troops returning on naval vessels; a man…