Prelinger Archives

913–960 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 Meats With Approval 1946 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Explains the purposes of the federal meat inspection program and how it helps to assure wholesome, clean meat for the consumer. Internet Archive Master Hands 1936 · Film · Subtitles From producer's synopsis: "A beautiful dramatization of how the master hands of Chevrolet craftsmen form the patterns, tools and dies, and control the huge… Internet Archive Using Trees: Part Three of a Series 2026 · Film · Subtitles Includes puppets; forest shots; cutting down trees; mushrooms in forest; stacks of lumber at mill; lumber milling and sawing. Many shots to be logged. Internet Archive Army Nurse, The 1945 · Film · Subtitles Shows the daily life and work of the army nurse, including training and off-duty activities. Internet Archive Selling Wizard, The 1954 · Film · Subtitles 0:20 Pedestals, silhouette drawing of man in shirt pops onto pedestal Another silhouette, then other - total of 3 CU foods arranged in store frozen food… Internet Archive Let Us Break Bread Together (Part I) 1954 · Educational · 12 min · Subtitles How a New York City school district promoted racial integration and intergroup tolerance. Internet Archive Living Pages 1935 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Portrait of the readers of McCall's magazine (housewives) and their lives and desires. Internet Archive Vicious Circle, or What Are We Trying to Do?, The 1964 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Expresses the frustration of an industrial film producer who must deal with the vagaries of his corporate client. Internet Archive Alice in Wonderland 1952 · Film · Subtitles In this whimsical adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland," Alice embarks on bizarre adventures in the magical realm of Wonderland. When the Queen's tarts go… Internet Archive Defense Comes First With Oldsmobile (1942 Oldsmobile Playlets) 1941 · Film · Subtitles Theatrical screen ad for one of the last pre-World War II automobiles, emphasizing Oldsmobile's adaptability under wartime conditions. Internet Archive Street of Memory 1937 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles Vericolor production offering touristic view Olvera Street and the old Mexican quarter in Los Angeles, California. Internet Archive Sharp ELSI-8 Calculator Commercial 1970 · Commercial · 1 min · Subtitles Commercial for the Sharp ELSI-8 (aka Sharp EL-8) calculator -the world's first battery operated portable calculator Internet Archive Far Sound, The 1973 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Vacuum Control 1938 · Film · Subtitles AN EXPLANATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF THE NEW VACUUM GEARSHIFT, AND HOW IT CONTRIBUTES TO COMFORT, EASE OF DRIVING, & SAFETY. Internet Archive Trip To The California Alligator Farm 1927 · Film · Subtitles Trip To The California Alligator Farm in Los Angeles, CA. See these living "suit cases" in their home elements. Watch the 98-year-old great grand-dad open his… Internet Archive Iron Country: Iron Ore and Minnesota's Future 1952 · Short · 22 min · Subtitles Produced to reassure Minnesotans that iron mining would continue to spur economic development. Internet Archive Here Comes the Circus 1942 · Film · Subtitles Families, cotton candy, Coke, children, barkers, side shows, women snake charmers & sword swallowers, tent circus, parade, audience, clowns, animals,… Internet Archive [Reno Rodeo] 1950 · Newsreel · 1 min · Subtitles Action footage of Reno, Nevada rodeo. Jimmy Lederer, Universal Newsreel cameraman, receives Wrangler framed award. Newsreel story. Internet Archive [Amateur Film: Golden Gate International Exposition] 1939 · Home movie · 9 min · Subtitles Kodachrome footage of the San Francisco World's Fair, held on Treasure Island. Internet Archive Break And Enter / Rompiendo Puertas (aka Squatters) 1970 · Film · Subtitles Made by the Newsreel collective in New York City, this film shows "Operation Move-in," in which Puerto Rican and Dominican families actively reclaimed unused,… Internet Archive Chevrolet Leader News (Vol. 2, No. 1) 1936 · Newsreel · 8 min · Subtitles Promotional newsreels featuring a variety of Chevrolet-centric stories, including: Miami, Florida police practice shooting at stationary targets from moving… Internet Archive Plowshare (Part II) 1961 · Short · 12 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 Treasure Island 1939 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Dignitaries open up the World's Fair on Treasure Island (Kodachrome, missing soundtrack). Internet Archive [Home Movies: NY Central and NYNH&H Electric Operations, July 1961] 1961 · Home movie · Subtitles Mouth of Park Avenue tunnel at 96th Street; rail traffic in and out of tunnel Activity shot from 125th Street station platform Activity shot from an outside… Internet Archive White Magic 1940 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles The physics, science and applications of light. Internet Archive Hear and Now 1958 · Film · Subtitles A film about the history and importance of radio. The film covers the development of radio and its impact on people's lives, from its use as a tool for… Internet Archive To The Fair (Pt 1) 1965 · Film · Subtitles Provides a trip to the New York World's Fair of 1965, showing the various activities at the fair. Internet Archive Technicolor for Industrial Films 1949 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles Film promoting use of Technicolor process to industrial film producers. Internet Archive [Kay Stinson, Aviator] 1917 · Short · 3 min · Subtitles Kay Stinson, noted woman aviatrix, breaks the speed record from San Diego to San Francisco with an average speed of 66 mph. Internet Archive [Texas City, Texas Explosion] 1947 · Film · Subtitles TEXAS BLAST! SPECIAL RELEASE! FIRST PICTURES Footage of the Texas City explosion of 1947 great disaster footage Internet Archive [Farewell to Treasure Island] 1940 · Short · 2 min · Subtitles Conclusion of the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, California. Internet Archive Oil for Aladdin's Lamp (revised version) 1949 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles The romance of the petroleum industry, showing how dependent our society is on oil and petrochemical products. Remake and update of the original (1933) version. Internet Archive Unfinished Business 1948 · Short · 19 min · Subtitles Postwar adjustment is easy for a young World War II veteran who is welcomed back to his job at U.S. Steel with a position, training courses, and counseling. Internet Archive Dial D For Design (Pt 2) Film · Subtitles Produced by Cinefonics, Inc (a division of Cook Research Laboratories) and based on Engineering and Systems Integration Studies by Cook Research Laboratories.… Internet Archive Along the Way 1968 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Depicts actual construction progress throughout the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit System during 1967-68, emphasizing the original and continuing aims… Internet Archive Social Seminar: Bunny 1971 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles Portrays a young college student who smokes marijuana from time to time, usually with friends, for social relaxation. Raises such questions as why does she… Internet Archive Egg and Us, The 1952 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles Convinces Americans of the strength of their economy and urges them to support their government and help pay off the national deby by purchasing U.S. Savings… Internet Archive Sound and the Story, The 1956 · Film · Subtitles The making of phonograph records from the recording session, featuring a symphony orchestra playing classical music, through premastering, pressing and… Internet Archive Sound and the Story, The 1956 · Film · Subtitles The making of phonograph records from the recording session, featuring a symphony orchestra playing classical music, through premastering, pressing and… Internet Archive Science in Action: Submarines (Part II) 1956 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Kinescope of Fifties science TV program featuring discussions and demonstrations. This episode is devoted to submarines, their design and operation, the… Internet Archive Spring Comes to a Pond 1952 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Uses indigenous sounds as a background for closeups of life around a New England pond during the spring. Internet Archive Narcotics: Pit of Despair 1967 · Film · Subtitles Tells the story of a boy from a good home who begins using narcotics "just for kicks" and later becomes addicted to the point where he is dropped out of… Internet Archive Who Shall Reap? 1969 · Short · 28 min · Subtitles Insects or humans? Weeds, diseases, and other pestilence that confound farmers and threaten the worlds food supply. Internet Archive Boulder Dam (Parts III and IV) 1931 · Short · 24 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 Answer, An 1962 · Film · Subtitles John F. Kennedy and other dignitaries review the second fleet and second marine division in action. Superb material of combat aircraft, battleships, carriers,… Internet Archive So, You're Going to High School 2026 · Film · Subtitles 18:17:02:07 1950s Teenagers working in wood shop, cutting wood with saws. Teenage girls in Home Education courses working in kitchen, girl shows class her… Internet Archive 1965 Parade of Homes, The (Part I) 1965 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles New homes go on display as part of a builders' promotion in outlying neighborhoods of Birmingham, Alabama. Kinescope of a locally aired television program. Internet Archive Behind the Lens: A Camera Goes to College 1940 · Film · Subtitles 06:05:33:04 06:05:35:20 LS movie theater audience watching love scene on screen 06:05:59:18 06:06:05:22 HA LS man walking by mowing lawn / PAN down to freshly…