Prelinger Archives

961–1,008 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 Six Murderous Beliefs 1955 · Film · Subtitles Safety scare film opening title card has large death's head use of skull and crossbones motif throughout. Premise of film is that people hold certain beliefs… Internet Archive RFD Greenwich Village 1969 · Film · Subtitles Although the hippie ideal was fading in the late 1960s, marketers kept it alive. The Greenwich Village of RFD Greenwich Village is filled with "countrified… Internet Archive [Television commercials: Toothpaste, hair care, deodorant] 1960 · Commercial · Subtitles B/W 1) 00:02:85 A husband helps his wife remove from the car an "antique" chair that she just purchased. He jokes that it looks like a dentist chair, which… Internet Archive Behind the Bright Lights 1935 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles How Chevrolet's giant electric sign in downtown Chicago works. Internet Archive Good Sportsmanship 1950 · Film · Subtitles Shows a number of examples of good sportsmanship in action. In these the importance of sportsmanship in all phases of daily living is emphasized. 00:46:53 MCU… Internet Archive Science in Action: The Flow of Heat (Part I) 1956 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Kinescope of Fifties science TV program featuring discussions and demonstrations. Guest: Dr. Harvey R. White (University of California). Animal of the Week:… Internet Archive Formations 1936 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles Defensive driving film explaining the importance of awareness of surrounding vehicles. Internet Archive Helping You Sell 1937 · Newsreel · 9 min · Subtitles How Chevrolet uses sponsored theatrical motion pictures to promote its products. Internet Archive Labor and Childbirth 1950 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Diagrammatic explanation from the Baby Boom era. Internet Archive Miracles From Agriculture 1960 · Film · Subtitles Presents today's supermarkets as the showplaces of agriculture. Discusses methods of improvement in the growing, handling, processing, and shipping of food… Internet Archive Beware of Mental-itis! 1937 · Film · Subtitles 06:01:15:21 Salesman dressed in turn of twentieth century fashion on circus-like stage in front of large anatomical drawings; calls forward audience with his… Internet Archive Science in Action: Drilling for Oil (Part I) 1956 · Film · Subtitles Kinescope of Fifties science TV program featuring discussions and demonstrations. In this episode, host Earl Herald interviews Howard G. Vesper, VP of… Internet Archive True Experience of Officer Harold Sewell, The 1938 · Short · 1 min · Subtitles Dramatized screen ad showing how a flashlight powered by Eveready batteries prevents a train wreck. Internet Archive [Home Movies: Vacation 1966, Reel 2] 1966 · Home movie · Subtitles driving POVs New Mexico (town, probably Santa Fe) pixillated highway strip sequence along US 66 (great) Chicago in distance Chicago freeways Lake Shore Drive… Internet Archive Extra (Esso Screen Ad) 1938 · Cartoon · 1 min · Subtitles Part-animated screen ad for Esso "Extra" gasoline. Internet Archive 16mm Motion Picture Projector: Care and Maintenance, The 1961 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles Training film for military projectionists. Internet Archive Sudden Birth (Outs) 1966 · Film · Subtitles Filmed in Berkeley, Calif., with Berkeley police officers and emergency personnel. Childbirth outtakes Internet Archive Romance of a Lemon 1927 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Elegy to the sour fruit: how it's farmed and how it's used, with some unusual applications. Internet Archive City of Hope Short · 16 min · Subtitles Los Angeles Sanitarium and Expatients Home presents City of Hope, operated by the Jewish Consumptive and Expatients Relief Association. 0572 PA8041 City of Hope Internet Archive Activity Group Therapy (Part IV) 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Shows socially-maladjusted boys 10 to 11 years old being benefitted therapeutically by "acting out" their disturbances upon their environment and each other… Internet Archive New Horizons 1948 · Short · 17 min · Subtitles The "story of a new South whose roots are embedded deep in the honored tradition of the old." Shows the economy of the Southeast, white and African American… Internet Archive Obligations 1950 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles Members of two families illustrate correct and incorrect manner of taking care of their obligations to one another. Internet Archive Impact '66 1966 · Film · Subtitles Announcement film introducing the new 1966 Chevrolet models. Skeletal entry Internet Archive Alcohol and the Human Body 1949 · Film · Subtitles Traces the course of alcohol through the body until it either oxidizes or escapes, and shows the effects of alcohol on the brain. Dramatizes the case of a… Internet Archive Sound Waves And Their Sources 1933 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Sources of sounds and characteristics of sound waves, shown by means of oscilloscopes and animated diagrams. Internet Archive [Amateur films: Ivan Besse collection: Britton, South Dakota 1938-39] (Part IX) 1938 · Home movie · 16 min · Subtitles Daily life in a South Dakota town during the Great Depression, shot by Ivan Besse. This is from 0693_HM_Ivan_Besse_collection_Britton_South_Dakota_1938-39_Reel… Internet Archive "Your Name Here" Story, The (Outtakes) 1964 · Film · Subtitles Outtakes and unused footage from "The 'Your Name Here' Story. PA-0815 / Rolls 9097; 9073; 9074; 9080; 9076; 9072; 9075 (unknown in which order) 04:00:53:17 CU… Internet Archive How You See It 1936 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles How persistence of vision makes motion pictures possible. Internet Archive [Amateur films: Ivan Besse collection: Britton, South Dakota 1938-39] (Part VII) 1938 · Home movie · 17 min · Subtitles Daily life in a South Dakota town during the Great Depression, shot by Ivan Besse. This is from the beginning of 0693_HM_Ivan_Besse_collection_Britton_South_Da… Internet Archive Shades of Gray 1948 · Film · Subtitles Portrays various mental disorders suffered by soldiers during training and combat and their treatment. 01:00:38:19 Soldier in dirty uniform, with scruffy face… Internet Archive Natural Resources of Oregon 1970 · Film · Subtitles Excellent footage of different regions of Oregon, emphasizing nature and wildlife Internet Archive Communists on Campus 1970 · Film · Subtitles Anti-communist issue film documenting and discrediting radical student movements in the United States against capitalist imperialism and the American War in… Internet Archive This Is the Dairy Industry 1957 · Short · 22 min · Subtitles Kodachrome epic showing the manufacture and processing of dairy products, together with the American middle-class lifestyle they enrich. Internet Archive San Francisco by the Golden Gate 1932 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles The film showcases the beauty and history of San Francisco, highlighting its transformation from an Indian Mission Village in 1776 to a major American city.… Internet Archive When Work Is Done 1943 · Film · Subtitles How the town of Sylacauga, Alabama extended a welcome to war plant workers. Community building between towns and workers from out of town in 1940s. Footage of… Internet Archive Day At The Fair, A 1947 · Film · Subtitles TELLS THE STORY OF 3 FARM YOUNGSTERS WHO GO TO THE FAIR TO EXHIBIT THEIR CATTLE & PIGS. SHOWS THEM TENDING THEIR LIVESTOCK, WATCHING THE JUDGING & VIEWING THE… Internet Archive Where Does It Get You? 1946 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Temperance film showing how alcohol impairs agility, stamina and judgment: the qualities necessary for successful living. Internet Archive How to Listen To... New Dimensions in Sound 1957 · Short · 17 min · Subtitles Demonstration of the latest audio technology: stereo sound. Internet Archive Understanding Others 1959 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Argues that a person should be judged by his/her true worth and ability, rather than by economic background or social skills. Drama filmed in Lawrence, Kansas. Internet Archive Panama-Pacific International Exposition 1940 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Revisitation of the 1915 San Francisco Exposition, with added narration that focuses on nostalgia and memory. With excellent footage of many aspects of the… Internet Archive Long Live the Bull! 1926 · Cartoon · 14 min · Subtitles Matador and bull mud animation by Chinese American animator. Animation and photography: Joseph Sunn. Titles: Syl MacDowell. 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 Our Changing Family Life 1957 · Film · Subtitles CONTRASTS THE CLOSELY-INTEGRATED FAMILY OF THE 1880'S WITH THE FAMILY OF TODAY. EXPLAINS HOW INDUSTRIALIZATION, URBANIZATION & THE POLITICAL & ECONOMIC… Internet Archive Time Out for Trouble 1961 · Short · 19 min · Subtitles Illustrates the most common accidents causing serious injury in the home and explains that mental attitudes are the real cause of the trouble. Suggests a… Internet Archive Little Smokey: The True Story of America's Forest Fire Preventin' Bear 1953 · Film · Subtitles A bear cub found after a forest fire is taken to the zoo and becomes Smokey Bear. Stresses the importance of fire prevention. 01:47:38:07 Deer in the woods.… Internet Archive Case of Spring Fever, A 1940 · Film · Subtitles "AN ANIMATED SPRING SPRITE APPEARS TO GILBERT WILLOUGHBY TO DRIVE HOME THE COMFORT & VALUE OF SPRINGS IN EVERYDAY LIFE--PARTICULARLY THE SPRINGS IN THE… Internet Archive Garden Wise 2026 · Film · Subtitles About the benefits of fertilizing and putting chemicals made by the Monsanto Company on your lawn and garden. Very colorful film containing OUTSTANDING shots… Internet Archive Once and Forever 1956 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles On the importance of specifying long-life cast-iron soil pipes when you build your new home.