Prelinger Archives

1,009–1,056 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 America for Me (Part I) 1950 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Two young women take a Greyhound Bus tour across America. Includes a love story and a great song at the end - the whole bus breaks into song. Internet Archive Whoever You Are 1930 · Film · Subtitles Footage from late 1930s early 1940s of footage, mostly in New York City, related to religious and racial prejudice. Poor film quality. 06:40:55:18 CU sign… Internet Archive Desert Empire (Part III) 1948 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Railroad tour through the state of Utah, stopping off at many natural attractions and in Salt Lake City. Shows Great Salt Lake, Ogden, Salt Lake City, and… Internet Archive It's Your America (Part I) 1945 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles The U.S. War Department described this film in the following words: "An American soldier, during his combat career, realizes the greatness of his country and… Internet Archive [Television Commercials: Toy Reel] Commercial · Subtitles [The following titles and shotlists may be elsewhere on PA-0649; this description may therefore need revision after viewing.] Tape 0649 [New Film] [Untitled]… Internet Archive About Fallout (1955) 1955 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles Attempt to dispel many common myths and fallacies about radioactive fallout. Internet Archive Breakfast Pals 1939 · Cartoon · Subtitles Snap, Crackle and Pop take on Soggy, Mushy and Toughy. Internet Archive Around the World in New York 1940 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles Views of immigrant and ethnic communities in New York City. Internet Archive Great Swindle, The 1948 · Film · Subtitles Harassed by shortages, Tom Grey votes for the removal of price control after reading propaganda issued by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).… Internet Archive To the Fair 1964 · Film · Subtitles 17:31:24:00 To the Fair 10240 17:31:33:00 MCU of stagecoach horses running through desert, Wells-Fargo style stagecoach (17:31:38:00) 17:31:38:00 med shot of… Internet Archive Birth of the B-29 1945 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles Design, production and testing of World War II bomber. Internet Archive Let's Go To The Movies 1948 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles An overall picture of the background, development and technical advances made by the motion picture industry through the years. Includes Charlie Chaplin, Mary… Internet Archive Heart and Circulation 1937 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Classic educational film on the workings of the circulatory system. Internet Archive Skateboard Sense Film · Subtitles Safety film about the (then) new hobby of skateboarding. Produced by Sid Davis. Internet Archive Inner City, The 1958 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles How the United Fund supports the care of emotionally disturbed and severely disabled children. Internet Archive Lima Family 1944 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles Depicts a day in the lives of the members of an upper class family of Lima, capital of Peru, and points out similarities to a family of the same class in the… Internet Archive Day Called X, A (Part I) 1955 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Dramatized atomic evacuation of Portland, Oregon. Internet Archive Coffee House Rendezvous 1969 · Film · Subtitles Filmed on location at: The Orange Ell, Chestnut Hill Community Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Brethren Coffee House, Church of the Brethren,… Internet Archive [Television commercials: Sunbeam Bread Spots] 2026 · Commercial · Subtitles 1) 00:04:85 "EVERYBODY NEEDS ENERGY-PACKED SUNBEAM BREAD" A wooden roller coaster zooms down its track. Two boys in cowboy outfits walking on a boardwalk.… Internet Archive [California State Highway 101 Opening] 1929 · Short · 3 min · Subtitles Opening of California State Highway 101 at San Francisco, with 50,000 people in attendance; parade of automobiles from San Francisco Civic Center; Mayor James… Internet Archive The Big Bounce 1962 · Film · Subtitles Documents the development, technological innovations, and first flight of the first first telecommunications satellite, developed as part of Project Echo by… Internet Archive Voice of Victory (Part II) 1944 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles How radio equipment helped to win World War II. Internet Archive Baltimore Plan 1953 · Film · Subtitles Documents a plan in which municipal agencies and citizen groups cooperated in a neighborhood renewal plan to raise housing standards. Internet Archive Let's Talk Turkey 1951 · Talk · 21 min · Subtitles Tells of the 'JUNIOR' turkey which can be used yearround by the small and average-size family. Shows the Marie Gifford Kitchens where turkey dishes, such as… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Pietsch Collection: Santa Monica, California, 1941 - 1942] 1941 · Home movie · Subtitles Mr. Pietsch holding camera Home exteriors, Santa Monica, California Mr. Pietsch in new car / Mrs. Pietsch, outside 1142 26th Street, Santa Monica… Internet Archive It's All in Knowing How 1954 · Film · Subtitles USES THE COMBINATION OF A STORY & ANIMATED CHART TECHNIQUE TO POINT OUT THE RELATIONSHIP OF GOOD EATING & HEALTH HABITS TO THE VARIOUS AREAS OF LIFE. Bob,… Internet Archive Combat Fatigue: Insomnia 1945 · Short · 19 min · Subtitles Dick York plays a Navy recruit who must learn to tackle his insomnia. Internet Archive Wonderful World of Tupperware, The Film · Subtitles Some excellent shots to be logged. Oil exploration and refinery CU headline from The Woonsocket Call newspaper, Sunday, December 7, 1941: "WAR"; newspaper… Internet Archive Soundies: Black Music 1940 · Film · Subtitles 0:12:13 Delta Rhythm Boys in "Take the 'A' Train" (1941). 0:14:46 Fats Waller in "Your Feet's Too Big (1941). 0:17:45 Count Basie Orchestra in "Take Me Back,… Internet Archive Helicopter, The 1953 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Theory, operation and utility of helicopters. Internet Archive 6th Chair, The 1949 · Film · Subtitles HIGHLIGHTS SUCH PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION AS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION & MODERNIZATION, CLASS SIZE, MORE TEACHERS & UP-TO-DATE EDUCATIONAL TOOLS. PORTRAYS DANGERS OF… Internet Archive The Child Grows Up Film · Subtitles Silent film looks at how children grow physically and mentally and how parents can nurture them. Internet Archive Junior Rodeo Daredevils 1949 · Film · Subtitles High-school students in a small western town participate in a junior rodeo. Internet Archive Pueblo Heritage 1950 · Short · 19 min · Subtitles Traces the history of the Pueblo peoples from the Mesa Verde to the present pueblos -- with emphasis on Taos, Acoma, and Zuni. Concludes with scenes of the… Internet Archive Peg-Leg Pedro 1938 · Cartoon · 9 min · Subtitles Chevrolet advertising cartoon in Technicolor on a "Treasure Island" theme. Internet Archive When the Circuit Breaks: America's Energy Crisis (Part II) 1975 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles Explains that all forms of energy have circuit breakers; when demand exceeds supply, the circuit breaks; when several circuits break at the same time, we have… Internet Archive It Can't Last 1944 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles World War II propaganda film aimed at the homefront, attempting to increase popular mobilization. Internet Archive Easy Does It 1940 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles Measuring the effort involved in women's work around the home. Internet Archive Hawaii’s Spectacular Volcano Eruptions 2026 · Film · Subtitles Volcanic eruptions and lava flows in Hawaii. Great variety of, some very beautiful, erupting volcano footage in Hawaii; molten lava; trees burning in lava;… Internet Archive Yesterday's Over Your Shoulder 1940 · Film · Subtitles British film that convinces office workers to help fill the need for factory workers. Internet Archive We Drivers (1935 edition) 1936 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Early driving safety film showing good and bad sides of a driver's mind. Internet Archive Lost Landscapes of San Francisco (15, 2020) 2020 · Home movie · Subtitles Lost Landscapes of San Francisco, presented online on December 16, 2020, thanks to the efforts of Long Now Foundation. Internet Archive Science in Action: Aero Medicine (Part II) 1956 · Film · Subtitles Kinescope of Fifties science TV program featuring discussions and demonstrations. This episode is dedicated to the study of the effects of space travel on… Internet Archive Choosing for Happiness 1950 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Premarital advice for young women. Internet Archive Activity Group Therapy (Part III) 1950 · Short · 12 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 Logic by Machine 1962 · Film · Subtitles Discusses the computer revolution and the relationship between man and machine. Explains how the computer can process millions of bits of data in seconds and… Internet Archive [Amateur Skating Champs] 1950 · Newsreel · 1 min · Subtitles National Rollerskating Championships get under way in Oakland Auditorium. Newsreel story. Internet Archive [Home Movies: Hudson River Streamliner] 1985 · Home movie · Subtitles Record of a railway excursion in 1985 organized by the Tri-State Railway Historical Society, Inc., in cooperation with New Jersey Transit and Conrail. Leaves…