Prelinger Archives

1,153–1,200 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 Radar Secrets 2026 · Film · Subtitles Shows the use of secret weapons developed during World War II, comparing their value with their costs. Radar is used aboard a ship to locate a Japanese… Internet Archive New Girl in the Office (Part I) Short · 16 min · Subtitles Presented by the Government's Committee on Government Contracts, produced by On Film, Inc. and directed by Lewis Freedman. Starring Ed Asner, Lester Rawlins,… Internet Archive Molly Grows Up 1953 · Film · Subtitles EXPLAINS THE FACTS ABOUT MENSTRUATION TO ADOLESCENT GIRLS SIMPLY & UNDERSTANDINGLY. ILLUSTRATES SOUND APPROACHES FOR THOSE MOST APT TO INFLUENCE A YOUNG… Internet Archive Electronics At Work 1943 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles Explains the six basic functions of electronic tubes and shows how each type of tube is used in industrial and military applications. Internet Archive Here Is China (Part II) 1944 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Portrait of the Chinese people and how they were affected by Japanese aggression. Internet Archive What Is Money? 1947 · Film · Subtitles FOLLOWING JOURNEY OF FIVE DOLLAR BILL THRU MANY TRANSACTIONS, FILM SHOWS HOW MONEY FUNCTIONS AS STANDARD OF VALUE, STANDARD FOR FUTURE PAYMENT, STOREHOUSE OF… Internet Archive Good Neighbor Family 1943 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles This relic of the "Good Neighbor Policy" attempts to show the similarities between U.S. and Latin American families. Internet Archive This Is Hormel 1964 · Film · Subtitles Tour through the operations of the Hormel Company. Includes all parts of the meatpacking and processing EXCEPT slaughtering. Shows beef, pigs, pork, bacon,… Internet Archive Magic in the Air (1941) 1941 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles How TV works and the promise of its youth. Internet Archive Science in Action: Radar Defense Screen (Part I) 1956 · Film · Subtitles Kinescope of Fifties science TV program featuring discussions and demonstrations. In this episode, host Earl Herald interviews Brigadeer General James W.… Internet Archive Impact '66 1966 · Film · Subtitles Announcement film introducing the new 1966 Chevrolet models. Skeletal entry Internet Archive Wonderful World (Part I) Short · 15 min · Subtitles World Travelogue sponsored by Coca-Cola. 0731 PA8798 Wonderful World from 037.08 Internet Archive Our 1953 Vacation, Part Two 1953 · Film · Subtitles San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and other San Francisco scenics Los Angeles Farmers Market Los Angeles beach scenes in afternoon and at sunset also a few… Internet Archive Oldsmobile Presents the "Seventy" B-44 (1942 Oldsmobile Playlets) 1941 · Film · Subtitles Theatrical screen ad for one of the last pre-World War II automobiles. Internet Archive Jack and the Beanstalk 1917 · Film · Subtitles Jack, a young boy from a poor family, exchanges the family cow for some magic beans. The beans grow overnight into a huge beanstalk which Jack climbs into the… Internet Archive Atomic Energy as a Force for Good (Part II) 1955 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles Drama showing the reactions of citizens of a small town to the construction of a nuclear energy plant in their community, and their acceptance of the peaceful… Internet Archive Riding the Film 1937 · Film · Subtitles "Motorists really ride on a film of oil, because all the moving parts of the engine are kept slipping over each other by a thin film of oil." Possibly footage… Internet Archive [Universal Newsreel: 25 Years Ago Today] 1958 · Newsreel · Subtitles "Glimpse into the not so long ago" 1933 - Hitler's rise to power; Mussolini, Great Depression, Fads: Walkathons; Women smoking pipes; Jigsaw puzzles; Internet Archive [Gilmore Bros., Aviation Pioneers] 1931 · Short · 5 min · Subtitles Grass Valley, California: Gilmore Bros. and their planes including cabin model that was never flown but designed in 1908. Internet Archive Christmas Rhapsody, A 1948 · Film · Subtitles The story of the little fir tree which is cut down and trimmed on Christmas Eve is retold in a modern American setting, with an unusual background of… Internet Archive Target USA 1951 · Film · Subtitles Great civil defense imagery; empty Manhattan streets; signs; sirens; people running and squeezing into shelters; panic; people waiting in shelters; civil… Internet Archive Film Mystery, A (Dreft Screen Ad) 1937 · Short · 1 min · Subtitles Screen ad for Dreft detergent, featuring an unconvincing demonstration. Internet Archive Roads to Romance (Part I) Film · Subtitles Travelogue, made for theatrical showing and commissioned by Cheverolet, promoting tourism by car in several Natural Parks, including Narragansett Bay in Rhode… Internet Archive Broken Appointment (Part II) 1955 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Story of a young public health nurse who comes to realize the importance of psychology in her work. This humanistic film was made by a team of famous… Internet Archive House Fly, The (2nd edition) 1958 · Film · Subtitles 06:14:55:27 Different nationally themed models of houses mounted over their appropriate countries on a rotating globe. House flies fly around the globe.… Internet Archive Communication: A Film Lesson in General Science / Development of Communication 1927 · Film · Subtitles Much of film is composed of CUs and hand-lettered captions. CU simple electric bell circuit with hand pushing button. Animated art card showing operation of… Internet Archive Are You Ready for Marriage? 1950 · Film · Subtitles Are You Ready for Marriage? was produced to stem the epidemic of youthful, impetuous, and unsuccessful marriages following World War II. The Coronet catalog… Internet Archive Surprise For Jean 1954 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles Jean's mother plans a surprise party for Jean on her sixth birthday. While Jean and Frank are on an errand, Jean's friends come, hide and surprise her when… Internet Archive On the Air 1937 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles How radio broadcasting works. Internet Archive DEW Line Story 1958 · Film · Subtitles Why and how the Distant Early Warning (DEW Line) system of attack detection was devised. How radar principles and specially devised techniques were used by… Internet Archive Consuming Women (Women as Consumers) 1967 · Film · Subtitles "Here she is. She is single and fun-loving. She is engaged. She is newly married. And not so newly married. She has no children. She has one child. She has… Internet Archive Take It Easy 1936 · Film · Subtitles Dramatization of the spring suspension in the modern automobile, explaining in detail the principle of "knee action." 04:37:02:11 Hot-air balloon tethered to… Internet Archive Help Yourself 1939 · Film · Subtitles 18:01:26:00 VS CU Film projector; man stands up and opens projector showing spinning film reel; pan down projector, RCA Photophone label, disembodied hand… Internet Archive Diesel Story 1952 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles Traces the development of the diesel from the Otto 'SILENT' gas engine of 1877, through Rudolph Diesel's engine, to the machines that now drive ships, trains,… Internet Archive Little Red Riding Hood 1949 · Film · Subtitles Red Riding Hood learns that she should complete her errands promptly. Re-creates the story book tale of Little Red Riding Hood Internet Archive Just a Spark! 1937 · Film · Subtitles A careless fisherman drops a cigarette and starts a forest fire. Then it's to the rescue of a bedridden woman alone in a forest cabin, and the Chevrolet… Internet Archive Face in the Mirror (I Wonder), The (Part II) 1940 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Introspective psychology for salespeople: "Would you buy anything from the salesman you see in the mirror?" Internet Archive Miracle at Palm Springs 2026 · Film · Subtitles Construction of Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Palm Springs, Riverside County, California. 07:00:28:06 AV Palm Springs, California golf course, mansions with… Internet Archive [Amateur film: Medicus collection: New York World's Fair, 1939-40] (Reel 1) (Part I) 1939 · Home movie · 20 min · Subtitles Detailed documentation of the "World of Tomorrow" in beautiful Kodachrome. Internet Archive Why Kill the Goose: The Profit System 1955 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Sings the praises of the American profit system, arguing that profits, although much smaller than generally believed, make possible a continuing stream of… Internet Archive Bully, The 1952 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Chick, a young teenage boy, is large for his age and aggressive with others. Internet Archive It's Your America (Part II) 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 Magic Bond, The (Part II) 1955 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles The Veterans of Foreign Wars as a fraternal and social organization, with emphasis on their projects that benefit community life and cohesion. Directed by… Internet Archive Game's the Same, The 1959 · Film · Subtitles 19:01:40:13 1950s gas station attendant closes hood of 1950s Chevrolet, man in car pays gas station attendant wearing work suit and hat with Standard Oil… Internet Archive Tough Friends 1938 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles How steel and steel alloys make the modern automobile safer and more durable. Internet Archive Appreciating Our Parents 1950 · Film · Subtitles Shows Tommy's development into responsible family member after he is brought to realize depth of parent's affection for him and their sacrifices. He tries to… Internet Archive Dollar Store Film · Subtitles Dollar Store is a piece of raw, silent stock footage depicting shopping scenes from a bygone era, likely intended for use in a commercial or advertising… Internet Archive Brazil: South American Medley 1948 · Film · Subtitles Studies Brazil, the largest country of South America and its people, industry and customs. Shows Brazil's varied climatic conditions.