Prelinger Archives

1,201–1,248 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 Quality Control in Modern Merchandising (Part II) 1952 · Film · Subtitles JC Penney Company, Inc. produced sponsored film about textiles and quality control. 0554 PA8308 Quality Control in Modern Merchandising 022.08 Internet Archive Urban Sprawl 1960 · Film · Subtitles 03:24:07:15 High-angle pan over new suburban home development. 03:24:56:15 Pan over vast area of suburban houses, audio track �vast sea of houses created by… Internet Archive Cleanliness and Health 1949 · Film · Subtitles Uses photomicrography to show dangerous tiny organisms which cause infections and diseases. Stresses the importance of cleanliness in maintaining good health. Internet Archive Gambling — U.S.A. 1959 · Film · Subtitles Discusses the major forms of gambling including card and dice games, roulette, slot machines, lotteries and horse racing. Explains the odds against the player… Internet Archive Captain John Smith: Founder of Virginia 1955 · Film · Subtitles Dramatizes the struggles of the men who founded Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in America. Explains how Captain John Smith held the colony… 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 [Home Movies: Key System, ca. 1959] 1959 · Home movie · Subtitles VS trains on Key System viaduct around Transbay Terminal area F train along right-of-way in East Bay Scenes of Bay Area Electric Railroad Association Special… Internet Archive All the Way Home 1957 · Film · Subtitles Demonstrates in a positive fashion that integrated communities can and do work. Exposes the property value fallacy and makes an appeal to reason and… Internet Archive Damaging Effects of the Atomic Bomb Compared to Conventional Bombs, The 1954 · Film · Subtitles rolls Picture A and B no audio track Made by the military picture showing exactly what the title says in great detail. Juxtaposes animation of convention and… Internet Archive Pork People Like 1956 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Ag film illustrating the different qualities of pork and showing how to acquire the best in meat purchases. Internet Archive This Is Your Police Department 1951 · Short · 23 min · Subtitles Operations and ceremonies of the Detroit Police Department. Internet Archive Pharmacist, The 1946 · Film · Subtitles PORTRAYS THE VARIOUS TYPES OF WORK IN PHARMACY, THE TRAINING NECESSARY & WHERE IT MAY BE OBTAINED. Zero = first title 00:00 Bacteria under microscope 00:20… Internet Archive Highway Hearing (Part I) 1956 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Produced to garner support for the 1956 Federal Aid-Highway Act, the law that enabled the Interstate Highway system. After a small town learns that it is to… Internet Archive Let's Give A Tea 1946 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles Describes the proper procedures involved in giving a tea, such as making a guest list, describing the dress and arranging a tea table. Points out that rules… Internet Archive Passenger Car Screen Ads 1952 · Film · Subtitles Star Bright 00:23:00:09 Quick pan down from clear blue sky to red 1953 Chevrolet convertible parked on road in front of row of green trees.00:23:07:27 VS of… Internet Archive Office Etiquette 1950 · Film · Subtitles DO'S AND DON'TS FILM. PORTRAYS WAYS IN WHICH OFFICE ETIQUETTE CONTRIBUTES TO SUCCESS IN OFFICE RELATIONSHIPS. THE TYPICAL SITUATIONS INCLUDE APPLYING FOR A… Internet Archive Nightmare for the Bold 1959 · Film · Subtitles Car crash at night with four occupants. Intense, drawn-out safety film. 04:00:52:05 CU Air Force officer makes speech; LS audience of Air Force soldiers.… Internet Archive Max Fleischer News Sketches 1944 · Short · 6 min · Subtitles Humorous "sketches" of human interest stories by Max Fleischer, who headed Handy's animation department in the mid 1940s and 1950s. Internet Archive Dropout, The (Part II) 1962 · Educational · 14 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 [Home Movies: Pietsch Collection: "Black and White Weekend Jaunts," Part I] 1941 · Home movie · Subtitles title: California 1941 title: Week-End Jaunts title: July 4, 1941 brief POV of Los Angeles streets through windshield VS Griffith Park and Griffith… Internet Archive WJR: One of a Kind 1966 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Story of radio station WJR, Detroit. Many shots with local radio personalities in studio and people listening to the radio at home, in the ballpark at work… Internet Archive How to Study 1946 · Film · Subtitles JIM PREPARES A CIVICS REPORT ON LABOR UNIONS. HE USES FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF READING: SCANNING, RAPID READING, CAREFUL SLOW READING & RE-READING. HE… Internet Archive [Home Movies: African American Family, Detroit] 1960 · Home movie · Subtitles Statue of Liberty (New York harbor) with helicopter in background African American family members dressed for a formal occasion descend front steps of brick… Internet Archive Cheating 1952 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Expressionistic film showing John's cheating and how his peers punish him. Internet Archive What Is A Corporation? 1949 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Discusses the principal forms of business ownership-single proprietorship, partnership and corporation-and explains the advantages and disadvantages of each. Internet Archive Someone's In the Kitchen 1960 · Film · Subtitles Film contains many artfully shot closeups of housework, cooking, food preparation, food and kitchen activity.PA-0710 section:12:49:11:29 Mother pours Log… Internet Archive Solar and Terrestrial Radiation 1950 · Film · Subtitles SOLAR RADIATION PHYSICS EARTH SUN STARS ANIMATION DIAGRAMS WOMEN BATHING SUITS MODELS GRAPHICS LIGHT HEAT INFRARED ULTRAVIOLET SCIENCE Solar radiation… Internet Archive [Brezhnev Biography] 1976 · Film · Subtitles Leonid Brezhnev with all sorts of mid-1970s world leaders: Castro, Willy Brandt, Ceaucescu, Erik Honecker, Pinochet, etc. ; at t/c 02:24:51:04, official… Internet Archive Movie Trailers: "Marathon of Fright" 1950 · Cartoon · Subtitles Tongue-in-cheek horror movie trailer. Internet Archive Triumph of America (Part II) 1933 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Auto manufacturing as an expression (and motivator) of America's economic success. Internet Archive Berkeley Fire 1923 1923 · Short · 2 min · Subtitles 0707 PA8113 Berkeley Fire 1923 Internet Archive Driving Tips, Part 2 1958 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Warnings of drinking and driving, speeding, approaching a stopped school bus, the dangers of signal jumping "usually jumping into trouble", driving too… 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 [Amateur films: Ivan Besse collection: Britton, South Dakota 1938-39] (Part VIII) 1938 · Home movie · 14 min · Subtitles Daily life in a South Dakota town during the Great Depression, shot by Ivan Besse. Internet Archive Tomorrow Always Comes (Part II) 1941 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Time-travel story promoting rayon lingerie. Internet Archive Styled in California 2026 · Film · Subtitles “A Montgomery Ward Fashion Presentation.” Idealized “typical” family piles out of convertible and starts playing furiously (good) Janis Paige addresses… Internet Archive Teddy 1971 · Film · Subtitles Presents the experiences of a Black teenager, relating his views of the system, showing his relationship with the church, school, society, drugs and community… Internet Archive Children of Japan 1941 · Film · Subtitles Shows home, work and school activities of a middleclass Japanese family. Conversations are reproduced and interpreted. The film presents daily life in the… Internet Archive Heavenly Bodies 1920 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Visionary 1920s film containing imaginative astrophysical visualizations. Internet Archive [Television Commercials: Folger's Coffee] 2026 · Commercial · Subtitles FOLGER'S COFFEE: 40 minutes of old Folger's commercials. Most of the Folger's ads involve a similar theme: Using white young suburban newlywed characters,… Internet Archive Holiday for Bill (Part II) 1951 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles Cliche-ridden rural/urban improbable romance concocted to promote Ford tractors. Internet Archive Check . . . And Let Me Know 1962 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Goof on the process of industrial filmmaking.Goof on the process of industrial filmmaking. The film starts with a man talking about a potential movie prospect… Internet Archive High Country Holiday 1960 · Film · Subtitles Begins as a travelogue showing a family excursion through North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountains, then turns into a promotional film for clothing and other… Internet Archive Junior Prom 1946 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles Experiences of two couples on a double date at the Junior Prom. Internet Archive You'd Be There 1977 · Film · Subtitles 17:41:23:24 VS men and women working in an office. 17:43:05:23 CU older woman playing piano. 17:43:13:26 VS seniors eating in cafeteria; Pen Brook cartons of… Internet Archive Way You Want It, The 1950 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles Promotional film aimed at car customers. The film focuses on the toughness of Chevrolet cars and the pleasantness and excellent quality of the repair staff at… Internet Archive Plow that Broke the Plains, The 1937 · Film · Subtitles 16:32:11:14 Animated map of the U.S. Writing appears on the map identifying the Great Plains Area which is then outlined in dotted lines. CU of Great Plains… Internet Archive Here Is China (Part I) 1944 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Portrait of the Chinese people and how they were affected by Japanese aggression.