Prelinger Archives

97–144 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 Freedom Highway 1956 · Film · Subtitles Travelogues set landscapes in motion, and Freedom Highway exploits the roadside panorama as an excuse to celebrate American mythologies. Hanging in the sky as… Internet Archive Alcohol and the Human Body 1949 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Traces the course of alcohol through the body; shows the effects of alcohol on the brain; dramatizes the case of a problem drinker, including treatment. Internet Archive Classic Television Commercials (Part II) 1948 · Commercial · 11 min · Subtitles Collection of TV commercials significant to the history and development of TV as an advertising medium. Internet Archive Are You Ready for Marriage? 1950 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Two teenagers, wishing to marry early, visit their minister for advice and receive counseling, some of it quite pragmatic, the rest a little strange. Internet Archive Shy Guy 1947 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Phil (Dick York), new in his high school, follows his father's suggestion and observes the most popular students to determine what makes them popular. By… Internet Archive Third Avenue El 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Impressionistic picture of the Third Avenue Elevated Railway in Manhattan, New York City, before it was demolished. Internet Archive Act Your Age 1949 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Jim, an emotionally immature teen, learns to evaluate his personality and to better work out his problems. Internet Archive Breath-Takers, 2 Film Internet Archive Great New Star, A 1952 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Dinah Shore promotes the new Chevrolets and sings "See the U.S.A. in your new Chevrolet." Internet Archive American Look (Part II) 1958 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles The definitive Populuxe film on 1950s automotive, industrial, interior and architectural design. Internet Archive Stop Driving Us Crazy! 1959 · Cartoon · 9 min · Subtitles Rusty, a spy from Mars, pays a visit to Earth and discovers how its inhabitants disrespect one another by driving poorly. The film espouses a Christian… Internet Archive Destination Earth 1956 · Film · Subtitles This animated cartoon follows the adventures of "Colonel Cosmic," a Martian, as he learns that Oil and Competition are the two things that make America great.… Internet Archive Drug Abuse: The Chemical Tomb 1969 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles Interesting anti-drug film criticizing drug use as an inhibitor of necessary social change. Director: Alan Kishbaugh. Camera: Charles Sutton. Narrator: Chuck… Internet Archive Seduction of the Innocent 1966 · Film · Subtitles Sid's remake of The Terrible Truth is, in many ways, superior to it, if only because by the mid-sixties there were a lot more ways for kids to get themselves… Internet Archive Our Enemy: The Japanese 1943 · Short · 19 min · Subtitles Stridently anti-Japanese film that attempts to convey an understanding of Japanese life and philosophy so that the U.S. may more readily defeat its enemy.… Internet Archive Habit Patterns 1954 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles "Goofus and Gallant"-style film on the misadventures of a teenage girl who is a victim of her own bad habits, with a harrowing and patronizing narration. Internet Archive All About Polymorphics 1959 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles Simon Ramo's concept of "polymorphic" computing is laid out in stop-motion animation, accompanied by acoustic guitar. The film anticipates parallel,… Internet Archive What to Do on a Date 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles A high school senior learns how and where to ask a girl for a date, where to take her for a good time, and how to avoid spending too much money or being bored… Internet Archive Hear and Now 1958 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles How radio brings news and information to Americans. With footage of many news events covered by radio and images everyday life in the late 1950s. Explains how… Internet Archive World at War (Part II) 1942 · Short · 16 min · Subtitles Portrayal of the steps that led up to Pearl Harbor and total mobilization of World War II. Internet Archive On the Run (Part I) 1956 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Well-behaved San Francisco teenagers compete in the Mobilgas "Safety Economy Run," driving their cars around the Bay Area under the supervision of experienced… Internet Archive American Look (Part III) 1958 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles The definitive Populuxe film on 1950s automotive, industrial, interior and architectural design. Internet Archive Sky: A Film Lesson in "Nature Study", The 1928 · Film · Subtitles Possibly some shots to be logged. Boy turning around with ball in hand, shot both in and out of his POV. How a boy can make a refractive telescope. Reflecting… Internet Archive Classic Television Commercials (Part IV) 1948 · Commercial · 10 min · Subtitles Collection of TV commercials significant to the history and development of TV as an advertising medium. Internet Archive Brink of Disaster (Part I) 1972 · Short · 27 min · Subtitles How 1960s activism "threatens" American moral, religious and ethical principles. Internet Archive Everyday Courtesy 1948 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Courtesy in connection with invitations, telephone conversations, introductions and entertaining guests. Internet Archive Atomic Bomb Blast Effects 1959 · Film · Subtitles Color footage of atomic bomb tests with active duty military personnel at Camp Desert Rock, Nevada Test Site, Nevada. Shows soldiers in foxholes as nuclear… Internet Archive Classic Television Commercials (Part VII) 1948 · Commercial · 9 min · Subtitles Collection of TV commercials significant to the history and development of TV as an advertising medium. Internet Archive Classic Television Commercials (Part VI) 1948 · Commercial · 10 min · Subtitles Collection of TV commercials significant to the history and development of TV as an advertising medium. Internet Archive [Amateur film: Medicus collection: New York World's Fair, 1939-40] (Reel 2) (Part I) 1939 · Home movie · 18 min · Subtitles Detailed documentation of the "World of Tomorrow" in beautiful Kodachrome. (partially on 4156_HM_Medicus_collection_New_York_Worlds_Fair_1939-40_Reel_6) Internet Archive Beef Rings the Bell (Part I) 1960 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles Beef's importance to American society and economy, and the Union Pacific Railroads's importance to the beef industry. Internet Archive Social Class in America 1957 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Shows the differences in the life experience of three male babies from three different social classes. One young man succeeds his father as president of the… Internet Archive What About Prejudice? 1959 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Pioneering film that encourages youth to look into themselves for the causes of prejudice. Internet Archive [Eisenhower Campaign Spots, 1952 Presidential Campaign] 1952 · Short · 1 min · Subtitles The "I Like Ike" animated television commercial, produced by Roy Disney and Citizens for Eisenhower-Nixon. Internet Archive On the Run (Part II) 1956 · Film · Subtitles Well-behaved San Francisco teenagers compete in the Mobilgas "Safety Economy Run," driving their cars around the Bay Area under the supervision of experienced… Internet Archive [A-Bomb Blast Effects] 1952 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles Footage from an atomic bomb test - probably Operation Tumbler-Snapper? The same footage also appears in "Operation A-Bomb (1953)". Internet Archive Freedom Highway (Part I) 1956 · Short · 21 min · Subtitles A Greyhound bus transports us through the landscape of American mythology. Directed by Harold Schuster. Director of Photography: Jerry Fairbanks. Screenplay:… Internet Archive Duck and Cover 1951 · Film · Subtitles This film, a combination of animated cartoon and live action, shows young children what to do in case of an atomic attack. The film opens with "Bert the… Internet Archive Stay Safe, Stay Strong: The Facts About Nuclear Weapons 1960 · Cartoon · 22 min · Subtitles Instructional film on nuclear weapons for U.S. Air Force personnel. This part-animated film includes an explanation of nuclear physics; footage of atmospheric… Internet Archive Red Chinese Battle Plan 1964 · Short · 25 min · Subtitles Cold War-era anti-Chinese propaganda film featuring footage of revolutionary activities and combat, 1921-64. Internet Archive What Makes A Good Party? 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Shows teenagers how to plan and attend a party, suggesting games to play and songs to sing ("Jimmy Crack Corn"). Internet Archive World at War (Part I) 1942 · Short · 25 min · Subtitles Portrayal of the steps that led up to Pearl Harbor and total mobilization of World War II. Internet Archive This Is Hormel 1965 · Short · 30 min · Subtitles Perhaps one of the most disturbing films in the Prelinger collection. Do you really want to see your meat being prepared? Internet Archive Beef Rings the Bell (Part II) 1960 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles Beef's importance to American society and economy, and the Union Pacific Railroads's importance to the beef industry. Internet Archive Incredible Machine, The 1968 · Film · Subtitles Informs viewer of the experimental advances in audiovisual communications techniques Bell Telephone Laboratories' researchers are experimenting with: computer… Internet Archive Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire, A (DV25 version) 1906 · Film DV25 version (editable quality) of the famous film. Feel free to reedit/recombine/remix. Please consider uploading your derivative works to Internet Archive.… Internet Archive Greenwich Village Sunday 1960 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Exploration of the colorful counterculture of Greenwich Village in the early 1960s. Narrator: Jean Shepherd. Director, producer and screenwriter: Stewart… Internet Archive The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair 1939 · Feature · 55 min · Subtitles 1939, sound, 55 min, Technicolor, 35mm. Transferred from a 35mm nitrate print. See: Andrew Wood, "The Middleton Family at the New York World's Fair,"…