Prelinger Archives

1,729–1,776 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 Men and Jobs 1944 · Film · Subtitles 02:16:46 Pan Farmland 02:16:58 Pan Factory town Factory scenes 02:17:46 Men silhouetted against fire [actually molten metal] looks like factory is on fire Internet Archive Man-Made Miracles Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Joan Avoids a Cold 1947 · Film · Subtitles Many provisos which must be followed if young children are not to transmit germs to one another. doctors; never share another's food; schoolroom; examination;… Internet Archive Plane Talk 1965 · Talk · Subtitles Shows the varied forms of radio and telephone communications used by commercial air carriers in confirming reservations, preparing aircraft for flight,… Internet Archive Flying with Arthur Godfrey 1953 · Film · Subtitles DESCRIPTION : Flying with Arthur Godfrey 7:23:19- 7:23:31 An old (Wright Brothers style) plane sails through the air (nice sounds). Cut to a medium close up… Internet Archive Sniffles and Sneezes 1955 · Film · Subtitles SHOWS HOW COLDS ARE SPREAD BY SNEEZING, COUGHING & CARELESS HANDLING OF INFECTED ARTICLES. OUTLINES PRECAUTIONS TO FOLLOW TO PREVENT SPREAD OF COLDS. Internet Archive Kentucky Pioneers 1941 · Film · Subtitles This film shows representative aspects of the early pioneering movement into the Kentucky territory. This is the life of our country in the 1780's picturing… Internet Archive Living Past, The (Part 2) 1953 · Film · Subtitles Includes the early days of the horseless carriage, Columbus Circle 1900, Fifth Avenue in 1900, Spanish American War films, Duke of Windsor as a child, return… Internet Archive Mission Accomplished: The Story of the Flying Fortress 1942 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Chronicles one of the early (autumn 1942) bombing runs of B-17s over Europe. Internet Archive This Charming Couple 1950 · Film · Subtitles This Charming Couple, one of a series of five films on courtship and marriage designed to be used with Henry Bowman's textbook Marriage for Moderns, was part… Internet Archive [Research Work] 1930 · Film · Subtitles General Motors Research Laboratories. Very nicely photographed. title: "John B. Kennedy reports -- Back to the days when the biggest knocker in the country… Internet Archive Mr. Bell 1947 · Film · Subtitles Shows Alexander Graham Bell working with his deaf pupils and experimenting with the telephone and the wax cylinder record for the phonograph. His wide… Internet Archive Her Fractured Voice 1917 · Film · Subtitles A woman's voice is so loud that it can be heard anywhere and unnerves people and animals. . Internet Archive Sky Billboards 1935 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles How skywriting works -- and the making of an aerial Chevrolet advertisement. Internet Archive Home on the Range 1942 · Film · Subtitles The contribution of the western range country to the war effort: wool and mutton, beef and leather. The film shows the western ranges, the sheep and cattle,… Internet Archive Golden Gate Empire 1960 · Film · Subtitles Travelogue. Historical reenactments of northern California and Sierra Nevada history; Gold Rush, etc. Wine making Agricultural production and farmworkers in… Internet Archive Andy's Animal Alphabet 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Andy, a little orangutan, conducts a tour through the Bronx Zoo. He visits a series of animals, some familiar and some strange, whose names begin with the… Internet Archive From Dawn to Sunset 1937 · Film · Subtitles "THIS PICTURE MAKES VIVID THE LIVES OF THE MEN & WOMEN WHO BUILD THE MODERN AUTOMOBILE. IT SHOWS THEM IN THE MORNING ON THEIR WAY TO WORK, AT WORK IN THE… Internet Archive Palmour Street 1957 · Film · Subtitles SHOWS THE DAILY life of a NEGRO FAMILY IN GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA. ILLUSTRATES BASIC MENTAL HEALTH CONCEPTS BY SHOWING WAYS PARENTS CAN INFLUENCE THEIR CHILD'S… Internet Archive Tear Gas in Law Enforcement 1962 · Film · Subtitles Contains dramatized footage of striking workers and civil disturbances; shots of San Quentin Prison; sequences of police tear gas training sessions. Internet Archive Pollution Below 1975 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Presents stories of three widely separated people who are caught up in dangerous situations caused by unexpected pollution. Internet Archive Build Your Vocabulary 1948 · Film · Subtitles Shows the need for an understanding of the value and techniques of learning new words. Dramatizes the story of a father, who, after finding himself at a loss… Internet Archive How the Fires of Our Body Are Fed: A Study of the Human Digestive Process 1926 · Film · Subtitles A film about the bio-mechanics of digestion. 09:03:11:18 Great shot of shirtless man in the stoke-hole of ship shoveling coal into the fire. 09:04:00:06 Great… Internet Archive School House in the Red 1945 · Educational · Subtitles Educational film about the restructuring of public education, primarily the merging of smaller schoolhouses in rural areas into larger and improved schools. Internet Archive All in One 1938 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Homage to the dog and comparison of canine attributes with Chevrolet features. Internet Archive Going Steady? 1951 · Film · Subtitles Substitutes opening and closing title cards for a narrator. DIRECTOR: Gil Altschul; CAMERA: Bruce Colling; WRITERS: Hartley Pfeil; EDITOR: Ace Moore;… Internet Archive From Dawn to Sunset 1937 · Film · Subtitles "THIS PICTURE MAKES VIVID THE LIVES OF THE MEN & WOMEN WHO BUILD THE MODERN AUTOMOBILE. IT SHOWS THEM IN THE MORNING ON THEIR WAY TO WORK, AT WORK IN THE… Internet Archive American Portrait 1940 · Film · Subtitles Tells the story of improvements and better ways of life which have come into being during the last one hundred years. The story centers around a life… Internet Archive Responsibilities of American Citizenship, The 1955 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Anti-communist orientation for Americans/ Internet Archive Chrysler's New One Hundred Million Dollar Look! (aka Chrysler 1955 New Car Movie) 1955 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Community Development with Gunnison Homes 2026 · Film · Subtitles Gunnison Homes was a subsidiary of US Steel. Warehouse where prefabricated house parts are built. Great shots of tract housing suburban development.… Internet Archive Let's Share With Others 1950 · Film · Subtitles Discusses dividing things, taking turns, sharing through words and expression, and doing things together as essentials of fair play and thoughtfulness. Internet Archive Wheels A-Rolling: 100 Years of Railroad Progress 1948 · Film · Subtitles Documentation of pageant at Chicago Railroad Fair (1948). From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Railroad_Fair The Chicago Railroad Fair was an… Internet Archive Cougar Hunt, The 1928 · Film · Subtitles On predator control in Mountain states. Many shots to be logged. 08:01:08:24 Cougar spotting prey from a tree limb. 08:02:07:01 Flock of sheep scattered all… Internet Archive Anger at Work: The Story of the Headache Switch 1956 · Film · Subtitles ANGER AT WORK explains the "headache switch," one of the mental mechanisms of man's personality which induces displacement of anger onto other men and impairs… Internet Archive As the Wheels Turn 1950 · Film · Subtitles FAMILY AT PICNIC. FATHER USES TABLEWARE TO BUILD MODEL OF CHEVROLET, SHOWING CENTER POINT STEERING, SPRINGS & SHACKLES, SHOCK ABSORBERS & VENTILATION SYSTEM.… Internet Archive [Much Ado About Hair-Do’s] 1950 · Newsreel · Subtitles San Mateo, California hairstylist Grivee demonstrates novelty hairdos, including the "Parakeet," "Number 9," and the "Swept-Wing." Newsreel story. Internet Archive How the Ear Functions 1940 · Film · Subtitles OUTLINES STRUCTURE & FUNCTION OF THE HUMAN EAR, SOUND WAVES ARE BRIEFLY EXPLAINED. ANIMATION REVEALS FUNCTION OF TYMPANIC MEMBRANE & OSSICLES OF EAR BONES &… Internet Archive Drinking Health 2026 · Film · Subtitles Good shots to be logged Great ECU of woman's eyes looking up and down, back and forth, and into camera. Old-fashioned ornate clock hands (white against black… Internet Archive Pontiac Styling Picture 1954 · Film · Subtitles 00:10:51:01 - 00:20:00:16 Color Silent 1954 1955 PONTIAC SALES FILM. VS EXT & INT of 1955 Pontiac Star Chief Sedan. 00:10:51:01 - 00:16:12:26 Color Silent… Internet Archive Distant Drummer: Bridge from No Place 1970 · Film · Subtitles Some good images of suburban homes, patients in hospitals, high schools and parties. Internet Archive Modern Centaurs 1920 · Film · Subtitles "Centaurs -- Half horse and half man, the Centaurs of ancient Greek Mythology have become the symbol of the modern cavalryman." About cavalry soldiers. Internet Archive How to Use Classroom Films 1963 · Educational · 14 min · Subtitles How to choose, preview, present and discuss classroom films. Internet Archive Social Courtesy 1951 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Dramatic film offering instruction in basic social graces. Internet Archive Agricultural Aviation 1955 · Film · Subtitles About using general aviation in agriculture. VS cropduster over cotton fields CU boll weevil on cotton boll CU Cartoon of boll weevil on airplane rudder GS US… Internet Archive America in Turmoil 1967 · Film · Subtitles Documentary produced to support Liberty Lobby and explain the Lobby's positions against crime, drug culture, the liberal media, and socialism; in favor of law… Internet Archive Overcoming Fear 1950 · Film · Subtitles Content warning: Voiceover narration uses an outdated and non-preferred term for disability. "Tells how Bill overcomes his fear of the water. Shows Mr.… Internet Archive Original Films of Frank B. Gilbreth 1945 · Film · Subtitles Essentially a summary of work analysis films which were taken by Frank B. Gilbreth between 1910 and 1924 showing a number of industrial operations from which…