Prelinger Archives

2,113–2,160 of 10,346 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 Welding Operator, The 1942 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Methods of welding and occupational prospects for welders. Internet Archive America on Wheels 1950 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles Explores the effects of the advent of the motor car in America and some of the motorist's early problems, including frail, flat tires and frequent breakdowns.… Internet Archive How Quiet Helps at School 1953 · Film · Subtitles Shows how a class can study and work better if the room is quiet. Demonstrates ways to study without interrupting others. Indicates that noise does have a… Internet Archive Fun that Builds Good Health, The 1950 · Film · Subtitles Presents a variety of choices of recreation in terms of good times and good health. 00:12:59 Young boy running on football field 00:13:02 Boy drops pass,… Internet Archive What Mr. Bell Had in Mind 1954 · Film · Subtitles Don Ameche. Opening sequence on how people use the phone and why. Alexander Graham Bell contemplates. How to organize your phone business. Excellent montage… Internet Archive Trouble Maker, The 1959 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Understanding and combatting the disturber among us. Internet Archive Story Of Asbestos 1922 · Film · Subtitles A detailed silent film account of the production and manufacture of this most useful material. Operations are carried on at the Johns-Manville Co. plant.… Internet Archive Office Courtesy: Meeting the Public 1952 · Film · Subtitles Dramatizes techniques for office workers in meeting and working with persons outside the company, face to face and over the phone. Stresses courtesy. A… 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 Health Fraud Racket, The 1960 · Film · Subtitles Americans waste over one billion dollars a year on worthless health products and practices. This film exposes the cunning traps and trappings of the fraud,… Internet Archive Your Social Security 1940 · Short · 17 min · Subtitles How the system works. Internet Archive Writing Better Social Letters 1950 · Film · Subtitles EXPLAINS FORMS & PURPOSES OF SOCIAL LETTERS, PRINCIPLES OF LETTER WRITING. TEENAGE BOY AND SISTER SIT AT DINING ROOM TABLE WRITING THANK YOU LETTER TO… Internet Archive Today's Chicks 1950 · Film · Subtitles 1950s footage of baby chicks and chick hatcheries, both more mechanized hatcheries and those that are more manually maintained. Footage of chickens being… Internet Archive Long Corridor, The 1955 · Film · Subtitles A George Reuter Organization Production. Director: Gordon Weisenborn. Cameraman: Loren Tutell. Editor: Arthur F. Ellis. Art Director: Chas. M. Reiter.… Internet Archive Superstition 1926 · Film · Subtitles Silent drama. Released as "THOSE WHO DARE" Captain Martin Manning retires from the sea and buys a little home near the harbor where he can be in sight of his… Internet Archive Manchukuo: The Newborn Empire 1930 · Film · Subtitles Many scenes of Manchurian industry and transportation. Shows Japanese life and culture in Manchuria. Film is soft-sell justification of Japanese occupation of… Internet Archive [Amateur film: San Francisco] 1940 · Home movie · 12 min · Subtitles Pre-World War II San Francisco scenics. Internet Archive Wide World Music Hall Announcement 1960 · Film · Subtitles This praise of Ford tractors shows the $60,000 dollars worth of experiments and testing performed on the tractors, the details of their assembly and… Internet Archive Tobaccoman's Sixth Sense, The 1949 · Film · Subtitles A very good film detailing the processes used in quality control of tobacco (produced by Lucky Strike). Shots include: tobacco field; tobacco farmer… Internet Archive When You Know 1936 · Film · Subtitles "THE UNITED STATES ARMY FLIERS AT RANDOLPH FIELD LEARN HOW BEFORE THEY ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE A PLANE UP SOLO. AND -- WHEN YOU KNOW -- DRIVING A CAR IS SAFE,… Internet Archive Eat for Health 1954 · Film · Subtitles Using the five fingers of each hand as a check off device, the film identifies a food group with each finger. Using this system, Ralph learns to eat a… Internet Archive American Look 1958 · Film · Subtitles A "tribute to the American stylist," American Look shows families at leisure, children dressed in cowboy and cowgirl outfits watching television, a father… Internet Archive Right to Health, A (Part II) Short · 18 min · Subtitles A Right to Health, Neighborhood Health Centers in Profile. A Production of Professional Arts, Inc. in San Mateo, CA for the Office of Health Affairs and… Internet Archive [Panama Canal] 1912 · Film · Subtitles Panama Canal: Ship on the Atlantic Ocean side of the canal / ship coming through the channel / the first (lower) lock seen from the Atlantic side / gates open… Internet Archive Waterfowl in the Spring 1953 · Film · Subtitles Presents close-ups of many North American ducks including the canvasback, the ruddy duck, green-winged and blue-winged teal, a drake mallard, and a pintail.… Internet Archive Lady Life Guards 1936 · Film · Subtitles Women become lifeguards at Brooklyn beach. The tone of the film makes it clear that this is quite peculiar and daring. The women stand in ranks and are… Internet Archive What's It to You? (Part I) 1955 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Dramatic demonstration of the properties and uses of Mylar. Internet Archive [Home Movies: X-Country, 1938, No. 1] 1938 · Home movie · Subtitles Screening notes in can should be transcribed.people smiling at camera while they stand at some kind of viewpoint (nice faces)array of signs, including… Internet Archive Eskimos: Winter in Western Alaska 1950 · Film · Subtitles Typical activities of Alaskan Eskimo life throughout a long winter. Depicts the Eskimo's dependence upon fish as a food supply and illustrates methods of… Internet Archive Four Square 1937 · Film · Subtitles "An explanation of the proved mechanical fact that a box of four sides has more strength than a box of two or three sides. The frame in the modern motorcar is… Internet Archive American Maker (Letterboxed Anamorphic Version) 1960 · Film · Subtitles Relates how Americans build, from youth throughout life, by using their ingenuity not only in technological advancement but in everyday efforts by everyone.… Internet Archive Air Transportation 1947 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Workings of a commercial airline before air travel became a mass phenomenon. Internet Archive [Home Movies: "Vacation Complication or Gone With the Wind"] 1930 · Home movie · Subtitles Dramatized scenes. Good stock shots to be logged. Possibly shot in Berkeley or Oakland, California. Family sitting in backyard, eating fruit; woman hanging… Internet Archive Three Little Kittens 1938 · Film · Subtitles Contents. The story of three little kittens from shortly after the time they are born until they are old enough to "work." A farm wife finds a mother cat with… Internet Archive School Libraries in Action 1961 · Film · Subtitles Line of children (junior-high-age) entering classroom. Librarians in planning meeting, all women. Kids in front of library display board "Books Away!",… Internet Archive Duties of A Secretary 1947 · Film · Subtitles The Underwood Corporation has produced a clever photoplay, to highlight the responsibilities of a competent secretary. The Duties of a Secretary was prompted… Internet Archive Mark of Wholesome Meat, A 1964 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles Inside the meat plants; work of USDA inspectors. Internet Archive Partners in Progress 1954 · Film · Subtitles Many shots of laying telephone cable in different ways and stringing telephone line and splicing; lines of switchboard operators; Shots: paddlewheelers; old… Internet Archive Spirit Of The Flag 1913 · Film · Subtitles Silent drama. A young American doctor in the Philippines, risks his life in the cause of patriotism, and to win the love of the girl of his choice. Internet Archive Twenty-Six Old Characters, The 1947 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles Development of writing and writing tools throughout history. Internet Archive Time Pulls the Trigger (Part II) Short · 14 min · Subtitles 0739 PA9033 Time Pulls the Trigger Internet Archive Pathe News Digest (1937, No. 3) 1937 · Newsreel · 12 min · Subtitles Newsreel compilation of key events of 1937. Internet Archive [Chunky Television Commercials with Arnold Stang] 1950 · Commercial · Subtitles The film features a series of humorous and energetic television commercials for Chunky chocolate bars, starring Arnold Stang. The commercials highlight the… Internet Archive How Motion Pictures Move And Talk 1940 · Talk · 11 min · Subtitles Explains the basic principles of motion pictures and, by animation, shows how sound is recorded on a strip of film. Internet Archive Action of the Human Heart Film · Subtitles Includes diagrammatic animation of the heart and circulatory system. Some shots to be logged. Internet Archive [Home Movies: Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland] 2026 · Home movie · Subtitles Cub Scouts waving at camera M. Mouse leading parade down Main Street with castle in background CU M. Mouse marching and promenading by camera VS scenes in… Internet Archive Main Street The World Over Film · Subtitles Silent travelogue that looks at main streets of cities around the world - including Washington DC, New York City, London, Christiania in Norway, Stockholm,… Internet Archive America Marching On: A Screen Editorial With Lowell Thomas 1937 · Film · Subtitles 14:24:36:00 MS man with moustache in single-breasted 1930s style suit seated at desk speaks to camera: “If there is one thing we are all interested in, it is…