Prelinger Archives

2,449–2,496 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 U.S. News Review: Issue 5 Film · Subtitles Hairstyles for war jobs. Making rifles by assembly line. Absenteeism. Our children--a war problem regarding daycare while mothers work. Army fight song: "Off… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Elderly Couple and Family] 2026 · Home movie · Subtitles Kodachrome. Elderly people picking flowers in home garden To B&W. INT Woman playing piano. Elderly couple playing cards. Elderly woman tuning radio and… Internet Archive Swing Wing Toy Commercial Commercial · 1 min · Subtitles Internet Archive [News Magazine of the Screen, December 1950] 1950 · Film · Subtitles Assassination attempt on President Harry S. Truman. End of film: Celebrations of Christmas around the world Internet Archive Day in America, A (Part II) 1968 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles Patriotic mosaic of American scenes at the height of the Vietnam War. Internet Archive How to Buy Meat (Part II) 1970 · Short · 17 min · Subtitles Presents a U. S. Department of Agriculture's consumer meat specialist who gives valuable tips on buying and preparing meat by using the USDA grades of quality. Internet Archive Quality Control in Modern Merchandising 1952 · Film · Subtitles TOUR THROUGH QUALITY CONTROL & TESTING LABS OF MERCHANDISER. TESTS (DESTRUCTIVE & NONDESTRUCTIVE) SHOWN. Internet Archive What Stops Them 1935 · Film · Subtitles " A CLEAR EXPLANATION OF HYDRAULIC BRAKES AND OF THEIR USE ON THE MODERN MOTORCAR." Internet Archive Social Acceptability 1957 · Film · Subtitles Correlation between social acceptability and successful adjustment and happiness of average adolescent. Emphasises responsibility of adults to provide… Internet Archive Betsy Ross 1917 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Of Town and Country 1955 · Film · Subtitles PRESENTS THE ICE CREAM INDUSTRY AS AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF TOWN & COUNTRY, POINTING UP FACTORS IN ECONOMICS & SCIENCE WHICH INFLUENCE THE… Internet Archive Zoology: Animal Intelligence Film · Subtitles Kids leaning over fence at zoo looking at animals Mother hippopotamus and son in pool at zoo CU head of hippo resting in water; small male hippo swimming… Internet Archive Potatoes Unlimited 2026 · Film · Subtitles Gives procedures and suggestions for activities involved with the planting, harvesting, and handling of potatoes, including seedbed preparation,… Internet Archive In Our Hands, Part 3: How To Lose What We Have 1950 · Film · Subtitles "We can lose what we have in America by a lack of interest in our government, a lack of training needed to recognize false promises and false leaders, an… Internet Archive More Dangerous Than Dynamite 1941 · Film · Subtitles Presents an object lesson in fire safety, showing fires starting from the use of an electric iron, a lamp cord under a rug, cigar and cigarette stubs, turning… Internet Archive [Early 1970s Television Commercials] 2026 · Commercial · Subtitles Internet Archive [Whirl with the Squirrels, A] 2026 · Film · Subtitles Miss Florence Hinton, of Grover City, California, has trained a platoon of squirrels to be domestic. Very creepy story. Squirrel holding American flag; Miss… Internet Archive Our Neighbors Down the Road: By the Pan American Highway Through South America 1942 · Film · Subtitles DEPICTS AN AUTO TRIP ALONG THE PAN AMERICAN HIGHWAY FROM CARACAS TO SANTIAGO, BUENOS AIRES & RIO DE JANEIRO. SHOWS A SIDE TRIP TO MAGELLAN STRAITS. Internet Archive Place to Live, A 1948 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Slum clearance and the construction of new housing in Philadelphia. Internet Archive General Health Habits 1928 · Film · Subtitles A film on personal hygiene. 00:31:49 General Health Habits black and white/silent 29443 00:32:03 Aerial view of tall tenement buildings [very grainy] 00:32:11… Internet Archive Alaska's Silver Millions 1936 · Film · Subtitles The geography of Alaska, the life cycle of the salmon, and the salmon industry. There is a view of the treaty between Russia and the United States that… Internet Archive Greater Goal: Human Dividends from American Industry, The 1953 · Short · 23 min · Subtitles The Southern textile industry as a hotbed of enlightened industrial progress. Internet Archive Three to Get Ready: A Progress Report from BART 1967 · Film · Subtitles Shows stages in the construction of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system. Internet Archive According to Plan: The Story of Modern Sidewalls for the Homes of America 1952 · Film · Subtitles The beauty and functionality of asbestos sidewalls. With a visit to Levittown, N.Y. and an interview with Norman Denny, vice president of materials for Levitt… Internet Archive Misc. Stock Shots #1 1960 · Film · Subtitles 1) The Type-A-Matic automatic typewriter (si); 2) Young Ted Kennedy debates a rival for Massachusetts senator; 3) Gordon Terry's new single (kinescope); 4)… Internet Archive [Home movie: 098811: A rail fan in the midwest: 1970s footage of vintage demonstration steam train, the Chessie Steam Special] 1978 · Home movie 1978 footage by a rail fan in the midwest, featuring a demonstration run in Illinois by a vintage steam engine with cars attached, the Chessie Steam Special… Internet Archive Pathe News Digest (1936, No. 2) 1936 · Newsreel · 12 min · Subtitles Newsreel compilation of key events of 1936. Internet Archive Fashion's Favorite 1940 · Film · Subtitles Opens with a shot of an hourglass which leads into a montage of various household appliances and then moves into a discussion of how DuPont "makes life more… Internet Archive The Information Machine or Creative Man and the Data Processor 1958 · Film · Subtitles Applies graphic sensitivity to medium in cartoon form, and traces the history of storing and analyzing information from the days of the cavemen to today's age… Internet Archive Trees to Tribunes 1937 · Short · 19 min · Subtitles How newspapers are produced, beginning in the forest. Internet Archive [Home Movies: The Glory of the West in Natural Colors, June 1938] 1938 · Home movie · Subtitles Some great shots of 1930s Los Angeles and Hollywood, including night neon shots in Hollywood. title: Glimpses of Los Angeles and Hollywood American flag… Internet Archive Rochester: A City of Quality 1963 · Film · Subtitles Presents a survey of the city of Rochester, N.Y., its history, culture and economic advantages. Explains the role of good planning in the city's development. Internet Archive [Television Commercials: Toy Reel] Commercial · Subtitles [The following titles and shotlists may be elsewhere on PA-0649; this description may therefore need revision after viewing.] Tape 0649 [New Film] [Untitled]… Internet Archive Marriage Today 1950 · Film · Subtitles Shows how two young couples have built lasting marriages by a clear analysis of their mutual aims and cooperation in achieving them. One couple, university… Internet Archive Weight Reduction Through Diet 1951 · Film · Subtitles Film by the National Dairy Council about how to lose weight by adjusting daily caloric intake. Discusses the dangers of being overweight and the importance of… Internet Archive Murder on the Screen 1958 · Short · 21 min · Subtitles Tracking down those responsible for damaging motion picture film. Internet Archive These Are the People 1944 · Short · 15 min · Subtitles Workers of a Wisconsin town mobilize for World War II production. Internet Archive Navajo Canyon Country 1954 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Culture and life of Dine' people in the 1950s. Internet Archive To Conserve Our Heritage (Part II) 1940 · Short · 17 min · Subtitles Simultaneously promotes conservation, the fur industry, hunting and fishing. Internet Archive Story of Light, The 1954 · Film · Subtitles HISTORY OR VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH MAN HAS OBTAINED LIGHT, FROM EARLY USE OF FIRE TO ELECTRIC LIGHTING. FEATURES STRINGLESS PUPPETS PRODUCED BY JOOP GEESINK. A… Internet Archive Dead Right 1950 · Film · Subtitles Tells about a pedestrian accident victim who may have been legally right, but was almost killed - and remains wheelchair-bound. Internet Archive Life Is a Lark at Willow Grove Park 1956 · Film · Subtitles Features bands playing at music stand; plus 20 minute film of amusement park, rides and circus. Internet Archive How The Ear Functions 1941 · Film · Subtitles Educational film about the human ear. Anatomy diagrams of the outer, middle, and inner ear. Outlines structure and function of the human ear. Sound waves are… Internet Archive Civil War, The 1954 · Film · Subtitles Pictures important military events of the war, stressing social, economic and geographical factors. Animated drawings and color photography used. Internet Archive [Amateur film: Wathen collection: New York World's Fair, 1939-40] (Part II) 1939 · Home movie · 13 min · Subtitles Scenes shot at the "World of Tomorrow." Internet Archive Crucifix Of Destiny 1920 · Film · Subtitles Silent film. Paul Drummond is adopted into a Franciscan Mission in California. Becoming of age, he believes he has a call to the priesthood. While at… Internet Archive American Beauty Film · Subtitles Short with animated sequences that enumerates sources of American beauty: works of art, nature, monuments, design, and the human form. Internet Archive Censorship: A Question of Judgment? 1963 · Film · Subtitles Discusses two basic issues--whether or not it is good reporting or good taste to print in a high school newspaper a picture of a fight involving students, and…