Prelinger Archives

2,545–2,592 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 House I Live In, The 1945 · Film · Subtitles The tense racial climate in American cities during World War II led to rioting, suspicion and reduced industrial production. Especially after the Detroit race… Internet Archive Design for Peace 1948 · Film · Subtitles The film "Design for Peace" reflects on the importance of safeguarding peace in America after the devastation of war. It emphasizes that peace is hard-won and… Internet Archive City Fire Fighters 1947 · Film · Subtitles A FIREMAN DEMONSTRATES FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT & TEACHES CHILDREN RESPONSIBILITY IN PREVENTING & CONTROLLING FIRES. 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 Styling and the Experimental Car 1964 · Film · Subtitles Relies heavily on stills but is graphically sophisticated film. Introduces the Mustang. Internet Archive Copper: Mining and Smelting 1950 · Film · Subtitles ACCOUNT OF AN OPEN-PIT COPPER MINE IN OPERATION. ILLUSTRATES THE MAIN STEPS IN EXTRACTING PURE COPPER FROM ORE. PICTURES THE PROCESSES OF BLASTING, LOADING… Internet Archive House I Live In, The 1945 · Film · Subtitles The tense racial climate in American cities during World War II led to rioting, suspicion and reduced industrial production. Especially after the Detroit race… Internet Archive Conductor 1492 1924 · Film · Subtitles from IMDB: "A young Irish immigrant gets a job as a conductor on a streetcar and fights off an attempt by crooks to take over the company, all the while… Internet Archive Manpower 1943 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles The battle for industrial production in World War II. Internet Archive Home Movies: Wathen Collection: Nevada and California 2026 · Home movie · Subtitles Reno, Virginia City, Cave Rock, Lake Tahoe, Oranges and horses, Cal-Neva Hotel, Biltmore Hotel, California coast, San Louis Obispo, Las Vegas, Boulder Dam. VS… Internet Archive Day is New, The Short · 10 min · Subtitles This poetic and meditative film captures a day in the life of Mexico City, unfolding from the early morning through nightfall. The narration opens as dawn… Internet Archive [San Francisco: Market Street and Ferryboats] 1937 · Film · Subtitles MARKET STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Scenes of Ferry Building / CU of clock in ferry tower / scenes of ferryboat leaving / ferries on the bay / ferry… Internet Archive AMC Jeep Commercial Commercial · 1 min · Subtitles AMC Jeep Commercial Internet Archive Operator Toll Dialing: Teamwork 1949 · Short · 3 min · Subtitles Instructional film for telephone operators emphasizing on-the-job cooperation. 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 Arranging the Buffet Supper 1946 · Film · Subtitles The American tradition of the buffet supper is shown in its simple preparation. A "must" for the homemaker or hostess. Internet Archive Sign of Dependable Credit, The 1941 · Film · Subtitles On the Production Credit Association. some good shots to be logged shots of Chicago (Lake Shore Drive?) industrial city, smoking plants signs: The Peoples… Internet Archive Lucky Strike Cigarette Commercial: Marching Cigarettes 1948 · Commercial · Subtitles Lucky Strike cigarette commercial with stop-motion animation of marching cigarettes. Internet Archive To Each Other 1943 · Film · Subtitles About stepping up wartime steel production. Locations of mills across the country are pictured. Production of steel, armor plate, tank armor, shell casings,… Internet Archive Tuberculosis (Third Edition) 1955 · Film · Subtitles Asking the question why so many people still get tuberculosis, the narrator answers in part, "Industrialization has spread faster than industrial health… Internet Archive [Amateur film: The World's Fair: August 1940] 1939 · Home movie · 7 min · Subtitles Views of the "World of Tomorrow." Internet Archive [Amateur film: Night Rodeo, Gallup, New Mexico, 1951] 1951 · Home movie · 7 min · Subtitles Nighttime action at an outdoor rodeo, shot on a cross-country road trip. Internet Archive Transportation: Bus, Truck, and Taxi 1946 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Jobs moving people. Internet Archive The Road to Hangtown 1955 · Film · Subtitles History and profile of Placerville, California From Reno Gazette: "Filmed during the 1952 caravan program, and [features] interviews by TV star Del Courtney… Internet Archive With Buffalo Bill on the U.P. Trail 1926 · Film · Subtitles Director: Frank S. Mattison. Producer: Anthony J. Xydias. Cinematography: Bert Longenecker. Film Editing: Al Martin. Technical Director: Al Pierce. With Roy… Internet Archive Our Bill of Rights 1940 · Film · Subtitles PRESENTS THE ARGUMENTS PRO AND CON & THE ACCEPTANCE ON THE PART OF OUR FOUNDERS FOR SUPPLEMENTING THE CONSTITUTION BY THE ADDITION OF THE first ten… Internet Archive Vista Stock Shots: Supermarkets, Drug Stores and Discount Houses 1972 · Film · Subtitles excellent footage, interiors and exteriors, shot in and around San Francisco, ca. 1972 Internet Archive [Schoolchildren Demonstrate Dances of the World] 1920 · Film · Subtitles Probably produced by Fred W. Orth. Children demonstrate folk dances of the world on lawn outside school building, ca. 1920s-1930s. Internet Archive Road to Health and Happiness, The 1937 · Film · Subtitles Some shots of downtown Salem, Oregon. Teacher pointing to blackboard on which is written "First Day of School, Sept. 13, 1937." Healthy diet sequence showing… Internet Archive Behind the Fashion Curtain 1965 · Film · Subtitles roll 1: "a film report on the highlights of the 5th International Fashion Flight in Stockholm - Moscow - Copenhagen" Men ascending stairway to airplane, shot… Internet Archive Flying Businessman 1953 · Film · Subtitles VS night shots of airline neon signs at airport (Western Airlines) VS people at airport counter, clerk VS flight attendants and passengers inside airplane… Internet Archive Opportunity Unlimited 1953 · Film · Subtitles Many good stock shots to be logged. Directed by Edward Seward. Narrated by George Bryan. Produced by John Bransby. Written and Supervised by J. Kenneth Roden. Internet Archive Boredom at Work: The Empty Life 1961 · Film · Subtitles The film explores the issue of boredom and how it affects different characters. The main character, Hugh, goes to a doctor seeking help for his boredom. The… Internet Archive Who's Boss? 1950 · Film · Subtitles Shows that compromises and adjustments are necessary in maintaining a happy marriage, stressing that patience, love and understanding help achieve a good… Internet Archive American Road, The (Part II) Short · 8 min · Subtitles Shows development of transportation in the United States during the first half of the 20th century, emphasizing growth of automobile industry, roads and… Internet Archive Pathe News: Dionne Babies Today, The 1935 · Film · Subtitles Rough Print: First birthday of the Dionne quinuplets; Also includes mounted troops; Staten Island Zoological Society spider; clothes dryer; FOG: Fog over NY… Internet Archive Detroit You've Never Met, The Film · Subtitles • 1:10:25- 1:35:80 Excellent, fast speedboat POV passing Detroit's waterfront. We get a crisp view of its skyline and waterfront. • 15:07:32- 15:30:21 Good… Internet Archive Mexican Hat Dance Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Look at Pontiac for 1954! 1953 · Film · Subtitles 1954 Pontiac advertising film. Great shots of Pontiac showroom cars on rotating platforms. VS POV from inside Pontiac driving on race tracks and open road.… Internet Archive Communism: Riddle, Mystery, Enigma (Episode 6, Reel 3) Film · Subtitles Art Linkletter in front of satellite models Soviet space footage Yuri Gagarin ? walking to reviewing stand and being embraced and kissed by Nikita Khrushchev… Internet Archive World We Want to Live in, The 1942 · Film · Subtitles Dictatorships have developed a religious intolerance which has spread alarmingly throughout the United States in spite of efforts of influential groups and… Internet Archive [United Nations Conference on International Organization, San Francisco, 1945] 1945 · Talk · Subtitles Portraits of the motion picture industry reps at the United Nations Conference on International Organization, San Francisco, April 25, 1945. Official… Internet Archive Booked for Safekeeping 1960 · Film · Subtitles Demonstrates the proper management of mentally ill persons by members of the large city police department to prepare the mentally ill persons for their… 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 Plow that Broke the Plains Short · 25 min · Subtitles Internet Archive [Home Movies: "California and East Travels"] 1955 · Home movie · Subtitles Summary: family western train trip. Tarmac POV at an airport, looks like San Francisco airport. Passengers in travel clothes and carrying luggage deplane out… Internet Archive To Enrich Mankind 1955 · Short · 21 min · Subtitles A man in white coat talking to Archimedes in room full of stone and bronze busts of famous scientists researchers. We learn about how machines have improved… Internet Archive Brandon (Part I) Short · 15 min · Subtitles Travelogue portrait of the city of Brandon, in Prince George County, Virginia. Directed and produced by Louise Branch and Frances Flynn Paine. 0645 PA8769…