Prelinger Archives

2,641–2,688 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 [Amateur film: Levy collection: Middle East] 1933 · Home movie · 16 min · Subtitles Bethlehem in 1933. Internet Archive Folgers Coffee Commercial 3 1960 · Commercial · Subtitles Folgers Coffee TV Commercial Internet Archive [Home Movies: San Francisco, Los Angeles and Colorado, ca. 1937 - 1938] 1937 · Home movie · Subtitles Pan over city of San Francisco shot from Twin Peaks, unsteady camera work San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge seen from below or water, not steady POV driving on… Internet Archive Pelican Island 1920 · Film · Subtitles On a Florida island inhabited by pelicans. Florida logging. Eating dinner outside. Wild ducks Outdoor camp cooking. Silver Springs reached by railroad cars… Internet Archive Factory, The: How A Product is Made Film · Subtitles Film follows the manufacture of a toy from the initial idea, through its final sale in a retail store. Shows Jack in the Box toys being made at the Mattel… Internet Archive Erosion 1948 · Film · Subtitles Description and documentation of the effects of wind and water on land. The story of man-made soil erosion and what it has done to our productive land.… Internet Archive Let’s Get Associated With San Francisco 1938 · Film · Subtitles Survey of famous tourist sites in San Francisco in 1938. 01:00:37:10 Intertitle over sparkling water “A city of supreme and exotic beauty…” 01:02:01:14… Internet Archive Let's Give a Tea 1946 · Film · Subtitles Describes the proper procedures involved in giving a tea, such as making a guest list, describing the dress and arranging a tea table. Points out that rules… Internet Archive Gossip 1953 · Film · Subtitles Points out that gossip reflects the lack of respect for words. Describes the harm which gossip can do. Internet Archive American Creed, The (American Brotherhood) Film · Subtitles Promotes the American Brotherhood of Christians and Jews, with actors who have pledged their support, including Van Johnson, Shirley Temple, Eddie Cantor,… Internet Archive Man Against the River 1937 · Film · Subtitles Describes the work of members of the Works Projects Administration in helping refugees of a winter flood of the Ohio River. Internet Archive Seminoles of the Everglades 1949 · Film · Subtitles Shows the fight for survival of the Seminole Indians in Florida. Tells how the government is helping them. Internet Archive Story of Jewel City, The 1915 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Fantasy film produced for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Internet Archive Using the Bank 1947 · Film · Subtitles MAN DEPOSITS CASH & CHECK IN SAVINGS ACCOUNT, RECEIVES INTEREST, BORROWS MONEY FOR HIS BUSINESS, SIGNS NOTE FOR IT, OPENS CHECKING ACCOUNT, ENTERS… Internet Archive Visit to the Waterworks, A 1956 · Film · Subtitles ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER TAKES CLASS ON FIELD TRIP TO CITY WATERWORKS. GUIDE EXPLAINS PLANT OPERATION--STORAGE TANKS, LABORATORY WATER TESTING FOR PURITY,… Internet Archive Housing in Our Time 1930 · Film · Subtitles The film discusses the issue of slum housing in the United States, highlighting that many families live in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, which negatively… Internet Archive MS-3 1959 · Film · Subtitles Marketing plan of Tidewater Oil Company and duPont for 1960. "Power is the key note of today's car. . .Power for when it is needed" vs. the threat of "power… Internet Archive [Still Images of People Walking on New York Streets] 1940 · Film · Subtitles Single-frame stills on 16mm film showing people walking down street in New York City, ca. 1940s. Transferred and slowed down by Charlie Churchman. Internet Archive Dynamic American City, The 1956 · Film · Subtitles There could be no better film than this to show how old, character-filled neighborhoods in cities across the nation were wantonly destroyed during the "new is… Internet Archive Astronauts Walk in Space 1965 · Film · Subtitles US astronaut on EVA from orbiting spacecraft Internet Archive Exclusively Yours 1954 · Film · Subtitles Texaco sales film aimed at Texaco dealers, introducing a new high octane gasoline with the additive "Petrox." Excellent cutaway engine illustrates pistons in… Internet Archive Technicolor for Industrial Films 1949 · Film · Subtitles Film that promotes the use of Technicolor in industrial film production. Includes examples showing how Technicolor presents industrial scenes, domestic and… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Western Railroad Trip] 1930 · Home movie · Subtitles Shots of West from moving railroad train. Grand Canyon and old Rim Drive tour buses. Saying goodbye at railroad platform and embarking on train. Embarking on… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Medicus Collection: "Holiday Activities 1929"] 1929 · Home movie · Subtitles Kids playing around, small children performing in blackface, Christmas 1929 events, kids playing around in park on West Side of New York City (Manhattan). Internet Archive Crime of Korea, The 1950 · Film · Subtitles Presents a war correspondent's reports on Korea after its liberation from Japan in 1945 and after communist destruction of the country and its people in 1950. Internet Archive Human Grace 1952 · Film · Subtitles The film highlights the grace and athleticism of gymnasts, particularly during the Olympic Games, emphasizing that humans, like animals, exhibit remarkable… Internet Archive Origin and Synthesis of Plastics Materials 1945 · Film · Subtitles Shows the organic origins of plastics and natural substances; synthesis of plastics from natural substances; differences between thermosetting and… Internet Archive Story of Our Flag, The 1939 · Film · Subtitles Some good stock shots to be logged. Contents. Origin and development of the United States flag. As views of a castle and an old crest are shown, the… Internet Archive Billie, the Buffalo Baby 1956 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Bison for tots. Internet Archive Lincoln Hospital 1970 · Film · Subtitles Documentary film exploring the takeover of the Lincoln Hospital community mental health program by its workers in the South Bronx, New York. Internet Archive Safest Township Anywhere, The 1960 · Film · Subtitles Lessons in safety. Dramatic narrative: Rescue of child looking for lost child who falls down a well. flashlights in field at night overturned bicycle,… Internet Archive Getting Acquainted With Engineering (Part I) 1950 · Film · Subtitles Discusses the problem of capable boys who are lost to engineering because of their misconceptions about the type of work involved. Stresses the importance of… Internet Archive Pathegrams News Digest 1938 · Newsreel · Subtitles President Roosevelt travels. Justice Black comes home. Oil wells in Gulf of Mexico. Mussolini's son, Vittorio Mussolini, visits Hollywood. At Paris… Internet Archive Jay Can Do It 1965 · Film · Subtitles SHOWS HOW AN 11-YEAR OLD BOY & HIS BROTHERS SHARE EACH OTHER'S INTERESTS & ACTIVITIES. SHOWS PROJECTS SUCH AS BUILDING A TREE HOUSE, BAKING COOKIES & COLORING… Internet Archive Men, Steel and Earthquakes 1960 · Short · 27 min · Subtitles The anatomy of seismic energy and its destructive effects on structures. Internet Archive Threading the 16mm Projector 1950 · Short · 3 min · Subtitles How-to film produced to ensure quality shows and prevent destruction of films. Internet Archive American Women: Partners in Research 1960 · Film · Subtitles Describes the market research undertaken by Corning Glass Works prior to marketing a coffeemaker. Good CU head shots of women thinking about purchasing items,… Internet Archive Nor Long Remember 1941 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Provides a re-enactment in which Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address. Pictures a discussion of the ceremony days later by the president's contemporaries. Internet Archive [Home Movies: Ransohoff Collection: Lake Norconian Club and Golden Gate International Exposition] 1929 · Home movie · Subtitles THIS TAPE CONTAINS GOOD SHOTS OF GOLDEN GATE INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION (1939-1940) title: "We week-end at Lake Norconian Club --- and like it! February - 1929"… Internet Archive America Goes Over (Part V) 1918 · Film · Subtitles Government-produced historical record of major World War I battles. Internet Archive Trichinosis 1942 · Film · Subtitles Shows how trichinosis infestation occurs. Describes the preparation of microscope slide specimens and, through photomicrographic sequences, covers the life… Internet Archive [Back to Freedom: More War Prisoners Return to America] 1950 · Newsreel · Subtitles 437 Korean War prisoners return to the United States on a naval transport ship. Newsreel story. Internet Archive Anyone At All Short · 32 min · Subtitles Presents case histories of three accidents. Explains ways community groups can promote safety. Internet Archive East Bay Cities (Where Air, Rail and Water Meet), The 1928 · Film · Subtitles Real Estate promotional film on Oakland, California and her sister cities made by Wickham Havens, a local airport / estuary / downtown businesses /… Internet Archive Survival Evasion Resistance And Escape A Film · Subtitles AMEDD Office Basic Course, LP # 44 150 502 00 on Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape. The year is unknown, but the lecturing officer speaks repeatedly of… Internet Archive Harvest Of The Years Short · 15 min · Subtitles Shows mass production of Ford cars in an assembly line; the research necessary to carry on the work; materials that go into the making of the Ford. Internet Archive Secure the Blessings 1951 · Film · Subtitles Shows how American school children are taught the value of democracy, freedom and good citizenship. Internet Archive Black Bear Twins (Second Edition) 1952 · Film · Subtitles Reveals the habits and characteristics of bears by following a day's adventures of two mischievous cubs. Includes scenes of their invasion of a nearby camp.