Prelinger Archives

2,689–2,736 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 Food For Thought Film · Subtitles Entertaining and instructive demonstration of pressure cooking by Spring Byington. Internet Archive Arm Behind the Army, The 1942 · Film · Subtitles "The success of the Army on the firing line depends upon the success of labor and industry on the production line. And the security of American industry and… Internet Archive Alternatives 1958 · Film · Subtitles Expressionistic still images comprise narrative of most of this film about religious tolerance. 18:22:35:09 White man showing poor Indian farmer how to use… Internet Archive Gracias Amigos 1944 · Film · Subtitles Stresses the winning of World War II through the help of Southern republics who furnished raw materials such as rubber, nitrates, quartz, sisal, tin and… Internet Archive Happy Motoring Ahead! 1945 · Film · Subtitles 15:01:51:01 VS bus and cars passing Esso gas station; cars pulling out of gas station. 15:03:49:08 Father in shirt and tie reading newspaper with young boy on… Internet Archive Elephants 1940 · Film · Subtitles Illustrates the methods of raising and training elephants as circus performers. Shows distinguishing characteristics, such as diet, and methods of eating,… Internet Archive Let's Share With Others 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles A kid-centered pitch for fair play and thoughtfulness. Internet Archive Our Friend The Policeman 1972 · Film · Subtitles Educational film for young children about police and their presence in society to help them. Also aims to teach basic vocabulary to young audiences. Internet Archive Amateur Film - Supervisor's Picnic Home movie · Subtitles Internet Archive [Terraplane Newsreel] 1932 · Newsreel · Subtitles Universal Newsreel. Earl C. Anthony, Terraplane automobile dealer, takes pictures of airplane landing atop Terraplane car. Internet Archive Alternatives 1958 · Film · Subtitles Expressionistic still images comprise narrative of most of this film about religious tolerance. 18:22:35:09 White man showing poor Indian farmer how to use… Internet Archive This is Cedar Crest 1954 · Film · Subtitles Photography and editing: James A. Peters. Introduction to and tour of Cedar Crest College, a private institution for women in Allentown, Pa. Camerawork is… Internet Archive [Untitled: Anywhere But Here] 1970 · Film · Subtitles Teenagers c. 1970s wanting to leave home and boredom Internet Archive Both Sides of the Question 1970 · Film SHOWS HOW A MODERN METROPOLITAN NEWSPAPER, THE DETROIT NEWS, IS OPERATED & WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT IT. Internet Archive [Home Movies: Medicus Collection: Manhattan and Picnic] 1929 · Home movie · Subtitles Amateur Cinema League leader Various CUs of young boys, ages approx. 9-12, one in sailor suit, talking to each other against paper background (this may be… Internet Archive She Caught on Quick (Singer Screen Ad) 1940 · Short · 1 min · Subtitles How to redecorate a worn-out-looking home with homesewn upholstery. Internet Archive Wood For War 1942 · Short · 6 min · Subtitles Forest production and its strategic importance during wartime. In Kodachrome. Internet Archive How Much? 1963 · Short · 6 min · Subtitles Goof on industrial film production. Internet Archive What's It to You? (Part II) 1955 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles Dramatic demonstration of the properties and uses of Mylar. Internet Archive Farmer Miller Goes Into High Gear 1920 · Film · Subtitles Silent film with liberal amount of title cards, all bearing Goodyear corporate logo. Part I: TC: "Jim Miller, owner of Sunnydale Farms, is hard-headed, but… Internet Archive News Magazine of the Screen, The (Vol. 7, Issue 2) 1956 · Newsreel · 20 min · Subtitles Newsreel stories reformatted for classroom use. Internet Archive [United Railroads Employees Strike] 1917 · Short · 1 min · Subtitles San Francisco: United Railroads employees strike against open shop. Internet Archive Just a Spark 1937 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Chevrolet automobiles fight forest fires. Internet Archive [Gould can 5123.3] 1922 · Film · Subtitles Boy Scouts dedicate flagpole at Scout Camp in Montclair, Oakland, California. Abe P. Leach, president of Oakland Council speaks; Horton McDonald receives… Internet Archive Our Productive Land 1955 · Film · Subtitles From the Wealth of Our Nation series. Explains why soil is a valuable natural resource. Compares early-day farming and movement of crops to market with modern… Internet Archive Seeds and Seed Dispersal 1920 · Film · Subtitles Timelapse photography of flowers opening and bud development. Internet Archive Families First 1948 · Film · Subtitles Two families are used to show the causes of tensions, frustrations and anti-social attitudes. Internet Archive Fundamentals Of Filing 1942 · Film · Subtitles Gives beginners in shop work the information that will enable them to select the right file for the right job. Defines the terms used, distinguishes the… Internet Archive Both Sides Of The Question 1970 · Film · Subtitles SHOWS HOW A MODERN METROPOLITAN NEWSPAPER, THE DETROIT NEWS, IS OPERATED & WHAT PEOPLE THINK Internet Archive On the Firing Line 1936 · Film · Subtitles "All over this broad land of ours, a bitter war is being fought against tuberculosis. Able warriors, armed with modern weapons around the firing line. How… Internet Archive Facts on Friction 1934 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Challenge of Ideas, The 1961 · Film · Subtitles ANALYZES BASIC IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE U.S. & THE COMMUNIST STATE. DESCRIBES OBJECTIVES & TECHNIQUES USED BY THE USSR TO INFLUENCE PEOPLES OF THE… Internet Archive Leader, The 1932 · Film · Subtitles Chevrolet sales film about selling new and used cars. Shots of new cars just off assembly line. Various visual effects including montage of question marks… Internet Archive Soundie - Who's Yehudi? 1942 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive [Misc TV Commercials - Household Cleaners] 2026 · Commercial · Subtitles Compilation reel of TV commercials for houshold cleaners - like Comet, Spic and Span, Top Job, etc. Internet Archive One Hundred Years of Railroad Development 1926 · Film · Subtitles title: Made at the Pageant of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad "The Fair of the Iron Horse". History of transportation. Shots to be logged Internet Archive The City (Part 2) 1939 · Film · Subtitles Montage depicting the high paced energy in the streets, transportation, and people of New York City. Excerpt from "The City," directed by Willard Van Dyke and… Internet Archive Far Speaking 1938 · Film · Subtitles telephone company film about history; historical recreation (1877) of the use of one of the earliest telephones in an Eastern town. 1885 - Long Distance… Internet Archive Airport, The 1948 · Film · Subtitles FUNCTIONS OF THE MODERN AIRPORT: SERVICING OF A PASSENGER AIRLINER FROM ITS ARRIVAL UNTIL ITS NEXT TAKE-OFF, METHODS OF HANDLING TICKETS, PASSENGER FOOD… Internet Archive Airport America 1954 · Film · Subtitles Film about the evolution of the aviation industry and development of regional airports throughout the United States. Discusses usefulness of airplanes to… Internet Archive That Boy Joe 1944 · Short · 17 min · Subtitles Temperance as an antidote to juvenile delinquency. Internet Archive [Home Movies: Pittsburgh Flood, 1937] 1937 · Home movie · Subtitles Looks like an assembly reel of Pittsburgh and railroad history, perhaps a kinescope. Railroad / flood / Allegheny River sign and river / Allegheny County /… Internet Archive You Are the Switchman 1951 · Film · Subtitles When "John Doe" finds a sore on his lip, he must commit to seeing a doctor. His decision is likened to the position of a railroad switchman who controls the… Internet Archive Soundies - The Three Suns "Beyond the Blue Horizon" (Juvenile Jubilee) 1940 · Film · Subtitles The Three Suns in radio studio. 00:18:50:03 - 00:21:10:12 B/W Sound 1940s Trio (organ, accordion, electric guitar) perform "Beyond the Blue Horizon" in… Internet Archive [Through the Canal Bottom] 1912 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles Scenes of the Panama Canal under construction. Internet Archive Formations 1936 · Film · Subtitles "THERE ARE FOUR CARS THE DRIVER MUST KEEP IN MIND AT ALL TIMES: THE CAR AHEAD, THE CAR BEHIND, THE CAR AROUND THE CORNER, & THE CAR HE IS DRIVING. IF HE… Internet Archive Eyesight 1928 · Film · Subtitles Silent hygiene film that examines how our eyes function and how to care for them. Internet Archive [Fox Movietone News: Flying Windmill Sees New York] 1930 · Film · Subtitles Title: Flying Windmill Sees New York "Autogiro's even, moderate pace provides a pleasant method of giving big city once-over from the air" air-to-air shot,…