Prelinger Archives

2,833–2,880 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 Choosing a Classroom Film 1963 · Film · Subtitles Uses a wide selection of recently produced films to illustrate the purposes of educational films and the standards by which to appraise them. Shows how film… Internet Archive Interrupted Morning 1961 · Film · Subtitles Discusses car accidents from the point of view of the doctor who is tired of patching up victims. Stresses the importance of seatbelts. Shows crash… Internet Archive Inside The Big E. 1963 · Film · Subtitles Depicts a day aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise. Shows the role of lubricating oil in powering this ship. Explains how petroleum research… Internet Archive Newport Cigarette Commercial #4 Commercial · 1 min · Subtitles A television commercial for Newport cigarettes. Internet Archive This is Robert: A Study of Personality Growth in a Preschool Child 1942 · Film · Subtitles Traces the development of Robert, an aggressive, "difficult", yet appealing child, from his arrival in nursery school at two up through his first year in a… Internet Archive [Gould can 5507: Buffalo Bill] 1908 · Film · Subtitles William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) is seen on his horse and in semi CU as he acts as scout / his Wild West Show / as he 'gets away' on his own to camp14:57:27:03… Internet Archive Wilson Dam School, The 1942 · Film · Subtitles An elementary-school program at Wilson Dam School, Alabama, providing a wide range of activities for children at each age level. The total program made… Internet Archive Westward Movement, The 1941 · Film · Subtitles PICTURES THRU ANIMATION WESTWARD MIGRATION OF PEOPLES ACROSS UNITED STATES DURING PERIOD OF 1790 TO 1890. PORTRAYS ROUTES OF MIGRATION & TRANSPORTATION,… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Summers collection: New Orleans to San Francisco, ca. 1941] 1941 · Home movie · Subtitles Title card: "New Orleans and return to San Francisco, 1941"Various street scenes of New Orleans are followed by shots of boats and a few shots of the… Internet Archive [Amateur film: Wathen collection: New York World's Fair, 1939-40] (Part I) 1939 · Home movie · 14 min · Subtitles Scenes shot at the "World of Tomorrow." Internet Archive A Family of Amsterdam 1959 · Film · Subtitles Presents scenes in Amsterdam including canals, Rijksmuseum, the harbor and home life of a typical family. Internet Archive [San Francisco Earthquake Aftermath] 1906 · Film · Subtitles Aftermath of San Francisco earthquake, April 18, 1906:More views of destruction taken from a vehicle moving east down Market Street Internet Archive Anatomy of an Accident 1962 · Film · Subtitles Phyllis Avery and David Wayne reenact an actual accident which points out the unsafe driving habits responsible for the accident. Internet Archive Unid. Soundie "One Look at You"? (Juvenile Jubilee) 1940 · Film · Subtitles 00:34:42:23 - 00:37:13:17 B/W Sound 1940s WS couples dance to orchestra in ballroom. ZI bandleader in white tuxedo sings love song to woman at table. Photo… Internet Archive Machine: Master or Slave?, The 1941 · Film · Subtitles The film explores the impact of labor-saving machinery on employment and the economy. As factories ramp up production for defense needs, workers face… Internet Archive [Home Movies: "San Francisco"] 1950 · Home movie · Subtitles Title: "San Francisco" Cable car rides downhill, down Powell Street, past Sears Fine Foods sign. POV looking up Powell street north of Sutter. POV pan of Nob… Internet Archive Chevrolet Leader News (Vol. 3, No. 3) 1937 · Newsreel · 8 min · Subtitles Promotional newsreels featuring a variety of Chevrolet-centric stories. Internet Archive Soundie - Hollywood Boogie 1946 · Short · 2 min · Subtitles Thelma White and Her All-Girl Orchestra Internet Archive Unid. Soundie "It's Got to Be This or That" (Juvenile Jubilee) 1940 · Film · Subtitles 00:26:25:20 - 00:28:50:05 B/W Sound 1940s Jazz swing band performs on raised club bandstand w/ two pianists on floor. VS Saxophonists, violinists, trumpet,… Internet Archive Face in the Mirror (I Wonder), The 1940 · Film · Subtitles 20:16:29 Man shaving himself in bathroom mirror. Applies lather with brush. Wife nags him from other room. 20:17:31 Wife enters in silver lame housedress and… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Winchester Mystery House, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley] 1960 · Home movie · Subtitles Shows construction on Sproul Plaza at the University of California, Berkeley campus. Internet Archive [Gould can 5423.2] 1914 · Film · Subtitles Interior of a dance hall: White couples dancing with hats (possibly New Year's Eve). Internet Archive Activity Group Therapy 1950 · Film · Subtitles A report on the selection of cases for activity group therapy, the conduct of the therapeutic sessions and the personality developments of a group of… Internet Archive Kingdom of Plastics, The 1945 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Properties and uses of modern plastics in the post-World War II era. Internet Archive Bookkeeping and Accounting 1945 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Work of the bookkeeper and accountant in the pre-computer era. Internet Archive Our Cities Must Fight 1951 · Film · Subtitles A plea for American cities to be prepared to deal with enemy attack. Many images of mass evacuation. Some footage of devastated war-torn European cities.… Internet Archive Highballing to Victory 1944 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Transportation in wartime. Internet Archive Speech: Function of Gestures, The 1950 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Gestures render public speeches much more effective. Internet Archive Other People's Property 1951 · Film · Subtitles Focuses on the problem of vandalism and respect for other people's property. Tells the story of three young boys whose prank results in serious property damage. Internet Archive [Television Commercials: Color: Camera Only] Commercial · Subtitles [The following titles and shotlists may be elsewhere on PA-0649; this description may therefore need revision after viewing.] Tape 0649 Film 8184 [Untitled]… Internet Archive Oil: Paths of Progress Film · Subtitles 19:28:10:05 Two Middle Eastern farmers standing on pile of hay, one sifts hay. 19:28:17:19 Camera follows person riding on camel through desert, oil well… Internet Archive Boulder Dam: The Pictorial Record of Man's Conquest of the Colorado River 1930 · Film · Subtitles Early Hoover Dam - views of Boulder City, Government houses, roads, city and dam Colorado. Internet Archive Understanding Others 1959 · Film · Subtitles STRESSES PERSON SHOULD BE JUDGED BY HIS TRUE WORTH & ABILITY RATHER THAN BY HIS ECONOMIC BACKGROUND & SOCIAL SKILLS. Internet Archive Behind the Cup: The Story of Hills Bros. Coffee 1930 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Hills and the Sea Film · Subtitles Photographed at Martha's Vineyard, Mass. Color shots of ocean waves, starfish (CU), rocks on beach, ripples in sand, shoreline vegetation, cliffs Internet Archive New Hampshire Sketches Film · Subtitles 13:01:26:12 Nice shot of lighthouse on rocky New Hampshire shoreline. VS along the 18 miles of New Hampshire’s coast between Main and Massachusetts; old New… Internet Archive Using Trees: Part Three of a Series 2026 · Film · Subtitles Includes puppets; forest shots; cutting down trees; mushrooms in forest; stacks of lumber at mill; lumber milling and sawing. Many shots to be logged. Internet Archive Other People's Property 1951 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Story of three young boys whose prank results in serious property damage. Internet Archive Atoms in the Marketplace 1968 · Film A Reference List of Audiovisual Materials Produced by the United States Government (1978) states: "1968 PRODUCER: USAEC TITLE NO. 001438/RL DEALS WITH THE… Internet Archive [Amateur film: New York World's Fair] 1939 · Home movie · 14 min · Subtitles Views of the "World of Tomorrow." Internet Archive American Fashion and Department Stores: The Pro-Mass Production View Short · 22 min · Subtitles Presumably a sponsored film commissioned by Montgomery Ward, but no further information is available since the title and end credits are missing. A recreation… Internet Archive Success Story 1958 · Film · Subtitles On the San Francisco Bay Model, manufactured by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 10:33:31:16 Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California. 10:34:19:00 VS… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Wealthy Family, 1930-31] 1930 · Home movie · Subtitles Wealthy family: snow / VS Mount Vernon / tourists / walking / movie cameraman or photographer in car / woman driving horse and buggy, buggy crosses (fords)… Internet Archive Film Research & Learning... 1956 · Film · Subtitles Good shots of students watching film in darkened classroom and teachers projecting 16mm film. VS students (junior-high age) working with visual aids in… Internet Archive Down the Gasoline Trail 1935 · Film · Subtitles Producer's synopsis: "Real photography and cartoon animation tell what happens to a drop of gasoline from the time it is put into the gasoline tank of a… Internet Archive Our Cities Must Fight 1951 · Film · Subtitles A plea for American cities to be prepared to deal with enemy attack. Many images of mass evacuation. Some footage of devastated war-torn European cities.… Internet Archive Movie Trailers ("Mother's Day, May 13, 1934" Promotion) 1934 · Film · Subtitles Sentimental segment commemorating Mother's Day. 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…