Prelinger Archives

2,881–2,928 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 Chevrolet Leader News (Vol. 4, No. 3) 1938 · Newsreel · 9 min · Subtitles Promotional newsreels featuring a variety of Chevrolet-centric stories. Internet Archive Performance (Re-edit) Film · Subtitles Film possibly directed by John Carlson. This is a re-edit utilizing scenes from the feature film, PERFORMANCE, originally released in 1970 and directed by… Internet Archive Goodbye, Mrs. Ant 1959 · Film · Subtitles COVERS THE LIFE CYCLE & HABITS OF THE ANT & EFFECTIVE METHODS OF CONTROL & EXTERMINATION WITH INSECTICIDES. Internet Archive Triple Goodness 1948 · Short · 21 min · Subtitles Inside view of dairy production, capped by talking cows. Internet Archive South Chile 1945 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles Life and agriculture of Patagonia. Internet Archive Pipe of Plenty, The 1948 · Film · Subtitles SHOWS NEED FOR, AND CONSTRUCTION OF PIPELINE FROM BIG RAPIDS TO DETROIT, MICHIGAN. GOOD OUTDOOR CONSTRUCTION FOOTAGE, ALSO SHOTS OF GAS USERS. • 9:50:54:21-… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Suburbs, driving POVs, Tennis] 1930 · Home movie · Subtitles Summary: 25 seconds of driving POV through manicured rural landscape on brand-new four lane road. All else is wealthy suburbs, domestic shots: tennis and home… Internet Archive Restaurant Operator, The 1946 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Jobs in food service. 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 Yours - Exclusively 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 Competition and Big Business 1953 · Film · Subtitles Defines big business and analyzes the relationship of big business to competition. Discusses the effect of big business on such problems as monopoly, entry… Internet Archive [Streetwalkers] 1950 · Film · Subtitles Shot on the streets of Los Angeles Unknown whether posed or unposed Some appears to have been shot in slow motion some women may be prostitutes, others not… Internet Archive Good Neighbors 1944 · Short · 21 min · Subtitles Promotional film for the Minneapolis Star-Journal newspaper. Internet Archive Adelante Cubanos 1958 · Film · Subtitles On industry in Cuba: supports buying Cuban-made products and extols the joys of consumerism. Apparently made in 1958 just prior to the revolution. Suburban… Internet Archive [See America First] 1931 · Film · Subtitles "SEE AMERICA FIRST." Actress Kay Gordon visits Oakland, California and is welcomed at airport. She then visits various businesses located in Oakland,… Internet Archive News Magazine of the Screen, The (Vol. 7, Issue 6) 1957 · Newsreel · 20 min · Subtitles Newsreel stories reformatted for classroom use. Internet Archive Last Word In Automatic Dishwashing 1950 · Short · 27 min · Subtitles Internet Archive News Magazine of the Screen, The (Vol. 7, Issue 5) 1957 · Newsreel · Subtitles Newsreel stories reformatted for classroom presentation. THE FLIGHT FROM HUNGARY UN TROOPS TAKE-OVER IN SUEZ RUINS OF POMPEII, ITALY PAINTING ON PIN-HEADS… Internet Archive Spirit of Enterprise 1955 · Film · Subtitles A story of how a young couple parlay their frozen custard booth into a multimillion dollar business. Internet Archive Survival Evasion Resistance And Escape B 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 Colonial Living: Life in a Colonial Home 1957 · Film · Subtitles Reconstructs life in the colony of Virginia in the mid-1700s, showing scenes of everyday life and the production of necessities, such as candles, newspapers,… Internet Archive In Our Hands, Part 4: How to Keep What We Have 1950 · Film · Subtitles "How well we manage our natural resources, our human energy and our tools determines how well we live in America. Despite our great productive power we still… Internet Archive Communism 1966 · Film · Subtitles Lots of stock shots worth logging. Internet Archive Maine Barbecue Film · Subtitles Shows how State of Maine broilers (chickens) should be barbecued. In the backyard, lawn sports and modern dance. Internet Archive The Voice Beneath the Sea 1956 · Film · Subtitles "Traces the establishment of the first telephone cable link beneath the Atlantic Ocean from North America to the British Isles and Europe. Scenes of the… Internet Archive Montclair Cigarettes Commercial 1960 · Commercial · Subtitles Montclair Cigarettes TV Commercial Internet Archive [News Magazine of the Screen, April] 1950 · Newsreel · 20 min · Subtitles Newsreel stories reformatted for educational presentation. Internet Archive How Our Country Grew 1950 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Focuses on growth of farming; manufacturing; transportation and how they have contributed to the country's development. Internet Archive Postmark East Lansing 1950 · Film · Subtitles BY MEANS OF STUDENT'S LETTER WE ARE SHOWN MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY. INTRO BY PRESIDENT JOHN HANNAH. GOOD QUALITY COLLEGE MATERIAL, SHOWING ALL ASPECTS. Internet Archive Unid. Soundie "Ten Pretty Girls" (Juvenile Jubilee) 1940 · Film · Subtitles Radio station female vocalist. 00:31:37:01 - 00:34:42:22 B/W Sound 1940s Woman sings w/ band in radio recording studio. Conductor leads woodwinds, horns,… Internet Archive Adelante Cubanos 1958 · Film · Subtitles On industry in Cuba: supports buying Cuban-made products and extols the joys of consumerism. Apparently made in 1958 just prior to the revolution. Suburban… Internet Archive California Is Climate 1958 · Film · Subtitles The film discusses the impact of climate on life in the Metropolitan Oakland Area (MOA), highlighting its mild, even temperatures as a key factor in… Internet Archive How Do You Do? 1946 · Film · Subtitles Presents the problems of social introductions, designed to help build social poise and self-assurance. Internet Archive Your Town: A Story of America 1940 · Film · Subtitles As Jerry passes the local Manson factory, a crowd is gathered outside. He stops to see "the fun." Someone on a soap box is shouting "down with this, and down… Internet Archive Few Too Many Film · Subtitles Dramatic first-person description of the results of mixing with drinking and driving. "The Highball Highway" including descriptions of driving with .05% to… Internet Archive Hotel and Restaurant Workers Film · Subtitles Shows the work done by a large hotel-restaurant staff. Provides information on the hotel industry and the need for training in its various phases. This film… Internet Archive [Home Movies: John William Worrall: Children's Hospital] 1940 · Home movie · Subtitles 00:00:39 John William Worrall - Children's Hospital black and white/silent 00:11:16 Pan of old operating room 00:11:22 Another pan of operating room 00:14:39… Internet Archive Round Trip: The USA in World Trade 1952 · Film · Subtitles An American auto worker, a Southern farmer, a British machinist, a housewife, a French laborer and a Mexican farmer give their views on world trade. Points up… Internet Archive [Newport Jazz Festival] Film · Subtitles Narration in Japanese. 06:45:27:15 Jazz band playing on stage under banner “Voice of America at the Newport Jazz Festival.” 06:45:52:04 Bing Crosby mansion.… Internet Archive The Open Sea 1968 · Film · Subtitles A group of children explore tide pools and find a message in a bottle amongst the waves. Internet Archive Teen-Age Farm Hand Film · Subtitles The film follows Ken, a young farmhand, as he takes care of his horse Poncho and helps his family on their general farm, which includes poultry and pigs. Ken… Internet Archive [Home Movies: New York State and Indiana, 1950s] 1963 · Home movie · Subtitles Some shots to be logged mother, two teenage daughters and brown dachshunds hanging clothes on line large dog plays with daughters as they hang clothes on… Internet Archive Secrets of the Pond 1953 · Film · Subtitles DESCRIBES WIDE VARIETY OF PLANT & ANIMAL LIFE HIDDEN ON SHORES & ON WATERS OF AN ORDINARY COUNTRY POND. A John Kieran Kaleidoscope film. Internet Archive American Road, The (Part III) Short · 11 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 'Twas Henry's Fault 1918 · Film · Subtitles Henry wanted a sport roadster - Betty wanted a sedan. Financially, the prospect suggested their compromising on a pushcart. But Betty had saved a few dollars… Internet Archive Waves of Green 1950 · Film · Subtitles TRIBUTE TO AMERICA'S LAND-GRANT COLLEGES. GOOD AGRICULTURE and FARM MATERIAL. SHIPS, MARINE, SEA SHOTS. SAILORS DISCUSS GREATNESS OF AMERICA. Some good stock… Internet Archive [Redwood Empire Special and Lumber Mills] 1914 · Film · Subtitles Condensed version of Golden Spike Celebration on 10/23/14 for the completion of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, held at Cain Rock, Humboldt County,… Internet Archive [Amateur film: New York World's Fair] 1939 · Home movie · 14 min · Subtitles Views of the "World of Tomorrow."