Prelinger Archives

3,121–3,168 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 Wheels Across Africa (Part IV) 1936 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Armand Davis leads motor expedition in Africa, powered by Dodge cars. Internet Archive [Home Movies: Seck Collection: Reel 7] 1930 · Home movie · Subtitles fishing, baby in old-fashioned wicker perambulator, baby and other children, baby in old-fashioned wheeled walker, kids in backyard, men on pleasure sailboat,… Internet Archive What About School Spirit? 1958 · Film · Subtitles Demonstrates that school spirit is a form of citizenship requiring the assumption of responsibilities, both curricular and extra-curricular. Internet Archive Spirit Of The USA [Excerpt] 1924 · Film · Subtitles Silent. drama. Actors: Carl Stockdale, Cuyler Supplee, David Kirby, Dick Brandon, Gloria Grey, Johnnie Walker, Mark Fenton, Mary Carr, Newton House, Richard… Internet Archive Sibling Rivalries And Parents 1956 · Film · Subtitles Explains some of the causes of normal rivalry among children in the family group, discusses the varied manifestations of rivalry, and suggests ways in which… Internet Archive That Junior Miss Spirit (Part I) Short · 12 min · Subtitles 0512 PA8303 That Junior Miss Spirit Internet Archive Green Gold 1940 · Film · Subtitles Numerous stock shots to be logged. Billboard: "World's Largest Integrated Kraft Container Plant", Union Bag & Paper Corporation Forest fire sequence Internet Archive WABCO Metro 1960 · Film · Subtitles Wabco Metro (Miscellaneous urban rail transit systems). Good shots of the Chicago El trains and rapid transit ("CTA Metropolitan Transit") en route and in… Internet Archive Citizen Makes a Decision, A 1954 · Short · 17 min · Subtitles How democracy ought to work. Internet Archive Industry on Parade: Outgoing Cargo, Workhorses of the Harbor, Refresher Course Short · 7 min · Subtitles Industry on Parade: A Pictorial Review of Events in Business and Industry, produced weekly by the National Association of Manufacturers. 0523 PA8202 Industry… Internet Archive Industry on Parade: Outgoing Cargo, Workhorses of the Harbor, Refresher Course Film · Subtitles Outgoing Cargo! Moore-McCormack Lines at the Brooklyn, N.Y. waterfront. freight containerization Workhorses of the Harbor! Lloyd and F. Briggs Dalzell,… Internet Archive American Thrift 1962 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Every Minute Counts 1944 · Film · Subtitles This film was produced to heighten productivity in civilian homefront industries during World War II. Aimed at employers and workers alike, it shows problems… Internet Archive Live and Learn 1951 · Film · Subtitles Social guidance film warning children about the dangers of doing without thinking. Includes a number of dramatized vignettes of children getting into… Internet Archive Precipitins 1930 · Film · Subtitles Identification of human vs. animal blood, stains through chemical tests - scientists, labs, chemists, rabbits, experiments, blood, nurses, lab technicians,… Internet Archive Elementary School: Part Three: Understanding the Physical World, The 1952 · Film · Subtitles Filmed in 68 schools throught Virginia. This educational film highlights the importance of discovery and observation in elementary education, focusing on how… Internet Archive Occupying a Public Shelter 1966 · Film An overview of the procedure and expectations of using a public fallout shelter. Department of Defense Civil Defense film CD 20-234 Can states: "OCCUPYING A… Internet Archive "Underwater Cable" and Other Communication News and Views, An 1938 · Film · Subtitles Construction of an underground telephone cable between San Francisco and Oakland Internet Archive When You Are a Pedestrian 1948 · Film · Subtitles INCLUDES BOTH PEDESTRIAN'S & MOTORIST'S RESPONSIBILITIES TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS. FILMED IN OAKLAND, IN BROADWAY TERRACE AREA. GREAT SIMULATED ACCIDENTS, ALSO… Internet Archive [Universal Newsreel: Smith Lands Safely] 1934 · Newsreel · Subtitles title: Universal Newsreel: SCOOP title; Smith Lands Safely, Oakland, Calif. Aircraft VH-USB landing at Oakland airport Kingsford Smith in Altair 8D Special,… Internet Archive Life Insurance Occupations 1948 · Film · Subtitles EXPLAINS SERVICES OF INSURANCE COMPANIES TO THE PUBLIC & DESCRIBES VARIOUS CAREERS WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES. INCLUDES ACTUARIAL WORK, LEGAL DEPT, CLAIMS… Internet Archive A Sports Calendar 1924 · Film · Subtitles Silent film looks at a variety of sports and outdoor activities that are done throughout the seasons. Internet Archive Road of Tomorrow, The (Reel I only) 1940 · Film · Subtitles Shows planning and construction of Pennsylvania Turnpike. 00:01:01:10 CU newspaper headline “Pennsylvania Turnpike Open” 00:01:55:19 1940s cars and trucks on… Internet Archive [Universal Newspaper Newsreel: Collegians Wage Vegetable War] 1930 · Newsreel · Subtitles title: Odd Bits in Today's News: San Francisco, Cal.-- Collegians Wage Vegetable War students posing for camera with old and rotten vegetables freshman and… Internet Archive Mennen Baby Magic Commercial 1960 · Commercial · Subtitles Mennen Baby Magic TV Commercial Internet Archive Alaska: A Modern Frontier (Revised) 1948 · Film · Subtitles PROVIDES SCENES OF ALASKA'S GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES, PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES & METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION. SHOWS FAIRBANKS, BUT NOT ANCHORAGE. MAPS SHOW STRATEGIC… Internet Archive New Ways of Seeing 1954 · Educational · Subtitles A Lesson in Art with Ben Karp "Ben Karp takes a group of beginning art students on a sketching trip. When they encounter difficulty in getting started, Karp… Internet Archive Autobiography of a Jeep 1943 · Film · Subtitles Describes the designing of the Jeep to meet military needs of being compact, light weight and maneuverable over rough terrain. Skeletal Entry Internet Archive Man: A Film Lesson in "General Science" 1928 · Film · Subtitles Good shots to be logged. animated amoeba animation of respiration and circulation human physiology Internet Archive Television Commercials: Classic and Comedy Commercial · Subtitles Assembled reel of "classic" television commercials. Note: Sound on film print is out of sync. Internet Archive [Home Movies: Myself & My Folks & Friends (Part 1)] 1940 · Home movie · Subtitles Full title reads: My Trip to Maceday Lake & Pontiac & Detroit Michigan & Other Places I Stop At On My Trip. In Three Parts. Part I. Includes Detroit Zoo,… 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 You and Your Family 1946 · Film · Subtitles Social guidance film depicting family conflict situations with actors staging a range of alternative approaches to conflict resolution. Film includes prompts… Internet Archive Psychoactive Drugs Film · Subtitles VS Middle-age men wearing suits in roundtable discussion about public mental hospitals in 1960s with large yellow and blue bar graph on stand behind them with… Internet Archive Form, Design and the City 1962 · Film · Subtitles Philadelphia, PA Internet Archive Soundie - Beyond The Blue Horizon 1944 · Film · Subtitles performed by The Three Suns Internet Archive Journalist: A Film Lesson in "Vocational Guidance", The 1928 · Film · Subtitles Some interesting shots to be logged. MS newsboy standing on corner as "Third Avenue Railway System" open streetcar passes by in background. 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 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 [Modern Home has Helipad on Roof] 1950 · Film · Subtitles Ray Nichols of Oakland commutes to work by helicopter Modern home has helipad on roof "Sequoia house" steel framework, lots of glass walls Internet Archive [Golden Gate Bridge Opening] 1936 · Film · Subtitles Golden Gate Bridge Opening: assorted scenes taken on opening day / cars in line / coming across the bridge / ships of the fleet passing under / airplanes /… 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 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 Wild at the Wheel 1970 · Film · Subtitles Social guidance film warning teens against reckless driving. A traffic inspector investigates the death of a teen who died in a car accident. Internet Archive It's a Cat's Life 1940 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Animated Sailor Cartoon Cartoon · Subtitles A silent travelogue of U.S. Navy Sailors in ports of call around the world. Animation by Carpenter-Goldman Laboratories, Inc. Internet Archive You're Driving 90 Horses 1959 · Film · Subtitles Deals with motor vehicle safety and shows locations where most accidents occur. Suggests concentration, control and courtesy as a basis for a defense driving… Internet Archive Communications and Our Town 1947 · Film · Subtitles SHOWS A VARIETY OF TYPES OF COMMUNICATION, DIVIDED INTO THOSE SEEN & THOSE HEARD. THIS WEB OF COMMUNICATIONS IS EXPLAINED IN TERMS OF ITS SOCIAL EFFECT ASA…