Prelinger Archives

3,457–3,504 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 Cashing In 1935 · Film · Subtitles The first reel appears to be R3, ending with a title that says "Farther Faster Safer with Pennzoil." A senior salesman or manager advises a younger salesman,… 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 Ivory Soap Commercial Commercial · 1 min · Subtitles Ivory Soap TV commercial Internet Archive Oldsmobile Commercial Commercial · 1 min · Subtitles Internet Archive Flight Decision, The Film · Subtitles Some shots to be logged. Flight safety film for private general aviation pilots. Internet Archive [San Francisco Aerials (color)] 2026 · Film · Subtitles Aerial beginning near Golden Gate Bridge and traversing city to show downtown and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Internet Archive Home Movie: 98342: Coon Hunting 1960 · Home movie 1960 Willis (Hook) Kennedy / 1966 Coon Hunters / 1969 Coon hunters / 1967 / Field Trials" Internet Archive Mother Mack Trains Her Seven Puppies 1952 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Children's film about dogs, family values, multiculturalism and community. Internet Archive Experiments in Physics 1920 · Film · Subtitles To be logged. Internet Archive [Television Commercials] Commercial · Subtitles Ivory Soap, Comet cleanser, Top Job; Tide; Epic Coffee, Crisco, Johnson's Family Hairspray; Cascade, Skeletal Entry Internet Archive [Home Movies: Golden Gate International Exposition] 1939 · Home movie · Subtitles To be logged. Home movies shot at Golden Gate International Exposition, San Francisco, 1939-40. ends with nice shot of woman approaching camera, walking down… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Ransohoff Collection: Summer Vacation, Lake Tahoe, 1939] 1939 · Home movie · Subtitles Fashion show / sheep going past camera / family scenes / woman reading San Francisco Chronicle with headling "Germany Rushes Army Trucks Into Danzig" /… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Reinders Collection, Reel 3] 1950 · Home movie · Subtitles Travel. Western scenes: mountains, rocks. Yosemite Full moon 1950s station wagon Driving POV looking frontwards along Yosemite National Park road People… Internet Archive Sewing Simple Seams 1947 · Film · Subtitles Depicts and explains sewing techniques. Historically significant as the first in the Centron Films' "Young America" series. Internet Archive Columbia Revolt Film · Subtitles "In April 1968, black and white students rebelled against the university administration, occupying five buildings, including the president's office in one of… Internet Archive [Gould can 5483.5: Kinograms Newsreel] 1927 · Newsreel · Subtitles Foals at New York horse breeding farm for future champions / "Zev" turf hero of 1923 Internet Archive [Home Movies: Radio Repair] 1961 · Home movie · Subtitles Notes in logbook. Title at head: "Charles W. Cushman Lodge 879 Family Picnic 1961" stop-motion mini sequence with desktop items CU smoking radio Shots 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 Noah's Ark Film · Subtitles Silent. An excerpt of the Biblical tale of Noah building the ark. Internet Archive General Motors News Parade Short · 17 min · Subtitles 0710 PA8667A/B General Motors News Parade 35 B&W comp print (2 cans, reels 1 and 2) M-1442 Internet Archive A Chance to Lose 1937 · Film · Subtitles "Comparison of the chances taken by reckless drivers with those taken in gambling." - Educational Film/Video Locator, 3rd Edition "A 1937 release which won… Internet Archive Baggies Food Wrap Commercial Commercial · 1 min · Subtitles Baggies food wrap commercial Internet Archive [Home Movies: Lenawee County, Michigan: Highway, Swimming, Baseball, Kite Flying] 2026 · Home movie · Subtitles highway driving POVs (great) seq climbing up Original Irish Hills Tower and looking down, also showing Gray Tower, Kelly Knoll looking thru telescope from… Internet Archive Unid. Soundie "Row, Row, Row"? (Juvenile Jubilee) 1940 · Film · Subtitles 00:06:14:02 - 00:08:49:02 B/W Sound 1940s Male bandleader leads jazz band, w/ violin, drummer, saxophonists on nightclub bandstand. Female singer in lame… Internet Archive Home Movie: Arthur Parga Collection: 005022 Home movie Domestic scenes of a Mexican American family, with footage filmed in Mexico and California; rodeos and charro horses; people playing pool and drinking;… Internet Archive Frisky, The Calf 1949 · Film · Subtitles Explains animal life around a farm through a narrative about the birth and rearing of a new calf, with human characters Mary and her father Farmer Brown. From… Internet Archive My City 1968 · Film · Subtitles Children talk about their cities - Atlanta, New York, Detroit Internet Archive Unid. Soundie "What the Country Needs"? (Juvenile Jubilee) 1940 · Film · Subtitles 00:11:14:14 - 00:13:48:06 B/W Sound 1940s Outdoor city park set at night. Man holding books prepares to lecture crowd, but woman in straw hat begins to sing-… Internet Archive Sunbeam Bread Commercial #1 Commercial · 1 min · Subtitles 0736 PA8910 Sunbeam Bread TV Commercials "John Engel, 1953-1957"; was PA-3992 Internet Archive Soundie - Havana-Madrid Show 1941 · Short · 5 min · Subtitles featuring Maya's Pan-American Orchestra and Carlos and Zedra Internet Archive Connecticut Film · Subtitles The film showcases the beauty and historical significance of Connecticut, highlighting its scenic landscapes along the Merritt Parkway and its rich colonial… Internet Archive Home Movie: 010174 (My Alaska Cruise, Reel 2) 1938 · Home movie "My Alaska Cruise" (R2) Coastal Alaska in 1938 from a shipboard perspective, with stops at Wrangell, Juneau, Sitka, glacier tourism, iceberg POVs, Indigenous… Internet Archive This Proud Land: The Golden Jezebel 1965 · Film · Subtitles Content warning: this film contains racist language, sexist language and imagery, and posits an incoherent defense of settler colonialism. Documentary film… Internet Archive To Market, To Market Film · Subtitles Film about farmers getting produce and vegetable to market. 01:40:02:09 VS corn stalks, CU corn on stalk; CU crate of white onions; CU crate of sweet… Internet Archive Our Cities Must Fight 1951 · Film · Subtitles Civil defense film admonishing United States city dwellers to stay and fight in case of enemy invasion, rather than evacuate. Filmed in New York and other… Internet Archive Suggestion Box 1945 · Short · 8 min · Subtitles How war plant workers made suggestions that resulted in efficiency and economy. Internet Archive Sixth Sense, The 1949 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles A very good film detailing the processes used in quality control of tobacco. Internet Archive Permanent Change Of Station-Southern Europe A Film · Subtitles U.S. Army Production #705985 TVT-20653 U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center. Produced by U.S. Army Combat System Test Activity, OED, Images Tech.Br.… Internet Archive 'QUAKE! Its effect on Long Beach and Compton California 1933 · Film · Subtitles Main title "Quake!" shakes in animation EXCELLENT FOOTAGE OF QUAKE DAMAGE AND DESTRUCTION Map of quake area with arrow pointing out its periphery Various… Internet Archive Computing For Fun 1964 · Film · Subtitles with Dr. John Pierce Internet Archive Driven to Kill 1948 · Film · Subtitles Stresses the necessity for the average American driver to realize fully his responsibility when behind the wheel. Illustrates that violations of safe and sane… Internet Archive [Alice in Wonderland] 1920 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive General Personal Hygiene Film · Subtitles Longevity, hygiene, health, exercise; implicit argument for eugenics. Log shots. Internet Archive Army-Navy Screen Magazine #43: G.I. Bill of Rights Film · Subtitles The film discusses the historical context of returning World War II veterans and the challenges they faced after the war. It highlights the passage of the… Internet Archive Florida 1965 1965 · Film · Subtitles Great runbys of Miami Beach hotels and other buildings. Internet Archive How They Make Money Film · Subtitles VS U.S. Mint scales. engraving, etc. medals and coin samples diemaking die hardening ingots of metal melting metal in foundry furnaces making pigs and rolling… Internet Archive Spain in Revolt (Part II) Newsreel · 11 min · Subtitles 0539 PA8459 Spain in Revolt (R2) Internet Archive Report on Tomorrow Film · Subtitles Describes activities in a health department and the relationships of those activities to community and personal life in guarding the public health. Many…