Prelinger Archives

3,697–3,744 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 [Gould can 5370: Humboldt County, California Lumber Mill] 1926 · Film · Subtitles Lumber mill footage from Humboldt County, California: Logs on flatcars being automatically dumped into pond / men in pond working logs while in the background… Internet Archive Roads to Romance: 1949 Short · 12 min · Subtitles 0631 PA8632 Roads to Romance: 1949 Internet Archive Tree of God's Planting, A 1944 · Film · Subtitles Animated Christian film. Internet Archive Vicks Nyquil Commercial Commercial · Subtitles Vicks Nyquil Commercial Internet Archive [S.E. Manning Company, Ltd. Film] 1934 · Film · Subtitles A real estate promotional film made by the S.E. Manning Company of San Francisco, California. Produced to promote the Manning development of San Pablo Park… Internet Archive Ransohoff's Goes to the Fair, March 12th, 1939 1939 · Film · Subtitles Chartered buses outside Ransohoff's store with "Ransohoff's Goes to the Fair" banners on them dissolve to shot of street empty of traffic lined on each side… Internet Archive [Gould can 5365.3: Panama-Pacific International Exposition] 1915 · Film · Subtitles Panama-Pacific International Exposition - WOW (Industrial Workers of the World) Parade / marching units of women / fancy marching / head of organization on… Internet Archive Lead Matrix Outtakes: can 02 Film Lead metal: its production and its applications. Includes ground-level scenes of New York City streets in 1965, including Times Square, the Pan Am Building,… Internet Archive Patrol Vehicle Operation (Part 2) Film · Subtitles This instructional film focuses on emergency vehicle driving techniques taught at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's driving course. It emphasizes the… Internet Archive Land of Geronimo 1945 · Film · Subtitles Travelogue touring through Arizona and New Mexico. Internet Archive Education is Everybody's Business 1960 · Educational · Subtitles Content advisory: Stylized animated figures make everyone look silly, but when mobilized to depict communities of color can produce racist visual tropes, seen… Internet Archive Land Is Rich, The 1966 · Film · Subtitles On the struggle of California agricultural workers to gain union recognition through the United Farm Workers. Internet Archive Time for Coffee 1954 · Film · Subtitles Shows coffee production and processing. Internet Archive [Home Movies: San Francisco Family 2] 2026 · Home movie · Subtitles great shot of street running through Southern California oil field, cars driving down street with oil derricks on both sides Internet Archive Scotties Tissue Commercial Commercial · Subtitles Television commercial for Scotties Facial tissues. Internet Archive Electromagnetism Short · 10 min · Subtitles Internet Archive Lost Landscapes of San Francisco (Episode 12, 2017) 2017 · Film Interactive urban history film premiered December 2017 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, and January 2018 at Internet Archive. Internet Archive Home Movie: 97480: St. Louis Area Family, Reel 12 1963 · Home movie Viewing notes state: Airport interview TWA super jet Kid on rocking horse “Linda” in funeral dress wedding Sky Lift (near a river) wedding with kissing… Internet Archive [Gould can 5352-2: Presidio School Fire] 1912 · Film · Subtitles Presidio School (San Francisco) fire / horsedrawn firetruck arrives / ladders placed to windows on third floor / firemen on ladders / firefighters climb down… Internet Archive Strip, The Film · Subtitles features cu�s of people in and outside New York Clubs incl. Mr Laffs, The Golden 20�s club, Maxwells and TGI Fridays Internet Archive The Wonderful World of Julius Wile 1964 · Film · Subtitles Sponsored film by the wine and spirits importer, Julius Wile Sons & Co. Inc., advertising various kinds of alcoholic beverages that they sell. Intended for… Internet Archive Harlem Revue Film · Subtitles Internet Archive [Gould can 5199.4] 1916 · Film · Subtitles San Mateo (California) Harvest Festival / crowds / girls dancing / girls holding sheaves of wheat Internet Archive Lost Landscapes of San Francisco 2024: Streets, People, Play 2024 · Film The 19th annual iteration of Lost Landscapes of San Francisco, which premiered at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, December 9 and 10, 2024. Internet Archive 1960 Kennedy-Nixon Debate 1960 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Light Of Your Life B Educational · Subtitles Internet Archive Home Movie: 98367: Wisconsin Vacation Home movie To come. Internet Archive Home Electrical, The Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Thousand Days, The Film · Subtitles The film is a historical documentary that focuses on Canada's role and contribution during a major war, likely World War II. It details how Canada transformed… Internet Archive David Hall Story, The 1963 · Film · Subtitles AMERICA'S HANDICAPPED MAN OF THE YEAR RELIVES THE CAR ACCIDENT THAT CRIPPLED HIM FOR LIFE. HE PRESENTS A SAFETY MESSAGE TO YOUNG DRIVERS & THEIR PASSENGERS. Internet Archive Crest Toothpaste Commercial 1 Commercial · Subtitles Crest Toothpaste TV Commercial Internet Archive [Gould can 5314] 1919 · Film · Subtitles San Francisco's own 363rd Regiment returns to the city / Ferry pulling into the pier / dignitaries on hand including Mayor Rolph / parade up Market Street… Internet Archive Civilian Serves 1940 · Film Some good shots to be logged. good general shots of towns and cities, early 1940s Footage of British blitz People looking up at sky Airplanes overhead… Internet Archive Television Commercials: Jingles and Songs Commercial · Subtitles Assembled reel of television commercials, including Olympia Beer, Pepsi, Rice-a-Roni, and more. Also includes a brief trailer or spot, perhaps a trailer, for… Internet Archive Folgers Coffee Commercial #12 Commercial · 1 min · Subtitles Internet Archive [Home Movies: Medicus Collection: California and Alberta] 1930 · Home movie · Subtitles Tia Juana (Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico); San Diego Bay; grounds of Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel; VS Santa Barbara; Mission Santa Barbara; Del Monte… Internet Archive Soundie - Chime Bells 1943 · Short · 2 min · Subtitles Rosalie Allen yodels to her sailor boyfriend who is overseas during the war. Internet Archive County Government 1951 · Film · Subtitles Shows how county government came into being, the functions and duties of each of the county departments, and need and value of modernization of this form of… Internet Archive Cool Hot Rod 1953 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive To New Horizons 1940 · Film · Subtitles Skeletal Entry Internet Archive Home movie: 010112_001: 1950s road trip Las Vegas and desert southwest Home movie Home movie: 010112_001: 1950s road trip Las Vegas and desert southwest Internet Archive China Shall Have Our Help 1941 · Film · Subtitles Some good shots to be logged. China Week march in New York City with Wendell L. Willkie, Herbert H. Lehman and Dr. Tsune Chi Yu (Consul General of the… Internet Archive Worlds Apart 1967 · Educational · Subtitles The Office of Economic Opportunity and the Institute for Developmental Studies sponsored this film promoting early childhood education as a means to fight… Internet Archive On the Air: The Story of Radio Broadcasting 1944 · Film · Subtitles Westinghouse film about commercial radio in the United States. Internet Archive This Is Your Union Film · Subtitles Narrated by David J. McDonald, International President of the United Steel Workers Internet Archive Self-Preservation in an Atomic Bomb Attack 1950 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive [Oakland Women’s Rowing Club] 1950 · Newsreel · Subtitles Oakland, Calif.: Women's rowing club on Lake Merritt. Newsreel story. Internet Archive Unfinished Rainbows Film · Subtitles The film discusses the evolution and significance of aluminum in various industries, highlighting its advantages over other metals, particularly copper. It…