Prelinger Archives

3,745–3,792 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 [Home Movies: Illinois, 1950s] Home movie · Subtitles Workmen moving a house; house shown after falling off its trailer. Small town yards, businesses, storefronts, gas station, school bus, farmers working in… Internet Archive Circus Days - A Romance of Youth 1920 · Film · Subtitles Silent comedy short. A young boy loves the circus and attempts to make his own. Internet Archive Unid. Soundie "Once in a While"? (Juvenile Jubilee) 1940 · Film · Subtitles Radio station - male soloist. 00:39:57:28 - 00:42:49:19 B/W Sound 1940s Male singer wearing tuxedo performs "Once In a While" love song w/ orchestra led by… Internet Archive Life Insurance Occupations 1948 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Career opportunities in the industry. Internet Archive [Nature Reel] Film · Subtitles Animals and child. includes section of film with police chasing children w/ animals (Fox Comedy) Internet Archive Mission High Film Actuality; brief glimpse of high school students arriving to Mission High School and relaxing in Dolores Park across the street. Includes views of street… Internet Archive Transportation By Land 1957 · Film · Subtitles "Points out the vast size and great richness of America, stressing the fact that transportation is the one factor that prevents its rich resources from being… Internet Archive Revolution Underway Film · Subtitles Content warning: this film contains racist propaganda pertaining to African American civil rights movements. An anti-communist film made by the National… Internet Archive Unconscious Motivation Short · 38 min · Subtitles Internet Archive A Visit to the John Birch Society Film · Subtitles Introduces viewers to the mission and activities of the anti-communist John Birch Society. The film opens with short interview bites that reveal a range of… Internet Archive Cloud in the Sky 1939 · Film · Subtitles Content warning: This film begins and ends with white people speaking in a patronizing, paternalistic, and racist manner about Latinx people. A public health… Internet Archive Symptoms in Schizophrenia 1940 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Bunny Film · Subtitles About young boy "Bunny" with mental/physical disability in England. Therapies to increase mobility and cognitive development Internet Archive [Home Movies: Century of Progress ?] 1933 · Home movie · Subtitles Part 3: International "fair" - different international villages Ukraine, Old Mexico, Maya Temple, navajo village, sioux village, winnebago village, Belgium Internet Archive [Gould can 1020.1] 1922 · Film · Subtitles San Francisco, California street scenes, including pans and tilts of streets and buildings. Great architectural footage of San Francisco pre-1920. VS San… Internet Archive Social Seminar: Drugs and Beyond 1971 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive 20 Years an Esso Dealer Film · Subtitles "20 Years an Esso Dealer" recounts the journey of Matt Broy, an Esso dealer, reflecting on the evolution of the service station business over two decades.… Internet Archive Dionne Quintuplets - Day At Home Film · Subtitles Silent film that looks at a day in the life of the world famous Dionne Quintuplets. Internet Archive [Gould can 5161.4] 1915 · Film · Subtitles New York City: Army defeats Navy at Polo Grounds before crowd of 50,000. VS Army-Navy football game Internet Archive Laying of Water Pipe Line 1920 · Film · Subtitles Water infrastructure construction. Good footage of construction work and workers. Aerial of circular reservoir / water tank / construction laborers shoveling… Internet Archive Bounty Paper Towels Commercials 2 Commercial · Subtitles Bounty Paper Towel commercial Internet Archive [Gould can 5127.6] 1928 · Film · Subtitles "Greater Movie Season" trailer. This rollup trailer extols the progress of Hollywood as a producer of quality filmed entertainment. Internet Archive [Miscellaneous Outtakes] Film Compilation reel with outtakes from a number sources, many of which are unknown. Includes footage for a sponsored film called "Our Side of the Story"; outtake… Internet Archive [Gould can 5185.1] 1931 · Film · Subtitles Promo for CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON. 12:49:24:15 Strange advertisement for “Charlie Chan Carries On”. Still image with scrolling text in box describing film. Internet Archive Dangerous Stranger Film · Subtitles Wikipedia description . Internet Archive [Home Movies: Deer Hunt, Kumbrabow State Forest, 1956] 1956 · Home movie · Subtitles Pictured are "Mr. Holley, Ernie Holley, Bill Bryant, Pete Stanley, Willard Holley, and Don" Internet Archive [Home movie: 098638: New York in 1953, Niagara Falls, horse races] 1953 · Home movie Reel from 1953 with three beautiful minutes of Times Square neon signage at night, skyscraper views of daytime Manhattan, a trip to the horse races, and then… Internet Archive Gift from the Clouds 1962 · Film · Subtitles Traces a water supply from mountain watersheds to points where it can be utilized by industry and agriculture. Then demonstrates progressive irrigation… Internet Archive [Narcotic Addiction] Film · Subtitles The film discusses the growing issue of drug addiction, emphasizing the psychological reasons behind substance abuse rather than the substances themselves. It… Internet Archive Back to Life 1954 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Living Past (Part 3) Film · Subtitles Includes President Theodore Roosevelt, the changing scene, New York's finest (police,) Rough Riders, Roosevelt's conservation policies. Internet Archive Bobby Bumps Starts for School 1917 · Film · Subtitles Early cartoon. Internet Archive V-Men 1941 · Film · Subtitles Film produced by Roland Reed Productions for Westinghouse Electric Company, ca. 1936. On the importance of "vitaminized" cooking to preserve nutrients in… Internet Archive Blue Sky Thinking Outtakes (2) Film Outtake footage from a film about the Ulano Corporation. Includes footage of manufacturing plants, research scientists, and product examples, as well as New… Internet Archive China And The Chinese 1928 · Film · Subtitles Silent travelogue of China and its people. Producer: Isaac O. Upham. Internet Archive 50/50 Chance, A 1967 · Film · Subtitles about tetnus infection Internet Archive [Odds and Ends] Film · Subtitles 05:32:17:00-05:34:40:00 Nixon w/ Russion (?) B&W, Sd 05:34:53:00-05:40:39:00 Pevely Dairy advertising footage, B&W, Si Internet Archive Time Is Life 1949 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Spain in Revolt (R2) 2026 · Film · Subtitles Compilation film on Spanish Civil War. Internet Archive [Gould can 5185.2] 1930 · Film · Subtitles Promo for 1st anniversary San Francisco's Fox Theatre. 12:50:16:15 Fox Special Announcement . Still rendering of Fox theatre in San Francisco with scrolling… Internet Archive Housekeeping At The Zoo Film · Subtitles Silent short. The film opens with some interesting pictures of cleaning elephants sweeping, bathing and oiling. Then a baby ourang-outang is shown amusing… Internet Archive Fortune in Two Old Trunks, A (Part II) 1951 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles The origin of California's prune (now officially called "dried plum") industry. Internet Archive [Home Movies: "Trailer Vacation Month of July 1951 / 2775 mi. / Cost 210.00"] 1951 · Home movie · Subtitles Some good road trip footage; many good trailer shots Big Basin (California) State Park Lake of the Woods Headin' South Shasta Lake Park Lassen National Forest… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Unidentified] 1932 · Home movie · Subtitles Add description when log sheet for 10540 is found. Pan New York City / Manhattan skyline tiles with letters rotate, form title: "Broadway at Night" VS… Internet Archive Mi-Wok Village 1960 · Film · Subtitles Resort located in California's Sierra Nevada. Internet Archive Micrin Mouthwash Commercial 2 1960 · Commercial · Subtitles Micrin Mouthwash Commercial Internet Archive [Unidentified Fruit Film] Film · Subtitles Promotes produce markets and the value of fresh food, with actors demonstrating kitchen preparations and table layouts of a variety of fresh foods. Soft… Internet Archive [San Francisco Mayor George Christopher and Nikita Khrushchev] 1959 · Film · Subtitles Sheraton-Palace Hotel, San Francisco Mayor George Christopher welcomes Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to San Francisco. Khrushchev speaks through interpreter.