Prelinger Archives
4,033–4,080 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 Ones | Films for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool. |
|---|---|
| Kids | Cartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature. |
| Tweens | Documentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures. |
| Teens | Everything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower. |
| Adult | Sexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage. |
Internet Archive
Factory, The
Internet Archive
Transportation: Here and There
Some good shots to be logged. Railroads, highways, horses. Riding on elephants, camels, etc.
Internet Archive
From the Ground Up
About selling "vitamins, mMinerals and Nutrilite food suppliment" incl alfalfa farming, factory manufacturing
Internet Archive
Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter
Internet Archive
Today's Horse Farm: Sun-Up to Sun-Down
Educational film about horse farming. Discusses feeding, grooming, shoeing, and sanitation. One horse has been given an explicitly racist name. "We follow…
Internet Archive
[Gould can 5161.3]
New York City: Police distribute literature on how to protect life, property and money. 09:40:11:05 Badly overexposed footage of New York City police handing…
Internet Archive
[Gould can 5113.4]
Oakland Oaks baseball team wins pennant. Welcome-home celebration and parade at Oakland, California.Oakland Tribune Camera News newsreel. Train pulling into…
Internet Archive
Samson and Delilah
Biblical story.Some shots to be logged.
Internet Archive
Personal Hygiene
Internet Archive
Story of Shoes, A
Beautiful footage of forties shoes and shoe manufacturing. Leatherwork aplenty.
Internet Archive
[Gould can 5123.7]
Shellmound (Park) Pistol and Rifle Club of Emeryville, California hold annual meet at San Rafael, Calif. Members shoot. CU Chris Otten, the "Rifle King," with…
Internet Archive
[Work Simplification Program, York Knitting Mills Ltd., Zimmerknit Division, Hamilton, Ont., J.D. Woods & Co., Ltd.]
Work Simplification Program, York Knitting Mills Ltd., Zimmerknit Division, Hamilton, Ont., J.D. Woods & Co., Ltd. OLD METHOD VS workers loading ends of rolls…
Internet Archive
[Unidentified]
Color film with rich images of rural life in Southeast Asia (?). Children studying in rural school house. Pesticides in the field; sowing the land; women…
Internet Archive
Modes For Molars
Silent film. Our teeth in their relation to microbes (looks to be compiled from multiple shorts about teeth and microbes).
Internet Archive
San Francisco Bay
"Conservation film made to discourage landfill and development of the wetlands of San Francisco Bay. The film shows the Bay's important role in recreation and…
Internet Archive
Bear River National Wildlife Refuge
Mostly static shots of birds, plus sequences showing operation of a wildlife refuge, including visitors.
Internet Archive
[Kay Stinson, Aviator]
San Francisco: Kay Stinson, noted woman aviatrix breaks the speed record from San Diego to San Francisco with an average speed of 66 mph. Reception / award…
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Hollywood, Orient]
Silent home movies of vacations in Hollywood, CA and the Orient. Features Kodascope film.
Internet Archive
Dialing Tips
Internet Archive
[Gould can 5484.2: Kinograms Newsreel]
Brussels, Belgium: First views of the Gordon Bennett Race in which five balloonists died
Internet Archive
Forty Years of Human Service
The film "Forty Years of Human Service" highlights the establishment and impact of the National Jewish Hospital in Denver, founded by a group of Jewish…
Internet Archive
Hot Head, The
"PICTURE SHOWS SUPERIOR ECONOMY & POWER OF VALVE-IN-HEAD ENGINE."
Internet Archive
[Gould can 5202.3]
Panama-Pacific International Exposition: Part of parade for evolution of the bicycle / earlyhigh wheelers
Internet Archive
Danger - Women at Work
Internet Archive
[Gould can 5161.2]
Turkeys get ready for market in Philadelphia, Pa. 09:39:25:15 VS Thousands of turkeys on farm outside of Philadelphia, PA. Man holds up turkey for camera.
Internet Archive
Sightseeing in Washington D.C.
Internet Archive
Preparation of Teachers
Shows teacher education at Ball State Teachers College in Muncie, Indiana.
Internet Archive
This Is My Railroad
Internet Archive
Santa Rosa, My Home Town
An amateur production extolling the virtues of life in Santa Rosa, California, produced in 1949-1950. Includes many scenes of buildings, businesses and parks…
Internet Archive
Yanks Battle for Okinawa!
Internet Archive
[Gould can 5122.4]
Titles only: "BOOST OAKLAND." "Business is better!" "1700 acres sold in Montclair -- let's build the bridge!"
Internet Archive
Palmour Street (A Study in Family Life)
"Neorealist mental health film produced for parents and health care workers. Palmour Street shows the daily life of an African American family and…
Internet Archive
[Surfing]
Internet Archive
Birds That Eat Fish
Internet Archive
[Gould can 5123.2]
Girls leave for Oakland Recreation Camp in Sierra Nevada mountains, California. They load gear on truck and wave goodbye as they depart.
Internet Archive
Boston Bean, The
Time-lapse study of sprouting bean. 12:48:14:25 Bean sprouts from soil show through time-lapse photography.
Internet Archive
Great New Star, A
Internet Archive
Beginning of '58 Exterior Color Story
Internet Archive
Deadline for Action
Internet Archive
[Home movie: 098667: Construction of London Terrace Apartments, New York 1929]
High quality construction documentation from 1929 and 1930, showing 435 West 23rd Street in Manhattan, the London Terrace Apartments, going up from foundation…
Internet Archive
Highland Park Ford Plant
0715 PA8139 Highland Park Ford Plant
Internet Archive
The Tortoises
Silent. The American box tortoise, the Madagascar tortoise and the Galapagos, the largest species of the tortoise
Internet Archive
[Gould can 1054.3]
Monte Fruit Co., San Francisco Bay Area, California. Exterior showing parking for horsedrawn wagons.
Internet Archive
Home Movie: Nicholson Collection: 004165
Domestic scenes of a family living in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. The construction of a new home, train rides through Portland and surrounding…
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Fosston, Minnesota]
[Home Movies: Fosston, Minnesota] ca. 1950
Internet Archive
Jack And Jill
The film presents a whimsical yet educational narrative about safety using the familiar characters of Jack and Jill. It begins by highlighting the mishaps in…
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 10966: Republic Aviation Family Open House
Republic Aviation family open house day, Farmingdale, Long Island, New York, ca, 1960s
Internet Archive
Competition and Dominance Hierarchies in Rats