Prelinger Archives
4,705–4,752 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
Conquer By The Clock
"Conquer by the Clock was a short dramatic propaganda film produced by the RKO Pathé in 1942 to encourage wartime industrial production. It was nominated for…
Internet Archive
ABC's of...Defensive Driving Tactics, The
Internet Archive
Home Movies: Can 11281: Cross-Country Road Trip, Visit to New York City and New York World's Fair, ca. 1964-65
Home movies shot by an African American family on their road trip to New York City and the New York World's Fair, ca. 1964-65. Includes street scenes of New…
Internet Archive
Western Fashions & Arizona
0709 PA8528 [Western Fashions & Arizona]
Internet Archive
[Universal Newsreel: Palisades Park, Zippy Wedding]
Palisades Park, NJ. "Zippy Wedding Ceremony Held on Roller Coaster" Couple weds on ride Title card at end of reel "The World of Sports" ends
Internet Archive
Movers and the Shapers, The
Internet Archive
[San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Construction, etc.]
01:51:08:19 – 01:53:42:19 footage of San Francisco Bay and construction of San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge; aerials showing towers built before bridge spans…
Internet Archive
And Then There Were Four
Internet Archive
Rescue Reconnaissance
"An instructional film, in dramatised form, on techniques for rescuing people trapped in bomb-damaged buildings, stressing throughout the importance of…
Internet Archive
Career For Two
Internet Archive
Spuds
Silent film comedy. "In France during World War I, an American doughboy attempts to recover a car carrying a payroll of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars…
Internet Archive
Hidden Harvest
contains film within film: "Animal Checkers" at 17:30:00:00
Internet Archive
Confidential File: Medical Quacks (Part II)
An episode of the television show "Confidential File". Hosted by Paul Coates.
Internet Archive
Television Commercials: Soft Drinks and Celebrities (Reel 3)
Assembled reel of television commercials, including Canada Dry, Hamm's, Old Milwaukee, Raisin Bran cereal, and more. Full list: Canada Dry; Coca Cola; Sugar…
Internet Archive
[Home movie: 098267: 2nd and 3rd grade in 1951]
8 min., color: Second and third grade students in a small rural school pose for the camera on special occasions, including Halloween, May Day, an outdoor…
Internet Archive
City of Magic
about New York City Skeletal Entry
Internet Archive
Movie Trailers ("Candid Camera Nite" Promotion)
Internet Archive
Folgers Coffee Commercial #11
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Lodi, Ohio]
ca. 1950 - 1951 Can states: Officers at Harrisville Lodge, 1950-51, and this may describe start of this film.
Internet Archive
[Home Movies: Western Scenics and Englewood, Colorado]
some good early postwar suburbia shots. father flying kite with family sign: Brookridge Milking Parlor, Visitors Park Here (old-fashioned painted and neon…
Internet Archive
[Home movie: 098407: Baby Sylvia in Ohio, Reel 1, 1946]
16 min., color: A baby girl in Ohio is bathed and swaddled, and grows to about 6 months; other scenes are girls softball, leaf burning, and cinder blocks
Internet Archive
Jet Mainliner Flight 803
Internet Archive
Children Make Movies
At Lillian Wald Settlement Houses, New York City, 1961
Internet Archive
John Schmidt Collection: Reel 10
Studies of light and texture, some with the use of a macro lens, with images of flowers, butterflies, animal bones, shells, and insects. can/leader notes: "6"…
Internet Archive
Homes for Veterans
Internet Archive
[Gould can 5483.1: Kinograms Newsreel]
Cuba's new leader, President-Elect Machado in Washington with daughter is greeted by President Coolidge and Secretary Kellogg
Internet Archive
On Your Toes (Part 1)
Content warning: features characters that are anti-Black racist stereotypes, including a Jim Crow era "mammy." For more context on the harm of this caricature…
Internet Archive
Adirondack Holiday: Stock Shots, Part 10
Outtakes from the film ADIRONDACK HOLIDAY retained by producer as stock shots. Log sheet for this part states: Part 10: Keene, Autumn Ausable Chasm
Internet Archive
Home Movies: Can 11255: Pellegrini Collection: San Francisco and Santa Cruz, ca. 1938
Home movies probably shot by the Pellegrini family of San Francisco, California. Scenes include family activities in and around San Francisco; the city of San…
Internet Archive
Cape May Original Trims Reel 6
Original trims for a production shot in Cape May, New Jersey. Includes footage of vacationers and beachgoers swimming, sailing, playing tennis, visiting the…
Internet Archive
Oldsmobile Presents the "Sixty" B-44 (1942 Oldsmobile Playlets)
Advertising
Internet Archive
G. M. Roads
Internet Archive
New York: State of Discovery
Internet Archive
Joker, The
Safety film featuring magic trickster character "The Joker." Skeletal Entry
Internet Archive
[Home movie: 098259b: PA rail fan 3: Railroad and beach scenes, c1964]
14 min., color: From a railway person, more train platforms in Pennsylvania plus line work being done by workers; second half of the reel depicts beach…
Internet Archive
The Fight for Life: The Struggle for Survival Under the Sea
Science film dramatizing interactions among sea creatures. "THE FIGHT FOR LIFE: The Struggle for Survival under the Sea Beneath the sea we find the fight for…
Internet Archive
This Land Of Ours Utah
An educational film about the State of Utah.
Internet Archive
Long Journey West: 1820
Internet Archive
The Tales of a Thousand and One Nights Reel 1
Part 1 of the silent film, The Tales of A Thousand And One Nights. The film was broken into reels approximately 15 minutes in length for the rental market.…
Internet Archive
Ideal Doll Commercial #2
Internet Archive
Story of a Star, The
About Agilon synthetic fiber, used in nylon stocking and hosiery.
Internet Archive
[Cinerama Tent]
Cinerama projection tent moves along French road in truck, sets up in Nantes-la-Jolie (?) Inflated
Internet Archive
Cool Hot Rod
Internet Archive
Home Movie: 98617: Emmaus Boys Camp, Wesco, Missouri
Emmaus Boys Camp, Wesco, Mo., 1934
Internet Archive
News Magazine of the Screen, The (1957)
Internet Archive
Gifts of the Sun
Internet Archive
Home Movies: Can 11271: Downtown Detroit, Michigan Scenes, ca. 1962 and 1951
Home movie in two parts. The first, in color, is an impressionistic picture of buildings, streets and people in downtown Detroit, Michigan, presumably shot…
Internet Archive
Alexander Hamilton
This video starts with a tacked-on sequence of a series of still images of banker checks. 16mm film was sometimes used to quickly document checks deposited at…