The world's archives

1–48 of 3,418 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 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1916 · Feature · 1 h 48 min The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was not known in the silent era as premier producer of motion pictures. Yet, in 1916 they produced a film that could… Internet Archive Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari ( The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ) 1919 · Feature · 51 min The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the first modern Horror Film and it influence a number of contemporary productions. A real classic! PLOT: A man named Francis… Internet Archive The Birth of a Nation 1915 · Feature In its time, "The Birth of a Nation" was a masterpiece. Its racist undertones and revisionism are quite disturbing, but it is still worth watching for its… Internet Archive The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1910 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) is the earliest surviving film version of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel, made by the Selig Polyscope Company without Baum's… Internet Archive Intolerance 1916 · Feature · 2 h 57 min Director D.W. Griffith's expensive, most ambitious silent film masterpiece Intolerance (1916) is one of the milestones and landmarks in cinematic history.… Internet Archive Tarzan of the Apes 1918 · Feature · 1 h Original (PD) version of this classic, NOT the VHS version "copyrighted" in 1982. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0009682/ At this early point in American film… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's " The Pawnshop" 1916 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 56th Film Released Oct 02 1916. The Pawnshop was Charlie Chaplin's sixth film for Mutual Film Company. Chaplin played the role of assistant… Internet Archive A Christmas Carol 1910 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Originally released Christmas 1910, this Edison production features Charles Ogle (Frankenstein) as Bob Cratchet. Remastered, retitled, tinted and new… Internet Archive Cleopatra 1912 · Feature · 1 h 27 min · Subtitles Cleopatra is a silent film created in 1912 by Helen Gardner and the Helen Gardner Picture Players. The film, in which Gardner stars in the title role, was… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Count" 1916 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 55th Film released Sept. 04 1916. The Count was Charlie Chaplin's fifth film for Mutual Films. Co-starring Eric Campbell and Edna Purviance,… Internet Archive Marvellous Melbourne 1910 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Full Title: Marvellous Melbourne - Queen City of the South An early documentary film about the City of Melbourne, then the interim capital city of Australia.… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Floorwalker" 1916 · Short · 19 min Charlie Chaplins 51st Film Released May 15 1916 The Floorwalker was Charlie Chaplin's first Mutual Film Company made in 1916. It starred Chaplin as a customer… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Rink" 1916 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 58th Film Released Dec. 04 1916 The Rink was Charlie Chaplin's 8th film for Mutual Films. It co-starred Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Henry… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Charlie Shanghaied" 1915 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 46th Film Released Oct 04 1915 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0006032/ Charlie Chaplin In The Internet Archive… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Good For Nothing" 1914 · Short Charlie Chaplins 25th Film Released Aug. 31 1914 As His New Profession An American comedy silent film made at the Keystone Studios and starring Charlie… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Charlie's Recreation" 1914 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 23rd film released August 13 1914 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004518/ Charlie Chaplin In The Internet Archive… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Tillies Punctured Romance" 1914 · Feature Charlie Chaplin's 33rd Film Released Nov. 14 1914. Tillie's Punctured Romance was the first feature-length comedy film from Keystone Film Company and the… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Kids Auto Race At Venice" 1914 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 2nd Film Released Feb. 07 1914 Kid Auto Races At Venice is 1914 American-made motion picture starring Charlie Chaplin in which his "Tramp"… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "One A.M." 1916 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 54th Film Released Aug. 07 1916 One A.M. was a unique Charlie Chaplin silent film created for Mutual Films in 1916. It was the first film he… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Making A Living" 1914 · Short · 8 min Charlie Chaplin's 1st Film Released Feb. 02 1914 Making a Living is the first film appearance of Charlie Chaplin, which premiered on February 2, 1914. Chaplin… Internet Archive Carmen 1915 · Feature · 56 min · Subtitles Cecil B Demille's 1915 film of Prosper Merimee's 1845 novella (which was the basis of Bizet's famous opera.) Carmen, a gypsy woman, seduced lawyer Don Jose in… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Immigrant" 1917 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 61st Film Released June 17 1917. The Immigrant (also called Broke) starring the Charlie Chaplin Tramp character as an immigrant coming to… Internet Archive Frankenstein 1910 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles The first film adaptation of the often filmed Mary Shelley story. This film was originally released on March 18 1910. From the Edison Kinetogram:… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "A Fair Exchange" 1914 · Short Charlie Chaplins 34th Film Released Dec. 05 1914. This Film was released as Getting Acquainted. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004011/ Charlie Chaplin In The… Internet Archive A Romance of the Redwoods 1917 · Feature A young girl (Mary Pickford) travels west to live with her uncle during the California Gold Rush only to find that he has been killed by Indians and his… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Mabels Strange Predicament" 1914 · Short Charlie Chaplins 3rd Film Released Feb. 09 1914 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004284/ Charlie Chaplin In The Internet Archive… Internet Archive The Sinking of the Lusitania 1918 · Short · 9 min The Sinking of the Lusitania, released in 1918, is an animated short film by American artist Winsor McCay. It features a short 12 minute explanation of the… Internet Archive A Night in the Show 1915 · Short · 18 min Charlie plays two roles as two spectators at a music-hall show. It has a few good laughs and also provides an interesting look at old-fashioned theater… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Adventurer" 1917 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 62nd Film Released Oct. 22 1917 The Adventurer is a short comedy film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin. It is the last out of the… Internet Archive Frankenstein 1910 · Feature This is Edison's COMPLETE 1910 silent Frankenstein film. Internet Archive The Cheat 1915 · Feature · 59 min · Subtitles 1915 silent film directed by Cecil B Demille starring Fannie Ward. This film was selected for preservation in America's "National Film Registry". A desperate… Internet Archive Alice In Wonderland 1915 · Feature Alice In Wonderland (1915) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004873/ This is a shorter cut of the film, clocking in at 42minutes : 7seconds It is also "tinted"… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "Police" 1916 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 49th Film Released May 27 1916 Police was Charlie Chaplin's 14th released film from Essanay. It was made at the Majestic Studio in Los… Internet Archive The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - The Copper Beeches 1912 · Short · 23 min · Subtitles Georges Treville appeared as Sherlock Holmes in a number of short features in 1912. His series of films was the first officially authorised series of Holmes… Internet Archive A Jazzed Honeymoon 1919 · Short · 8 min A 1919 short comedy film featuring Harold Lloyd. Listed as Public Domain by Wikipedia. Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's "The Knockout" 1914 · Short Charlie Chaplins 17th Film Released June 11 1914 The Knockout was Charlie Chaplin's seventeenth film for Keystone Studios. Chaplin only has a small role, and… Internet Archive The Kid Auto Race in Venice 1914 · Short · 6 min Charlie the Tramp comes to a kid auto race, which a director just happens to be filming. Charlie constantly gets in the way, annoying the director, cameraman,… Internet Archive The Virginian 1914 · Feature · 55 min · Subtitles Cecil B Demille's silent feature film version of Owen Wister's novel "The Virginian" starring Dustin Farnum. A cowboy romances the local school teacher and… Internet Archive 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1916 · Short · 1 min · Subtitles 1916 film adaptation of the Jules Verne classic. Internet Archive American Aristocracy 1916 · Feature · 52 min A young man (Douglas Fairbanks) fights to overcome a piratical arms smuggler and to win the heart of a rich man's daughter. Internet Archive Romance Of The Redwoods 1917 · Feature · 1 h 31 min · Subtitles During the California gold rush, a young woman travels to the west coast to live with her uncle. When she arrives she discovers he has been killed by the… Internet Archive Home, Sweet Home 1914 · Feature · 55 min John Howard Payne (Henry B. Walthall) leaves home and begins a career in the theater. Despite encouragement from his mother and his sweetheart (Lillian Gish),… Internet Archive Charlie Chaplin's Triple Trouble 1918 · Short Charlie Chaplin's 50th Film released In 1918. (put together by Essanay from unfinished Chaplin films two years after he had left the company) Triple Trouble… Internet Archive Granddad 1913 · Short · 29 min A story of the relationship between a young girl (Mildred Harris) and her Civil War vet grandfather (William Desmond Taylor). When the girl's new step mom… Internet Archive A Fool There Was 1915 · Feature · 1 h 6 min From IMDb : A married diplomat falls hopelessly under the spell of a predatory woman. Stars: Theda Bara, Edward José, Mabel Frenyear, Runa Hodges, May… Internet Archive A Fool There Was 1915 · Feature · 1 h 6 min Title: A Fool There Was Summary: A married diplomat falls hopelessly under the spell of a predatory woman. Directed by: Frank Powell Actors: Runa Hodges,… Internet Archive The Roaring Road 1919 · Feature · 56 min Title: The Roaring Road Summary: A young man pursues a young lady with the same energy he applies to his other obsession in life, auto racing. Directed by:… Internet Archive Pool Sharks 1915 · Short · Subtitles W.C. Fields first comedy short. You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page .