The world's archives

337–384 of 3,392 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 Charlie Chaplin's "Shanghaied" (1915) 1915 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "The Hazards of Helen" (1916) starring Helen Gibson 1916 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "Out Yonder" (1919) starring Olive Thomas 1919 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "Lena And The Geese" (1912) director D. W. Griffith with Mary Pickford 1912 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive The Puppet's Nightmare (Le cauchemar de Fantoche) 1910 · Cartoon Émile Cohl (January 4, 1857, Paris -- January 20, 1938), born Émile Eugène Jean Louis Courtet, was a French caricaturist of the largely forgotten Incoherent… Internet Archive "Victory" (1919) featuring Lon Chaney 1919 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive The Squaw Man (1914) - Upscaled and Enhanced 1914 · Feature The Squaw Man (1914) - Directed by Cecil B. DeMille & Oscar Apfel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Squaw_Man_(1914_film)… Internet Archive Winsor McCay - How A Mosquito Operates 1912 · Cartoon Description from Wikipedia : How a Mosquito Operates (1912), also known as The Story of a Mosquito , is a silent animated film by American cartoonist and… Internet Archive "Down to Earth" (1917) starring Douglas Fairbanks 1917 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive Seeing America's Greatest Chinatown: San Francisco (Part II) 1912 · Film · Subtitles Chinatown, San Francisco, California: Captain Lewis was a licensed Chinatown guide; these films represent what was salvaged from a multi-reel film. Chinese… Internet Archive "The Governor's Special" (1916) starring Helen Gibson 1916 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "The Wild Engine" (1915) starring Helen Holmes 1915 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "The Broken Spring Rose" (1912) director Victor Sjöström (Seastrom) 1912 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "Wilful Peggy" (1910) director D. W. Griffith, cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1910 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "The Wrong Train Order" (1915) starring Helen Gibson 1915 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "The Last Deal" (1910) director D. W. Griffith cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1910 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive The Invaders (1912) 1912 · Feature The U.S. Army and the Indians sign a peace treaty. However, a group of surveyors trespass on the Indians' land and violate the treaty. The army refuses to… Internet Archive The Bond (1918) 1918 · Feature The Bond is a two-reel propaganda film created by Charlie Chaplin at his own expense for the Liberty Loan Committee for theatrical release to help sell U.S.… Internet Archive "The Glorious Lady" (1919) starring Olive Thomas 1919 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "Manhattan Madness" (1916) starring Douglas Fairbanks 1916 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive The Tramp (1915) Directed By Charlie Chaplin 1915 · Feature The Tramp Theatrical release poster Directed by Charlie Chaplin Written by Charlie Chaplin Produced by Jess Robbins Starring Charlie Chaplin Edna Purviance… Internet Archive Krazy Kat: Bugolist 1916 · Cartoon · 3 min While in the woods studying bugs, Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse encounter a sleeping bee and an angry elephant. Based on George Herriman's comic strip Krazy Kat.… Internet Archive "The Escape on the Fast Freight" (1915) starring Helen Holmes 1915 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive [Completion of Northwestern Pacific Rail Road] (Part II) 1914 · Film · Subtitles Golden Spike ceremony and celebration for the completion of the Northwestern Pacific Rail Road, October 23-25, 1914. Film begins a short way north of its… Internet Archive "The Girl From Stormy Croft" (1917) director Victor Sjöström (Seastrom) 1917 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive A Clever Dummy 1917 · Short · 22 min Title: A Clever Dummy Summary: Dummy inventor Samuel Tinker has just developed a new life-sized mechanical dummy. He and his partner, Peter Clay, modeled the… Internet Archive [Opium Destruction, San Francisco 1914] 1914 · Film · Subtitles 1. Government agents burn confiscated opium near new (unfinished) San Francisco City Hall. 2. Agents destroy confiscated Chinese drugs, San Francisco,… Internet Archive Fatty Joins the Force 1913 · Feature · 46 min Title: Fatty Joins the Force Summary: After rescuing the Police Commissioner's daughter from drowning, Fatty is rewarded with a position on the force, but… Internet Archive "The Pay Train" (1915) starring Helen Holmes 1915 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "Her Terrible Ordeal" (1910) director D. W. Griffith, cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1910 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "The Miser's Heart" (1911) director D. W. Griffith, cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1911 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive [Gould can 5314 -- Extra.5] 1918 · Film · Subtitles Additional material to can 5201. Parade celebrating end of World War I in San Francisco. Paraders are all wearing flu masks due to influenza epidemic in force… Internet Archive "The Jazz Band Leader" (1913) director Mack Sennett 1913 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "Tannhauser" (1913) starring Florence La Badie (short version) 1913 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "The Evidence of the Film" (1913) starring Florence La Badie 1913 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "The Clodhopper" (1917) 1917 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive Story of Jewel City, The 1915 · Short · 9 min · Subtitles Fantasy film produced for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Internet Archive "Love's Prisoner" (1919) starring Olive Thomas 1919 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive Bill Sprague Collection : The Exhauster of Professor Mechanist 9.5mm PUBLIC DOMAIN 1919 · Cartoon Another interesting cartoon. Please take any complaints elsewhere. The Bill Sprague Collection does not tolerate them The Bill Sprague Collection tries real… Internet Archive "Max Wants a Divorce" (1917) starring Max Linder and Martha Mansfield 1917 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive America Goes Over (Part V) 1918 · Film · Subtitles Government-produced historical record of major World War I battles. Internet Archive "The Open Track" (1916) starring Helen Gibson 1916 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive [United Railroads Employees Strike] 1917 · Short · 1 min · Subtitles San Francisco: United Railroads employees strike against open shop. Internet Archive The Adventurer (1917) Directed By Charlie Chaplin 1917 · Feature Theatrical release poster Directed by Charlie Chaplin Edward Brewer (technical director) Written by Charlie Chaplin (scenario) Vincent Bryan (scenario)… Internet Archive [Through the Canal Bottom] 1912 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles Scenes of the Panama Canal under construction. Internet Archive Filibus (1915) 1915 · Feature I've been researching newly public domain films from 1929 and earlier, along with other pictures of the era that I find interesting, so I'm uploading the best… Internet Archive "Lightning Bryce" Ep. 1 (1919) starring Jack Hoxie 1919 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive Seeing America's Greatest Chinatown: San Francisco (Part I) 1912 · Film · Subtitles Chinatown, San Francisco, California: Captain Lewis was a licensed Chinatown guide; these films represent what was salvaged from a multi-reel film. Captain…