The world's archives

3,121–3,168 of 6,020 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 CROPS AND KILOWATTS [ETC.] 1922 · Educational CROPS AND KILOWATTS [ETC.] Produced: 1922 Description Shows crops, cultivated under irrigation, and hydroelectric developments in the national forests of the… Internet Archive WATCHING THE WEATHER ABOVE 1925 · Educational WATCHING THE WEATHER ABOVE Produced: 1925 Description Shows Weather Bureau forecasting operations. Reel 1, weather kites, with meteorographs attached, are… Internet Archive HARVESTING COTTON BY SLEDDING 1927 · Educational HARVESTING COTTON BY SLEDDING Produced: 1927 Description Shows sleds designed to strip cotton plants. Explains the operation of the equipment, pointing out… Internet Archive FIRE FIGHTING FOREST RANGERS OF ARIZONA 1921 · Educational FIRE FIGHTING FOREST RANGERS OF ARIZONA Produced: 1921 https://catalog.archives.gov/id/12810 Internet Archive [FARM PROGRESS: FORDSON TRACTOR ADVERTISEMENT] 1924 · Commercial [FARM PROGRESS: FORDSON TRACTOR ADVERTISEMENT] Produced: 1924 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as… Internet Archive Boat Races 1920 · Educational Boat Races 1920 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: River, shoreline, small boats race by, yacht… Internet Archive Henry Ford and Edsel Ford with Others / Ford Farm 1922 · Educational Henry Ford and Edsel Ford with Others / Ford Farm Produced: 1922 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as… Internet Archive Horseback Riding / Threshing With the Flail / Forging 1923 · Educational Horseback Riding / Threshing With the Flail / Forging Produced: 1923 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as… Internet Archive [HORSE DRIVEN GRAIN SEPARATOR IN OPERATION] 1923 · Educational [HORSE DRIVEN GRAIN SEPARATOR IN OPERATION] Produced: 1923 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows:… Internet Archive SON OF THE SOIL, A.TAKEN ON HENRY GAU'S HORSELESS FARM NEAR PIERZ, MINNESOTA 1920 · Educational SON OF THE SOIL, A.TAKEN ON HENRY GAU'S HORSELESS FARM NEAR PIERZ, MINNESOTA Produced: 1920 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford… Internet Archive [CITY AND COUNTRY SCENES] 1920 · Educational [CITY AND COUNTRY SCENES] 1920 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: City business district,… Internet Archive HOF 085 1929 1929 · Home movie Ellwood F. Hoffmann (1885-1966) Home Movie Collection Ellwood Hoffmann dropped out of school in 6th grade and went to work sweeping the floors at a hosiery… Internet Archive [Home Movies: Surgical Operation, 1925] 1925 · Home movie · Subtitles Internet Archive CRANBERRIES 1922 · Educational CRANBERRIES Produced: 1922 Description Shows how cranberry bogs are constructed; how cranberries are planted, cultivated, and picked; and how the fungus which… Internet Archive BEETS FROM SEED TO SUGAR BOWL 1923 · Educational BEETS FROM SEED TO SUGAR BOWL Produced: 1923 Description Sugar beets are grown and beet sugar is processed near Blissfield, Michigan. Beets are planted,… Internet Archive DUAL PURPOSE TREES 1925 · Educational DUAL PURPOSE TREES Produced: 1925 Description Shows proper and improper methods of "cupping" pine trees for turpentine. Emphasizes that only mature trees… Internet Archive ROAD BUILDING IN THE UNITED STATES 1925 · Educational ROAD BUILDING IN THE UNITED STATES Produced: 1925 Description Various types of roads are constructed. Illustrates advantages of each type. Reel 1, top-soil… Internet Archive THE ROAD GOES THROUGH 1925 · Educational THE ROAD GOES THROUGH Produced: 1925 Description Timber is cut, brush is cleared, road beds are graded, rock is crushed, bridges are constructed over mountain… Internet Archive ROCKY MOUNTAIN PARK ROADS 1927 · Educational ROCKY MOUNTAIN PARK ROADS Produced: 1927 Description Shows scenery and road construction by the Bureau of Public Roads in the Rocky Mountain National Park.… Internet Archive Small Boy and Mother 1927 · Educational Small Boy and Mother Produced: 1927 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: John Dahlinger in… Internet Archive Commercial Airplane Reliability Tour 1929 · Commercial Commercial Airplane Reliability Tour Produced: 1929 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: Group of… Internet Archive Glass Making / Costumed Women In Old House 1926 · Educational Glass Making / Costumed Women In Old House Produced: 1926 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: a.… Internet Archive A Merry Christmas to All / Henry Ford II and Benson Ford / A Day As Lumberjacks / Cattle In Corral 1926 · Educational A Merry Christmas to All / Henry Ford II and Benson Ford / A Day As Lumberjacks / Cattle In Corral Produced: 1926 Description The original catalog description… Internet Archive Ford Brazil / Henry Ford Hospital / Coast to Coast Dance Tour 1929 · Educational Ford Brazil / Henry Ford Hospital / Coast to Coast Dance Tour Produced: 1929 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company… Internet Archive [TOUR THROUGH THE ROUGE PLANTS, A]. PART 3 1926 · Educational [TOUR THROUGH THE ROUGE PLANTS, A]. PART 3 Produced: 1926 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows:… Internet Archive HOF 130 1928 1928 · Home movie Ellwood F. Hoffmann (1885-1966) Home Movie Collection Ellwood Hoffmann dropped out of school in 6th grade and went to work sweeping the floors at a hosiery… Internet Archive The Three Stooges - Tape 2_3 (VHS Rip From The Family Channel) 1922 · Film 00:00 "Who Done It" 15:09 "Love At First Bite" 28:29 "Crash Goes The Hash" 42:47 "Busy Buddies" 57:50 "I'm A Monkey's Uncle" 1:10:32 "Whoops, I'm An Indian!"… Internet Archive FIRST CAVALRY DIVISION MANEUVERS, MARFA, TEXAS (1923) 1923 · Educational FIRST CAVALRY DIVISION MANEUVERS, MARFA, TEXAS (1923) Produced: 1923 Description Reel 1, the 7th Cavalry Reg deploys for an attack. 82nd F. A. troops fire… Internet Archive HALTING FOREIGN PLANT FOES 1922 · Educational HALTING FOREIGN PLANT FOES Produced: 1922 Description Shows precautions taken by Customs agents to prevent the entry of foreign agricultural pests into the… Internet Archive HARVESTING UNCLE SAM'S TIMBER 1926 · Educational HARVESTING UNCLE SAM'S TIMBER Produced: 1926 Description Emphasizes the value of selective logging and forest fire precautions in insuring a continuing lumber… Internet Archive ROADS IN OUR NATIONAL PARKS 1927 · Educational ROADS IN OUR NATIONAL PARKS Produced: 1927 Description Consists mostly of scenic views of six national parks: Yosemite, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Mt. Rainier,… Internet Archive Henry Ford, Family, and Friends 1920 · Educational Henry Ford, Family, and Friends Produced: 1920 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: Boys riding… Internet Archive MADE GAME 1920 · Educational MADE GAME Produced: 1920 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: “When the center snaps the ball… Internet Archive Making Upholstery Cloth: The Ford Industries 1926 · Educational Making Upholstery Cloth: The Ford Industries Produced: 1926 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows:… Internet Archive Ford Exhibit, State Fair / Tri-Motor Airplane 1926 · Educational Ford Exhibit, State Fair / Tri-Motor Airplane 1926 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: a. Large… Internet Archive LIFE OF THE CORN BORER 1927 · Educational LIFE OF THE CORN BORER Produced: 1927 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: “In the great struggle… Internet Archive Are You a Piker? / A Visit to the Ford Motor Company 1921 · Educational Are You a Piker? / A Visit to the Ford Motor Company Produced: 1921 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as… Internet Archive Sex Life Of A Polyp 1928 · Short Short subject comedy with Robert Benchley Internet Archive Goldwyn Pictures Logo 1920 1920 · Film 1920 Goldwyn Pictures logo. Don't be afraid of the lion. He's not going to bite you. Internet Archive SHAM BATTLE, R.O.T.C. STUDENTS. GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY....1920 1920 · Educational SHAM BATTLE, R.O.T.C. STUDENTS. GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY....1920 Produced: 1920 Description R.O.T.C. students at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., stage… Internet Archive THE MEDICAL SERVICE WITH INFANTRY IN COMBAT 1925 · Educational THE MEDICAL SERVICE WITH INFANTRY IN COMBAT Produced: 1925 Description On medical activities in the field. Reel 1 shows components of medical units attached… Internet Archive FOUR HUNDRED MILLION CHICKENS 1923 · Educational FOUR HUNDRED MILLION CHICKENS Produced: 1923 Description Shows how chicken farming can be a profitable venture under proper management. Illustrates the type… Internet Archive CASSINA 1924 · Educational CASSINA Produced: 1924 Description Dramatizes the use, by southern Indians and Confederate soldiers in the Civil War, of the fruit of the cassina bush to make… Internet Archive TREES OF TOMORROW 1924 · Educational TREES OF TOMORROW Produced: 1924 Description Dramatizes the necessity for reforestation of the pine forests of Connecticut. Reel 1 shows flashbacks of… Internet Archive WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE 1924 · Educational WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE Produced: 1924 Description Dramatizes the value of regularly testing cows for their milk and butter fat production and ridding the herd… Internet Archive BOARD FEET OR BORED TIMBER? 1925 · Educational BOARD FEET OR BORED TIMBER? Produced: 1925 Description Shows life cycles of wormhole borers (hickory borer, ambrosia beetle, etc.) and prescribes methods of… Internet Archive SHORT COURSE, THE 1925 · Educational SHORT COURSE, THE Produced: 1925 Description Members of 4-H clubs in Louisiana attend agriculture classes at Louisiana State University. Shows classes… Internet Archive [SCRAPPING A SHIP] 1927 · Educational [SCRAPPING A SHIP] Produced: 1927 Description The original catalog description provided by the Ford Motor Company reads as follows: View of ship - ships lined…