The world's archives

529–576 of 18,597 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 A Town Like Alice 1956 · Feature · 1 h 51 min Title: A Town Like Alice Summary: A newly wealthy English woman returns to Malaya to build a well for the villagers who helped her during war. Thinking back,… Internet Archive Operation Cue (1955) 1955 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Eerie nuclear tests on houses and dummies at the Nevada Test Site. Internet Archive Ways to Settle Disputes 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Everyday incidents at school and at play teach Alice, Jerry and Eddie to resolve conflicts by compromise, by obeying rules, by finding facts, or finding… Internet Archive This Is Automation 1955 · Film · Subtitles a bunch of promising stock shots workers walking into factory cookies on mass production line much more three executives examining large plant model Internet Archive 5 Fingers 1952 · Feature · 1 h 35 min Title: 5 Fingers Summary: During WWII the valet to the British Ambassador to Ankara sells British secrets to the Germans while trying to romance a refugee… Internet Archive Caltiki, the Immortal Monster 1959 · Feature Title: Caltiki, the Immortal Monster Summary: Archaeologists investigating some Mayan ruins come across a blob-like monster. They manage to destroy it with… Internet Archive Rock 'N Roll Revue 1955 · Short · 37 min Master of ceremonies Willie Bryant hosts an eventful evening of music and comedy captured live at the Apollo Theater and featuring such popular artists as Nat… Internet Archive Sherlock Holmes - The Case of the Belligerent Ghost 1954 · TV · 27 min · Subtitles The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes "The Case of the Belligerent Ghost" Originally aired November 15, 1954. Watson is quite flustered after a man in… Internet Archive Ulcer at Work 1957 · Short · 28 min · Subtitles Excellent noir-type film about pressures facing a white-collar worker whose ulcer drives him to psychological extremes. "Ulcer at Work" portrays the struggles… Internet Archive Fun of Being Thoughtful, The 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Social guidance film for teenagers encouraging insight into the motives, tastes and desires of others. Internet Archive I, the Jury 1953 · Feature · 1 h 27 min Title: I, the Jury Summary: Dectective Mike Hammer is determined to catch and kill the person who shot his close friend dead, so he follows clues that lead to… Internet Archive As We Like It 1952 · Film · Subtitles Beer promotional film. "Sparkling, golden, pure, refreshing, a beverage as old as history." Summary: This film is a promotional defense of the American beer… Internet Archive Right or Wrong? (Making Moral Decisions) 1951 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Assessing the behavior of a juvenile delinquent who refuses to rat on his companions. Internet Archive Royal Wedding 1951 · Feature · 1 h 32 min Title: Royal Wedding Summary: A brother and sister dance act encounter challenges and romance when booked in London during the Royal Wedding. Directed by:… Internet Archive Black Widow (1954) Ginger Rogers, George Raft, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney - Film Noir Full Movie 1954 · Feature Black Widow is a 1954 mystery film with elements of film noir, written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson and starring Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene… Internet Archive I Bury the Living 1958 · Feature · 1 h 16 min · Subtitles Title: I Bury the Living Summary: Cemetery director Robert Kraft discovers that by arbitrarily changing the status of plots from empty to occupied on the… Internet Archive The St. Louis Bank Robbery 1959 · Feature · 1 h 28 min Title: The St. Louis Bank Robbery Summary: A gang's plans for a St. Louis bank robbery are complicated when the sister of one of the thieves starts voicing… Internet Archive In Our Hands, Part 1: How We Got What We Have 1950 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles How economic progress comes from the accumulation of privately owned tools of production; demonstrates the need for tools by showing a young couple with their… Internet Archive Th Angry Red Planet (1959) 1959 · Feature The Angry Red Planet is a 1959 American science-fiction film directed by Ib Melchior, featuring a crew's expedition to Mars where they encounter strange… Internet Archive Why Braceros? 1959 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles Produced to justify the bracero farm labor program to the general public, especially American citizens in California who felt threatened by the influx of… Internet Archive New Seven-Function Remote Control for Color 1959 · Short · 3 min · Subtitles Promotes an early version of the television remote control. We have the picture, but not the soundtrack of this film. Internet Archive Captain Z-ro - Atilla The Hun 1955 · Feature · Subtitles Episode 11 of the syndicated filmed series. Captain Z-ro uses his time machine to protect humankind at various junctions in history. Public domain status:… Internet Archive Story of Television, The 1956 · Film · Subtitles Shows efforts of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in the creation, development and introduction of the all-electronic TV system; explains how science… Internet Archive Lay That Rifle Down 1955 · Feature Title: Lay That Rifle Down Summary: Judy works for a pittance as a char in her aunt's hotel. To add spice to her life she enrols on a charm course but it's a… Internet Archive Open Road A 1951 · Film · Subtitles Educational film about how steel is used to make highways, including problems that occur with time and use. Internet Archive The Atomic Submarine 1959 colorized (Arthur Franz) 1959 · Feature When shipping starts mysteriously disappearing on routes across the Arctic Sea, a submarine is equipped with a special deep exploration device and sent to… Internet Archive Our Home Town: Levittown, Pa. 1954 · Short · 21 min · Subtitles Advertising film presenting landmarks, businesses and people of a well-known Philadelphia suburb, one of the planned communities built by William Levitt & Sons. Internet Archive Skyline New York 1956 · Film · Subtitles 01:01:46:21 CU 1950s father says “That’s a good even Steven proposition, Mother your daughter’s a born bargainer.” 01:01:52:04 CU 1950s mother with look of… Internet Archive Apur Sansay ( Apu Trilogy Pt. 3) 1959 · Feature By the time Apur Sansar was released, Satyajit Ray had directed not only the first two Apu films but also the masterpiece The Music Room, and was well on his… Internet Archive Am I Trustworthy? 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles How a child learns to return borrowed items, keep promises and fulfill assignments. Internet Archive [Soldier With Big Feet] 1950 · Newsreel · 1 min · Subtitles Soldier at Presidio of San Francisco wears size 16 AAA shoes; the army has none in stock in his size. Newsreel story. Internet Archive Vision in the Forest 1957 · Short · 5 min · Subtitles While country music singer Vaughn Monroe camps with his family in a beautiful forest, one of his daughters encounters a talking Smokey Bear in a clearing and… Internet Archive Mainline U.S.A. 1957 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles Importance of railroads in the U.S. economy, with many great running views of freight and passenger trains. Internet Archive Mullinaires, The 1953 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles A chorus of kitchen salesmen sings an inspirational song to rally the rest of the troops. Internet Archive [News Magazine of the Screen, December 1950] (Part I) 1950 · Newsreel · 14 min · Subtitles Newsreel stories reformatted for educational presentation, including the assassination attempt on President Harry S. Truman. Internet Archive Sudden Fear (1952) Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame - Film Noir 1952 · Feature Sudden Fear Is a 1952 American film noir thriller directed by David Miller, and starring Joan Crawford, Gloria Grahame and Jack Palance. The screenplay by… Internet Archive Open Road B 1951 · Film · Subtitles Educational film about how steel is used to make highways, including problems that occur with time and use. Internet Archive The Flavor Of Green Tea Over Rice 1952 · Feature One of the ineffably lovely domestic sagas made by Yasujiro Ozu at the height of his mastery, The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice is a sublimely piercing… Internet Archive Flying with Arthur Godfrey (Part II) 1953 · Commercial · 24 min · Subtitles TV host Arthur Godfrey takes controls of a passenger plane to demonstrate airline operations. Internet Archive Facing Reality 1954 · Short · 11 min · Subtitles Surreal presentation of the common ways in which people escape from reality -- daydreaming, identification, suppression and malingering. Internet Archive Activity Group Therapy (Part I) 1950 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Shows socially-maladjusted boys 10 to 11 years old being benefitted therapeutically by "acting out" their disturbances upon their environment and each other… Internet Archive Helping Johnny Remember 1956 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles Surreal social guidance film showing the problems of a boy rejected by other children because he is selfish, uncooperative and domineering. Internet Archive Behind the Freedom Curtain 1957 · Short · 17 min · Subtitles Sales film for voting machines, promoting them as engines of governmental efficiency and practical democracy. Internet Archive Leave It to Beaver (The Complete Series) [1957 - 1963] 1957 · TV The 1984 Revival Show: The New Leave It to Beaver / Still the Beaver Leave It to Beaver is an American television sitcom that follows the misadventures of a… Internet Archive Show 'Em the Road (Part II) 1954 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Southern California teenagers join the Mobilgas "Safety and Economy" competition, driving from the Los Angeles area to the Inland Empire, the desert, to Las… Internet Archive Airport America 1954 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles Advocates increased airport construction, especially in rural America. Describes the centrality of general aviation to the U.S. economy. With many images of… Internet Archive Old man Hottabych 1956 · Feature · 1 h 20 min The fantastic comedy is removed on the fairy tale of Lazar Lagin with the same name. 12-year-old Moscow schoolboy Volka, bathing in the Moskva River, finds… Internet Archive Holiday from Rules? 1959 · Short · 10 min · Subtitles "Lord of the Flies" from an adult's point of view, starring four willful and confused children.