The world's archives

2,881–2,928 of 18,145 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 ''Ronald Colman T.V.'' - A String of Beads 1954 · TV · 24 min · Subtitles IMDb says this aired as part of anthology series "Four Star Playhouse" on 21 January 1954. Cast includes a very attractive Angela Lansbury. Internet Archive ''General Electric Theater'' - Winner by Decision 1955 · TV · 25 min · Subtitles An episode of the anthology series "General Electric Theater". This dramatic episode features Harry Belafonte & Ethel Waters, and originally aired 6 November… Internet Archive 3rd Vanguard Successful - Moon Launcher, 1958/03/17 1958 · Newsreel · Subtitles (1) Navy launched successful Vanguard satellite on 3-stage rocket after 2 recent failures, launch tiny 6-inch "moon"(partial newsreel). Internet Archive The Crooked Web (1955) 1955 · Feature Government agent tries to trick a suspect into returning to Germany, the scene of his crimes. Watch on RetroFlix: https://retroflix.org/the-crooked-web-1955/ Internet Archive ''Four Star Playhouse'' - Never Explain 1954 · TV · 25 min · Subtitles An episode of the popular anthology series "Four Star Playhouse". This episode stars David Niven as a man who refuses to have his kids go to regular school.… Internet Archive Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1959 Road Hog, W Richard Chamberlain) 1959 · TV · 22 min PLOT : A very rude traveling salesman forces a truck off the road, causing a delay in emergency care for an injured young man, who dies. STORYLINE : Ed Fratus… Internet Archive A Bucket of Blood (1959) 1959 · Feature Nerdy Walter Paisley, a maladroit busboy at a beatnik café who doesn't fit in with the cool scene around him, attempts to woo his beautiful co-worker, Carla,… Internet Archive "Meet Corliss Archer" - Friends Forever 1954 · TV · 25 min · Subtitles Episode "Friends Forever" of the typical 50's sitcom "Meet Corliss Archer" (1954-1955). Internet Archive ''Telephone Time'' - The Intruder 1957 · TV · 24 min · Subtitles An episode of the 1950s half-hour anthology series. This episode aired 1957, and is set in 1956. It is about a housewife and her son, who are held hostage. It… Internet Archive Magoo's Private War (1957) 1957 · Feature The near-sighted Mr. Magoo takes his duties as an Air Raid Warden, in the civil-defense, cold-war/iron curtain days of the 1950s, seriously. When he stumbles… Internet Archive "The Buccaneers" Dan Tempest and the Amazons 1956 · TV · Subtitles "The Buccaneers" Dan Tempest and the Amazons Original Air Date: 5 December 1956 (Season 1, Episode 12) Internet Archive The Child In The Middle 1956 · Educational · Subtitles UCLA Department of Theater Arts thesis film on the importance of parent-teacher conferences and how they can help identify behavioral problems in school and… Internet Archive Commando Cody, Sky Marshal of the Universe colorized 1955 · TV When we are attacked from outer space by an unknown enemy, a masked super-scientist (Judd Holdren) builds an atomic-powered space ship to travel to the source… Internet Archive "Medic" Flash of Darkness 1955 · TV · Subtitles "Medic" Flash of Darkness Original Air Date: 14 February 1955 (Season 1, Episode 17) Internet Archive The Corsage (Suspense) 1952 · TV · 25 min · Subtitles Policeman Brian Keith seeks the killer of a young woman. A good script by Halsted Welles. The classic song "My Heart Cries for You" is heard. Aired 13 May… Internet Archive Offshore Drilling 1958 · Film · Subtitles Shows offshore oil drilling off the coast of California. Internet Archive [Home Movies: Fire 6/28/1953] 1953 · Home movie · Subtitles Interesting, somewhat enigmatic firefighting footage shot in a mountain environment, probably southern California. Internet Archive Date with the Angels - High Fever 1957 · TV · 25 min · Subtitles An episode of the 1957-1958 TV sitcom "Date with the Angels", starring Betty White. In this episode, Gus is sick, so Vicki arranges for a doctor to see… Internet Archive Howdy Doody - 1 June 1953 1953 · TV · 29 min · Subtitles An episode of the popular children's TV series. Includes original commercials for Royal Gelatin Desserts. Also includes original network IDs. Internet Archive Brothers and Sisters - filmstrip 1953 · Film Little Steve wishes that he didn't have so many siblings. But when he dreams that his siblings all go away, is he really happy? This ZIP file contains each… Internet Archive ''Four Star Playhouse'' - Tusitala 1955 · TV · 26 min · Subtitles Episode of half-hour anthology series. This episode stars David Niven, and is a period drama set in 1893. He portrays a man trying to stop a war from… Internet Archive Let's Face It (Part 1) 1952 · Film · Subtitles begins with great rotating globe moving closer to camera and stopping on United States Internet Archive Round Trip: The USA in World Trade 1952 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles Workers discuss globalization half a century ago. Internet Archive Man against Crime: Murder Mountain 1953 · TV · 25 min · Subtitles Private detective Mike Barnett encounters mysterious activity while staying at a motel in the Adirondacks. This series is also known as "Follow That Man".… Internet Archive ''Four Star Playhouse'' - Red Wine 1956 · TV · 25 min · Subtitles An episode of the 1950s anthology TV series "Four Star Playhouse". This episode stars David Niven, and features John Banner in a small role. Originally aired… Internet Archive "The Buccaneers" Conquest of New Providence 1957 · TV · Subtitles "The Buccaneers" Conquest of New Providence Original Air Date: 6 March 1957 (Season 1, Episode 25) Internet Archive ''Frankie Laine Time'' - 5 September 1956 1956 · TV · 58 min · Subtitles An episode of the summer replacement variety series "Frankie Laine Time". Guests include the singer popular with youth (Johnnie Ray), the comedian (Gene… Internet Archive Edge of Doom (1950) 1950 · Feature A priest sets out to catch the man who killed one of his colleagues. Watch on RetroFlix.org: https://retroflix.org/edge-of-doom-1950/ Internet Archive The Crooked Web 1955 ★★★ CC: Crime/Film-Noir [1:17:02] 1955 · Feature · 1 h 17 min The Crooked Web is a 1955 crime film noir directed by Nathan Juran and starring Frank Lovejoy, Mari Blanchard and Richard Denning. A restaurant owner becomes… Internet Archive Air Defenses, 1955/08/18 1955 · Newsreel (1) radar scanners, Chicago Nike base, ocean radar earling warning Texas tower 100 miles off east coast being constructed (2) more violence in South Korea,… Internet Archive ''Ford Star Jubilee'' - You're the Top 1956 · TV · 1 h 25 min · Subtitles Performances of Cole Porter songs, broadcast 6 October 1956 on CBS. Please note that this copy is incomplete, and for some reason parts of the broadcast are… Internet Archive The Purple Plain (1954) 1954 · Feature An RAF airfield in Burma in 1945, during World War II. Canadian bomber pilot Bill Forrester is a bitter man who lives haunted by a tragic past. He has became… Internet Archive Stars in the Eye 1952 · TV · 59 min · Subtitles A 15/November/1952 TV special featuring many of the the major CBS stars of the era, plus a few that have fallen into obscurity. Picture quality is terrible,… Internet Archive ''Four Star Playhouse'' - Uncle Fred Flits By 1955 · TV · 25 min · Subtitles Amusing episode of the popular 1950s half-hour anthology TV series. This episode stars David Niven as an eccentric Earl, and is a comedy episode set in… Internet Archive I Was a Shoplifter (1950) 1950 · Feature A police detective uses any means possible to trap a gang of shoplifters. Watch on RetroFlix.org: https://retroflix.org/i-was-a-shoplifter-1950/ Internet Archive American Road, The 1953 · Film · Subtitles Shows development of transportation in the United States during the first half of the 20th century, emphasizing growth of automobile industry, roads and… Internet Archive A Rebuttle to ''A Date with Your Family'' 1953 · TV · 13 min · Subtitles This is a rebuttle to both ''A Date with Your Family'', a movie usually seen as "an accurate account of 50's culture", and is also a rebuttle to the reviews… Internet Archive American Engineer 1956 · Film · Subtitles Internet Archive Nightmare (1956) 1956 · Feature Nightmare is a 1956 American film noir crime film directed by Maxwell Shane and starring Edward G. Robinson, Kevin McCarthy and Connie Russell. Watch on… Internet Archive ''Four Star Playhouse'' - The Doctor and the Countess 1954 · TV · 25 min · Subtitles Popular half-hour anthology series of the 1950s. This episode stars Charles Boyer and Paula Raymond. In this episode, Boyer portrays a plastic surgeon who… Internet Archive ''The Colgate Summer Comedy Hour'' - 8 August 1954 1954 · TV · 52 min · Subtitles An episode of "The Colgate Summer Comedy Hour", with guests The Gaylords, Connie Russell, Jay Lawrence, Gene Sheldon, and the Will Maston Trio (with Sammy… Internet Archive Longines Chronoscope: Herman Talmadge 1954 · TV · Subtitles April 14, 1954 Participants: Herman Talmadge, Governor of Georgia, interviewed by Larry Lesueur and Kenneth Crawford. Topics: Democratic Party, school… Internet Archive Activity Group Therapy 1950 · Film · Subtitles A report on the selection of cases for activity group therapy, the conduct of the therapeutic sessions and the personality developments of a group of… Internet Archive The Larkins 1x 01 Wide Open House 1958 · TV · Subtitles Early British sitcom from the 1950s, starring David Kossoff and Peggy Mount as Alf and Ada Larkins, living in disorder with their son, daughter, and her… Internet Archive Misc episode of ''You Asked For It'' #6 1951 · TV · 29 min · Subtitles Another misc episode of the 1950s American television series "You Asked for It", featuring the following: A race between an abacus and a then-modern… Internet Archive Eisenhower Re-Elected, 1956/11/05 1956 · Newsreel · Subtitles (1) Ike and Mamie wave to crowd, gives V-sign with Nixon (2) "Cease Fire. Eden Orders Move In Egypt Invasion" - Israeli units move thru Sinai, Gaza Strip;… Internet Archive Escandalo Nocturno (1951) 1951 · Feature Escándalo nocturno es una película en blanco y negro de Argentina dirigida por Juan Carlos Thorry sobre el guion de Julio Porter según la obra teatral de… Internet Archive Guided Missile. Navy Tests Newest Atomic War Weapon, 1956/02/09 1956 · Newsreel · Subtitles Controversy over guided missile program; Regalus launched from ship (partial newsreel)