Public-domain cinema
Stories from the archive.
Vintage cinema, animation and documentaries. Watch free from the beginning in TVTube’s player.
Short film
A Is for Atom
1953 · 15m
Animated characters explain the building blocks of matter and imagine the industrial uses of nuclear energy in this optimistic mid-century science film.
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Documentary
A Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire
1906 · 12m
A camera rides a cable car through San Francisco in 1906, recording a busy street shared by pedestrians, horse-drawn vehicles and early motorcars.
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Documentary
All-American Soap Box Derby (1936)
1936 · 10m
Young racers and their homemade vehicles take part in the early Soap Box Derby competition in Akron, Ohio.
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Documentary
Bacteria: Friend and Foe
Undated · 10m
An early science-classroom film examines bacteria and their place in human life, reflecting the educational methods of its era.
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Documentary
Banks and Credits
1948 · 11m
A classroom film introduces the role of banks and credit in everyday economic life, offering a snapshot of how finance was taught in the late 1940s.
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Documentary
Boulder Dam
Undated · 35m
A government-sponsored documentary follows the construction of Boulder Dam and the engineering work behind a vast water-infrastructure project.
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Short film
Carving Magic
Undated · 21m
A vintage Swift-sponsored film turns the art of carving meat into a mid-century kitchen demonstration.
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Documentary
Cities: How They Grow
1952 · 9m
An educational film considers the development of cities and the planning questions that accompany urban growth.
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Short film
Communication
1928 · 19m
A silent instructional film uses animated diagrams to explore early electronic communication and the technology of the telephone.
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Documentary
Connecticut
Undated · 8m
An archival educational portrait of Connecticut, preserved as a colour travel and geography film.
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Short film
Design for Dreaming
1956 · 9m
A dreamlike musical journey moves from a glamorous motor show to a futuristic kitchen, turning mid-century consumer technology into a theatrical spectacle.
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Documentary
Duck and Cover
1951 · 9m
Bert the Turtle introduces a Cold War civil-defence lesson that combines animation with scenes of schoolchildren rehearsing responses to an atomic attack.
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Documentary
Facts About Film
1948 · 10m
An educational short introduces motion-picture film and projection, preserving the practical world of classroom cinema.
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Documentary
Give Yourself the Green Light
1954 · 22m
An advocacy film makes the case for a national highway network, capturing the ambitions of America's growing car culture in 1954.
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Documentary
Golden Gate City
Undated · 10m
A short city portrait visits San Francisco and its landmarks in the style of an early theatrical travelogue.
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Documentary
Industry on Parade: Plastic Age Anniversary
Undated · 8m
This instalment of an industrial newsreel turns to plastics and their growing place in manufacturing and consumer life.
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Documentary
Long Distance
1941 · 15m
A 1941 film traces the networks that carried voices across America, linking the story of communication with the growth of nationwide infrastructure.
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Documentary
Manhattan Waterfront
Undated · 10m
A vintage travelogue surveys Manhattan's waterfront, showing the city's relationship with its rivers, working shores and transport routes.
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Documentary
Mechanical Engineering at duPont
Undated · 21m
A sponsored film presents mechanical engineering within DuPont's industrial world, connecting scientific work with manufacturing.
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Documentary
News Parade of 1945
1945 · 3m
A brief surviving newsreel edition presents scenes associated with the final year of the Second World War.
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Documentary
Newspaper Story
1950 · 16m
Follow a newspaper report from gathering facts and photographs through editing, typesetting, printing and delivery in a pre-digital newsroom.
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Documentary
Roads to Romance
Undated · 12m
A sponsored road-trip travelogue visits destinations in Arizona, California and Michigan, presenting the automobile as a gateway to American holidays.
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Documentary
Sailing Along
Undated · 11m
A Plymouth-sponsored film presents automobile engineering through the promotional filmmaking of Wilding Picture Productions.
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Documentary
San Francisco 1939
1939 · 14m
Archival city footage offers a window into San Francisco as it appeared in 1939.
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32 matching films