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Hands (1944)

- April 8, 2013 in collections, Films, Films: 1940s, Films: Documentary, Films: Ephemeral, Films: Short, hands, propaganda, war, world war 2, ww2, wwII

“Have you ever thought about what hands can do?”, asks the opening of this short WWII propaganda film from the U.S. Army Pictorial Service. The film is from the Prelinger Archive, housed at the Internet Archive. Note this film is in the public domain in the US, but may not be in other jurisdictions. Please check its status in your jurisdiction before re-using. HELP TO KEEP US AFLOAT The Public Domain Review is a not-for-profit project and we rely on support from our readers to stay afloat. If you like what we do then please do consider making a donation. We welcome all contributions, big or small - everything helps! Become a Patron Small angel : £3.00 GBP - monthly Medium sized hero : £5.00 GBP - monthly Large emperor : £10.00 GBP - monthly Vast deity : £20.00 GBP - monthly Make a one off Donation SIGN UP TO THE NEWSLETTER Sign up to get our free fortnightly newsletter which shall deliver direct to your inbox the latest brand new article and a digest of the most recent collection items. Simply add your details to the form below and click the link you receive via email to confirm your [...]

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The Knife-Throwing Mother and her Children (1950s)

- September 3, 2012 in circus, Films, Films: 1950s, Films: Clip, Films: Documentary, Films: Ephemeral, knife throwing, non-article, texas



The knife-thrower Louella Gallagher throws knives at her daughters Connie Ann, 5, and Colleena Sue, 2.5 yrs old, in Austin, Texas. As the newscaster comments: “…Evidently Colleena Sue has more trust in Mother’s aim than the audience has. It takes a steady eye and a stout heart to heave knives at the apple of your eye, but this female William Tell has no qualms and plenty of faith…” A Universal newsreel story from the Prelinger Archives.

Download from Internet Archive

(Hat tip to Pinterest user Jen Hill through whom we first saw the film).

Note this film is in the public domain in the US, but may not be in other jurisdictions. Please check its status in your jurisdiction before re-using.








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Fashion Parade amongst the Ruins of Rome (1964)

- July 10, 2012 in fashion, Films, Films: 1960s, Films: Clip, Films: Ephemeral, non-article, rome

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In the same year as 1964′s epic blockbuster The Fall of The Roman Empire starring Sophia Loren, Alec Guniess, and James Mason comes this strange little newsreel showing the latest wool fashions being modelled amidst the tourist sites of Rome. The narrator has a particular penchant for the punned quip, and the occasional mysterious phrase – “What does she see amongst the ghosts of Roman Senators? This vibrant at-home naked wool challis in a floral print. Where the ancients praised Caesar she praises the inspiration of its designers”.

Download from Internet Archive

Note this film is in the public domain in the US, but may not be in other jurisdictions. Please check its status in your jurisdiction before re-using.



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  • Cleopatra (1912)

  • Fashion Parade amongst the Ruins of Rome (1964)

  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Interview (1927)

  • Lambeth Walk - Nazi Style (1942)

  • San Francisco Earthquake Aftermath (1906)

  • Development of a Salamander (1920s)

  • Freedom Highway (1956)

  • Rip Van Winkle (1896)

  • First Film Footage From Space (1963)

  • A Farewell To Arms (1932)

  • Farmer plays a song with 'hand-farts' (1933)

  • An Apparent Tour of the Titanic (1912)

  • Passion and Death of Christ (1903)

  • Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)

  • Alice in Wonderland (1915)

  • Prelinger Archive 35mm Stock Footage

  • Out of the Inkwell: The Tantalizing Fly (1919)

  • The Battle of San Pietro (1945)

  • Dog Factory (1904)

  • Time-Lapse Demolition of the Star Theatre, New York (1902)

  • The dream of Mrs L.L. Nicholson from Oakland, California (1924)

  • The Lost World (1925)

  • Gulliver's Travels (1939)

  • The Night Before Christmas (1905)

  • Stella Maris (1918)

  • Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)

  • The Enchanted Drawing (1900)

  • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

  • Your Name Here (1960)

  • Cyrano De Bergerac (1950)

  • American Day in Tripoli, Libya (1962)

  • For The Term of His Natural Life (1927)

  • VD is for Everybody (1969)

  • Thief of Bagdad (1924)

  • Five Minutes To Live (1961)

  • Buffalo Dance (1894)

  • Dutch Fashion Reel (1969)

  • Betty Boop: Minnie The Moocher (1932)

  • Suddenly (1954)

  • The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

  • Operation Cue (1955)

  • Quicksand (1950)

  • Never Weaken (1921)

  • Intolerance (1916)

  • Annie Oakley (1894)

  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910)

  • The Last Man on Earth (1964)

  • The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

  • Scarlet Street (1945)

  • Are You Popular? (1947)

  • Trapeze Disrobing Act (1901)

  • The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)

  • The Kiss (1896)

  • Experiments in the Revival of Organisms (1940)

  • Battleship Potemkin (1925)

  • Reefer Madness (1938)

  • Wolf Blood (1925)

  • The Great Train Robbery (1903)

  • The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895)

  • Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

  • The General (1926)

  • Frankenstein (1910)

  • The Unappreciated Joke (1903)

  • Princess Nicotine (1909)

  • Last of the Mohicans (1920)

  • Meet John Doe (1941)

  • <img src="http://publicdomainreview.org/wp-content/plugins/category-grid-view-gallery/includes/timthumb.php?src=http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/07/10/fashion-parade-amongst-the-ruins-of-rome-1964/http%3A//publicdomainreview.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2011/08/220px-Gertie_the_Dinosaur_poster.jpg&h=200&w=200&zc=1&q=75%22 alt="Gertie The Dinosaur (1914)" title="Gertie The Dinosaur (1914)"/>

    Gertie The Dinosaur (1914)






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    Freedom Highway (1956)

    - May 22, 2012 in america, bus, Films, Films: 1950s, Films: Ephemeral, Films: Short, freedom, greyhound, non-article, patriotism, tex ritter



    In this film from the Prelinger Archives, a Greyhound bus rides from San Fransisco to Washington D.C, transporting us at the same time through the landscape of American mythology (and unwavering patriotism). The cast of bus riders include: Fred Schroder who, embittered by the death of his son in Korea, is riding to Washington to accept a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor on the son’s behalf; Jimmy Rollins, a Scout, heading to Washington for his first Jamboree; Mary (a young Angie Dickinson) and Bill Roberts, a basketball star on the make; actor and country star Tex Ritter, playing himself, taking a short ride on the bus as it passes through Texas, singing about the Alamo and the “freedom road.”; and most importantly, a black-suited mysterious stranger who appears, as if from nowhere, to transform the outlook of the passengers. Greyhound Lines and America have never looked so good. Winner of the Freedoms Foundation Special Award.

    Download from Internet Archive

    Note this film is in the public domain in the US, but may not be in other jurisdictions. Please check its status in your jurisdiction before re-using.








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    Prelinger Archive 35mm Stock Footage

    - March 21, 2012 in 35mm, Films, Films: 1920s, Films: 1930s, Films: 1940s, Films: 1950s, Films: 1960s, Films: Clip, Films: Ephemeral, non-article, prelinger archives, stock footage

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    A fantastic new collection titled “35mm Stock Footage” has recently been uploaded by the Prelinger Archive to the Internet Archive under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Digitized into HD from 35mm original negatives and release prints dating back to the first decade of the 20th century, these unedited sequences were shot for feature films but never used. Much of the footage is “process plates” — film shot for the rear-projection screens you see out of car, taxi and train windows in old movies. Here we have included a few highlights from the bunch – above: miniature shots of a flooding river carrying away a model house and a small plane crashing in the jungle – below: various war related footage including beautiful shots of a convoy of tanks crossing a river at night under fire, and beneath that aerial footage of military planes in flight (with some athletes running round a track sneaking in at the end).





    We also recommend checking out the outtakes from these early shorts.

    Note these film are in the public domain in the US, but may not be in other jurisdictions. Please check its status in your jurisdiction before re-using.



    < div class="cgview light"> < ul id="cg-ul">

  • Passion and Death of Christ (1903)

  • Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)

  • Alice in Wonderland (1915)

  • Prelinger Archive 35mm Stock Footage

  • Out of the Inkwell: The Tantalizing Fly (1919)

  • The Battle of San Pietro (1945)

  • Dog Factory (1904)

  • Time-Lapse Demolition of the Star Theatre, New York (1902)

  • The dream of Mrs L.L. Nicholson from Oakland, California (1924)

  • The Lost World (1925)

  • Gulliver's Travels (1939)

  • The Night Before Christmas (1905)

  • Stella Maris (1918)

  • Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)

  • The Enchanted Drawing (1900)

  • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

  • Your Name Here (1960)

  • Cyrano De Bergerac (1950)

  • American Day in Tripoli, Libya (1962)

  • For The Term of His Natural Life (1927)

  • VD is for Everybody (1969)

  • Thief of Bagdad (1924)

  • Five Minutes To Live (1961)

  • Buffalo Dance (1894)

  • Dutch Fashion Reel (1969)

  • Betty Boop: Minnie The Moocher (1932)

  • Suddenly (1954)

  • The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

  • Operation Cue (1955)

  • Quicksand (1950)

  • Never Weaken (1921)

  • Intolerance (1916)

  • Annie Oakley (1894)

  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910)

  • The Last Man on Earth (1964)

  • The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

  • Scarlet Street (1945)

  • Are You Popular? (1947)

  • Trapeze Disrobing Act (1901)

  • The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)

  • The Kiss (1896)

  • Experiments in the Revival of Organisms (1940)

  • Battleship Potemkin (1925)

  • Reefer Madness (1938)

  • Wolf Blood (1925)

  • The Great Train Robbery (1903)

  • The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895)

  • Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

  • The General (1926)

  • Frankenstein (1910)

  • The Unappreciated Joke (1903)

  • Princess Nicotine (1909)

  • Last of the Mohicans (1920)

  • Meet John Doe (1941)

  • <img src="http://publicdomainreview.org/wp-content/plugins/category-grid-view-gallery/includes/timthumb.php?src=http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/03/21/prelinger-archive-35mm-stock-footage/http%3A//publicdomainreview.org/files/2011/08/220px-Gertie_the_Dinosaur_poster.jpg&h=200&w=200&zc=1&q=75%22 alt="Gertie The Dinosaur (1914)" title="Gertie The Dinosaur (1914)"/>

    Gertie The Dinosaur (1914)

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    Comments Off on Prelinger Archive 35mm Stock Footage