Spice Up Your Classes with Classic Newsreels

Great resource for educators in just about any discipline - Universal Newsreels from 1929 to 1967. This collection (currently 601 items) has been released into the public domain and made available at the Internet Archive (link below). You can search the collection by subject or keyword, or browse the entire collection. The videos can be embedded in your website or online course, and even downloaded in a variety of formats. No matter what you teach or even if you're just a history buff, this collection is worth a look.



Internet Archive: Free Downloads: Universal Newsreels:

In the pre-TV era, people saw the news every week in their neighborhood movie theaters. Newsreels were shown before every feature film and in dedicated newsreel theaters located in large cities. Universal Newsreel, produced from 1929 to 1967, was released twice a week. Each issue contained six or seven short stories, usually one to two minutes in length, covering world events, politics, sports, fashion, and whatever else might entertain the movie audience. These newsreels offer a fascinating and unique view of an era when motion pictures defined our culture and were a primary source of visual news reporting.

Universal City Studios gifted Universal Newsreel to the American people, put the newsreels into the public domain, and gave film materials to the National Archives in 1976. Surviving materials from the entire collection are available at the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland.