The Internet Archive has made a huge collection of old stock footage available for download. The films go back over a hundred years!
And, of course, you can go browse and watch as you like. The picture shown is from a silent reel of a nightclub act filmed the in 1930s. There's a long list of subjects to see. Link -via Boing Boing
Internet Archive's 35mm stock footage collection consists of material especially shot for stock footage purposes as well as feature film outtakes and unused material that were conserved for future use in other productions. Rights to this collection are held by Internet Archive. You may download and reuse material under the Creative Commons Attribution License. If you require higher-quality material or a written license agreement, please contact Getty Images for licensing information.
And, of course, you can go browse and watch as you like. The picture shown is from a silent reel of a nightclub act filmed the in 1930s. There's a long list of subjects to see. Link -via Boing Boing