YouTube is still one of the main and most used platforms that function as a social network. Users generally share videos, hence there is the possibility of being able to watch full movies for free. However, there are copyrights and certain regulations that limit the content of the page so as not to fall into obstructions of the law. This time I present some of the movies that you can watch on YouTube for free and legally and that it has quite interesting plots. If you are a fan of classic movies, you cannot stop reading the content I have prepared!
While it is true that streaming platforms have a large part of the market among their users, YouTube represents a free option with options that are not available on other platforms. We can find everything from documentaries to great movie classics! I invite you to continue reading so that you discover the best that YouTube has in a matter of classic feature films that are not subject to copyright.
The options that I present correspond to the time when technology was very far from what we know today: they are black and white and some correspond to silent movies. However lThe quality of the stories is very high and of incalculable cultural value. The selection shows relevant films of characters such as Charles Chaplin, as well as the first vampire movie, one of the pioneering zombie films is also presented, as well as visionary stories from the future and crazy stories that involve assassins and hypnosis.
The gold rush
It premiered in 1925 and is starring movie icon Charles Chaplin, who also wrote, directed and produced the film. "The Golden Rush" is considered one of his most famous works and received two Oscar nominations when the sound version was released in 1942.
The argument is based on a tramp looking for gold and moved to Klondike in Canada where large quantities of such precious material were presumed to exist. On the way, he is surprised by a storm that forces him to seek refuge in an abandoned house that is the home of a dangerous murderer! Fate brings a third guest into the house and due to the storm none can leave the place.
The three characters learn to live together in what they can leave the house. After a few days, the storm ceases and each one continues on their way, whose final destination had the same objective: to find the gold mine!
During the path that our protagonist travels, he meets Georgia. A beautiful woman with whom he falls in love but with whom he finally separates. The story tells us several adventures that our characters have to go through before reaching their initial goal. It is reason to note the impeccable performance of Chaplin who always encouraged the audience with his peculiar humor that characterizes his candid black and white films.
The end of the story is happy, since the protagonist gets what he wants. However in the end he realizes that what he has really achieved is more important than the very gold he was looking for.
Alarm in the expresso (The lady vanishes)
An exquisite and classic thriller full of suspense is the plot of the title in question. It was released on the big screen in 1938 and the New York Times ranked it the best movie of that year. It is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the story is based on the novel "The wheel spins." The protagonists are Margaret Lockwood, Paul Lukas, Basil Radford Redgrave and Dame May Whitty.
The plot tells us the journey back home of a couple of passengers returning to London, their home. Due to inclement weather the train is forced to stop so that the passengers are kept safe; the traveling couple stay overnight in a remote town. The interesting part begins when when they return to the train and they realize that a passenger has disappeared. The uneventful journey home was about to turn into a nightmare!
Every passenger becomes a suspect. The development of the story reveals interesting secrets of more than one of them….
Nosferatu: a symphony of horror
If you are a vampire lover, you have to see it! Nosferatu is the first film related to the true story of Dracula that was written by Bram Stoker. Despite the fact that there was a controversy and some legal issues of the director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau against the inheritors of the original story, this film is considered as the beginning of the best vampire films in the history of the film genre.
A young couple stars in the story, the husband whose name is Hutter is sent to Transylvania on business to close a deal with Count Orlok. Once installed in the inn there, Hutter discovers a macabre document that talks about vampires and leaves him intrigued. Later he attends the count's castle where he meets the sinister owner.
The day after your visit to the castle, Hutter discovers two marks on his neck which relates to insect bites. He did not give greater importance to the event until he dhe discovers that he was in the presence of a real vampire, Count Orlok!
The marks on his neck leave us the question: Will Hutter now have the same thirst for blood that his own wife craves?
Metropolis
It is a silent film of German origin released in 1926 and that raised the reality of the world in 2026 that is, 100 years later!
The film tells us about the separation of social classes and discrimination that there is between the two where the working class lives in underground neighborhoods and is prohibited from going out into the outside world. Tired of discrimination and repression and incited by a robot, lThe workers decide to rebel against the privileged. They threatened to destroy the city and the peace in which the privileged class in which the intellectuals and people with economic power were found.
We find two main characters, a leader from each social class, as the protagonists and heroes. They take care of creconcile agreements based on respect and tolerance.
It is quite interesting the approach that is presented of the future that today is no longer so distant.
Metropolis constitutes the first film to be awarded the category of "Memory of the World" provided by UNESCO. The recognition is due to the depth with which social issues were addressed.
Night of the Living Dead
It is a horror film released in 1968 and that revolutionized the genre of zombie-focused movies. It is considered by some as the best film in this category due to the role that the "walking dead" played in the plot and which greatly influenced the films that would be released after this. Due to the success generated by this theme, a saga with six chapters was developed. The sequels were released in the years 1978, 1985, 2005, 2007 and 2009.
The opening film, which is available on Youtube, is about a group of people who find themselves isolated on a kind of farm and fight for their lives after a group of the dead comes back to life. The story begins with two brothers who take refuge in that place and who are discovering that they are not the only ones trying to survive.
For its time, the film generated panic among audiences due to the violent and unpleasant scenes executed by the zombies.
The General's Machinist
Buster Keaton is a renowned actor from the time of Charles Chaplin. It is a silent, black and white film that belongs to the genre of comedy. It is an adaptation of a real event that occurred during the Civil War in the United States in 1862.
History tells us the life of Johnnie Gray, a train driver of the Western & Atlantic Railroad company. He has a love affair with Anabelle Lee, who asks him to enlist in the army when war breaks out. However, our protagonist it is not accepted because they consider his skills as a machinist more useful. Upon learning of the refusal of the army, ANabelle abandons Johnnie as a coward.
It takes a while for the former partner to meet again in an unfortunate event that puts their lives at risk.
It is relevant to mention that the film was not well received during its premiere in 1926, it was until years later that it gained popularity and that it was considered one of the best roles that the actor has ever played.
Dr. Calgary's Cabinet
We continue with the silent genre and in black and white. The Cabinet of Dr. Calgary is a German horror film that was released in 1920. Lhe story tells of the murders of a psychopath who has the ability to hypnotize and who uses a sleepwalker to commit those crimes!
Dr. Calgary is the mastermind who takes advantage of his skill and the weakness of the sleepwalker to put on a kind of show that entertains the locals. The story is told in retrospect and is told by Francis, one of the main characters in the story.
In general, the story is surrounded by a dark visual style due to the fact that the plot talks about themes related to madness and mind games. The film is regarded as the greatest work of German expressionist cinema. The script for the film is based on the personal experiences of its creators: Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. Both were pacifists and tried to express in a peculiar way the power that the government exerted over the army. To achieve this, they created Dr. Calgary and the sleepwalker: representing the government and the army respectively.
It is undoubtedly a psychological thriller that plays with the minds of the viewers and surprises thanks to the way in which the story is exposed.
Are there more movies that you can watch on YouTube legally?
Of course there is! The titles that I presented are a small taste of the legal content that we can find. This time I focused on classic films that have aroused great interest over time. Further, there are more current documentaries and films that are available and we can enjoy it legally and for free.
I would not like to say goodbye without first mentioning that there are countless tricks to find free content on platforms such as YouTube, however, let us remember that many of these practices are illegal. Let's try to contribute to a better world avoiding unethical actions that violate copyright and that also deserve the work involved in making film productions.
I hope you enjoy the selection of movies that you can watch on YouTube legally!