List of films in the public domain in the United States
Films
All films that were released before 1924, or are the work of the United States Government, are now in the public domain in the United States.

List of films in the public domain in the United States

Section Title: Films
Table Section Text: All films that were released before 1924, or are the work of the United States Government, are now in the public domain in the United States.

Film title	Release year	Director	Studio / Distributor	Entered PD in (year)	Reason for entering PD	Note(s)

Abraham Lincoln	1930	D. W. Griffith	United Artists	1958	Copyright not renewed.

Action at Anguar	1945	N/A	United States Army Pictorial Services	1945	Work of the United States Government

Africa Screams	1949	Charles Barton	United Artists	1977	Copyright not renewed.

Algiers	1938	John Cromwell	United Artists	1966	Copyright not renewed.

The Amazing Mr. X	1948	Bernard Vorhaus	Eagle-Lion Films	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]	Also known as The Spiritualist.

Angel and the Badman	1947	James Edward Grant	Republic Pictures	1975	Copyright not renewed.

The Animal Kingdom	1932	Edward H. Griffith	RKO Radio Pictures	1960	Copyright not renewed.

At War with the Army	1950	Hal Walker	Paramount Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Attack of the Giant Leeches	1959	Bernard L. Kowalski	American International Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Beat the Devil	1953	John Huston	United Artists	1980	Copyright not renewed.	The 2016 restoration is not public domain.

Beau Brummel	1924	Harry Beaumont	Warner Bros.	1952	Copyright not renewed.

Beau Ideal	1931 (copyright notice: 1930)	Herbert Brenon	RKO Radio Pictures	1958	Copyright not renewed.

Becky Sharp	1935	Rouben Mamoulian	RKO Radio Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Behind Office Doors	1931	Melville W. Brown	RKO Radio Pictures	1959	Copyright not renewed.

Bird of Paradise	1932	King Vidor	RKO Radio Pictures	1960	Copyright not renewed.

Birth of the B-29	1942–1944	N/A	United States Army Pictorial Services	1945	Work of the United States Government

Blood on the Sun	1945	Frank Lloyd	United Artists	1973	Copyright not renewed.

Blue Steel	1934	Robert N. Bradbury	Lone Star Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.].

Bowery at Midnight	1942	Wallace Fox	Monogram Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

The Brain That Wouldn't Die	1962 (completed: 1959)	Joseph Green	American International Pictures	1962	Missing copyright notice	Originally completed in 1959 under the title The Black Door or The Head that Wouldn't Die, it was not released until May 3, 1962 where failure to add the copyright notice resulted in the film entering the public domain.

Brideless Groom	1947	Edward Bernds	Columbia Pictures	1960s	Copyright not renewed.

A Bucket of Blood	1959	Roger Corman	American International Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Captain Kidd	1945	Rowland V. Lee	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Carnival of Souls	1962	Herk Harvey	Herts-Lion International Corp.	1962	Missing copyright notice

Charade	1963	Stanley Donen	Universal Pictures	1963	Missing full copyright notice.	Original music still in copyright. Original story by Peter Stone still in copyright.

Check and Double Check	1930	Melville W. Brown	RKO Radio Pictures	1958	Copyright not renewed.

Combat America	1943	Clark Gable	Office of War Information	1943	Work of the United States Government

Conspiracy	1930	Christy Cabanne	RKO Radio Pictures	1958	Copyright not renewed.

Cyrano de Bergerac	1950	Michael Gordon	United Artists	1980s	[Data unknown/missing.]

The Dance of Life	1929	John Cromwell	Paramount Pictures	1957	Copyright not renewed.

Danger Lights	1930	George B. Seitz	RKO Radio Pictures	1958	Copyright not renewed.

The Deadly Companions	1961	Sam Peckinpah	Pathé-America	1961	Missing copyright notice

Debbie Does Dallas	1978	Jim Clark	VCX	1981	Missing copyright notice	Dallas Cowboys hold veto power on commercial publication due to unauthorized use of their cheerleaders' trademarks.

Dementia 13	1963	Francis Ford Coppola	American International Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]	Also known as The Haunted and the Hunted.

Detour	1945	Edgar G. Ulmer	Producers Releasing Corporation	[Data unknown/missing.]	Copyright not renewed.

The Devil Bat	1940	Jean Yarbrough	Producers Releasing Corporation	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Disorder in the Court	1936	Preston Black	Columbia Pictures	1960s	Copyright not renewed.

Dixiana	1930	Luther Reed	RKO Radio Pictures	1958	Copyright not renewed.

D.O.A.	1949	Rudolph Maté	United Artists	1977	Copyright not renewed.

The Driller Killer	1979	Abel Ferrara	Rochelle Films	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Ella Cinders	1926	Alfred E. Green	First National Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

The Emperor Jones	1933	Dudley Murphy	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Father's Little Dividend	1951 (copyright notice: 1950)	Vincente Minnelli	MGM	1978	Copyright not renewed.

A Farewell to Arms	1932	Frank Borzage	Paramount Pictures	1960	Copyright not renewed.	Based on copyrighted (R177406) novel by Ernest Hemingway.

The Fight for the Sky	1946	[Data unknown/missing.]	Office of War Information	1946	Work of the United States Government

The Front Page	1931	Lewis Milestone	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

The General	1927	Clyde Bruckman Buster Keaton	United Artists	1955	Copyright not renewed.

Glen or Glenda	1953	Ed Wood	Columbia Classics	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Go for Broke!	1951 (copyright notice: 1950)	Robert Pirosh	MGM	1978	Copyright not renewed.

God's Little Acre	1958	Anthony Mann	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]	Colorized version not in public domain.

The Gold Rush	1925	Charlie Chaplin	United Artists	1953	Copyright not renewed.	1942 revised version in copyright. Original 1925 version possibly copyrighted.

The Gorilla	1939	Allan Dwan	20th Century Fox	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

The Great Flamarion	1945	Anthony Mann	Republic Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	Copyright not renewed.

Gulliver's Travels	1939	Dave Fleischer	Paramount Pictures	1967	Copyright not renewed.

Half Shot at Sunrise	1930	Paul Sloane	RKO Radio Productions	1958	Copyright not renewed.

Hemp for Victory	1942	Raymond Evans	U.S. Department of Agriculture	1942	Work of the United States Government

His Girl Friday	1940 (copyright date: 1939)	Howard Hawks	Columbia Pictures	1967	Copyright not renewed.	Source material (stage play The Front Page) rights copyright until 2024.

The Hitch-Hiker	1953	Ida Lupino	RKO Radio Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Hook, Line and Sinker	1930	Edward F. Cline	RKO Radio Pictures	1958	Copyright not renewed.

House on Haunted Hill	1959	William Castle	Allied Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Indestructible Man	1956	Jack Pollexfen	Allied Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Inside the Lines	1930	Roy Pomeroy	RKO Radio Productions	1958	Copyright not renewed.

The Inspector General	1949	Henry Koster	Warner Bros.	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

It's a Wonderful Life	1946 (copyright notice: 1947)	Frank Capra	Liberty Films RKO Pictures	1975	Copyright not renewed.	While the film images are public domain, under rulings of Stewart v. Abend, the film text (script) is based on the copyrighted short story "The Greatest Gift".

The Jackie Robinson Story	1950	Alfred E. Green	Eagle-Lion Films	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]	Ancillary rights owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Japanese Relocation	1942	Milton S. Eisenhower	Office of War Information	1942	Work of the United States Government

The Joe Louis Story	1953	Robert Gordon	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Kansas City Confidential	1952	Phil Karlson	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	Copyright not renewed.

Kept Husbands	1931	Lloyd Bacon	RKO Radio Productions	1959	Copyright not renewed.

The Lady Refuses	1931	George Archainbaud	RKO Radio Productions	1959	Copyright not renewed.

A Lady to Love	1930	Victor Sjöström	MGM	1958	Copyright not renewed.	Based on the play They Knew What They Wanted.

Last Clear Chance	1959	Robert Carlisle	Union Pacific Railroad	1959	Not registered for copyright.

The Last Man on Earth	1964	Ubaldo Ragona, Sidney Salkow	American International Pictures, 20th Century Fox	1992	Copyright not renewed.

The Last Time I Saw Paris	1954 (copyright notice: 1944)	Richard Brooks	MGM	1972	Defective copyright notice.	Music score still protected by copyright.

Lawful Larceny	1930	Lowell Sherman	RKO Radio Productions	1958	Copyright not renewed.

Leathernecking	1930	Edward F. Cline	RKO Radio Productions	1958	Copyright not renewed.

Letter of Introduction	1938	John M. Stahl	Universal Pictures	1966	Copyright not renewed.

Life with Father	1947	Michael Curtiz	Warner Bros.	1975	Copyright not renewed.

The Little Princess	1939	Walter Lang	20th Century Fox	1967	Copyright not renewed.

The Little Shop of Horrors	1960	Roger Corman	Filmgroup	1988	Copyright not renewed.

Lonely Wives	1931	Russell Mack	RKO Radio Pictures	1959	Copyright not renewed.

Love Affair	1939	Leo McCarey	RKO Radio Pictures	1967	Copyright not renewed.

The Lucky Texan	1934	Robert N. Bradbury	Lone Star Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.].

Malice in the Palace	1949	Jules White	Columbia Pictures	1960s	Copyright not renewed.

The Man from Utah	1934	Robert N. Bradbury	Lone Star Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.].

The Man with the Golden Arm	1955	Otto Preminger	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Maniac	1934	Dwain Esper	Roadshow Attractions	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]	Also known as Sex Maniac.

Manos: The Hands of Fate	1966	Harold P. Warren	Emerson Film Enterprises	1968	Failure to display copyright notice.	Original script may have been copyrighted.

March of the Wooden Soldiers	1950	Gus Meins	Lippert Pictures	1950	Failure to display copyright notice.	This is a later abridgement of Babes in Toyland (1934), which is still in copyright. Public domain status unclear.

McLintock!	1963	Andrew V. McLaglen	United Artists	1991	Copyright not renewed.	Music score still under copyright.

Meet John Doe	1941	Frank Capra	Warner Bros.	1969	Copyright not renewed.

Millie	1931	John Francis Dillon	RKO Radio Pictures	1959	Copyright not renewed.

Mr. Imperium	1951 (copyright notice: 1950)	Don Hartman	MGM	1978	Copyright not renewed.

My Dear Secretary	1948	Charles Martin	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

My Favorite Brunette	1947	Elliott Nugent	Paramount Pictures	1975	Copyright not renewed.

My Japan	1945	[Data unknown/missing.]	Office of War Information	1945	Work of the United States Government

My Man Godfrey	1936	Gregory La Cava	Universal Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]	While the film images are public domain, under rulings of Stewart v. Abend, the film text (script) is based on the copyrighted 1935 book My Man Godfrey by Eric S.

The Negro Soldier	1944	Frank Capra	United States Army Pictorial Services	1944	Work of the United States Government

Night of the Living Dead	1968	George A. Romero	Walter Reade	1968	Missing copyright notice and errors from the distributor

Nothing Sacred	1937	William A. Wellman	Selznick, United Artists	1965	Copyright not renewed.

Of Human Bondage	1934	John Cromwell	RKO Radio Pictures	1962	Copyright not renewed.

The Outlaw	1943	Howard Hughes	Howard Hughes Prod., United Artists	1971	Copyright not renewed.

The Painted Hills	1951	Harold F. Kress	MGM	1979	Copyright not renewed.

The Pay-Off	1930	Lowell Sherman	RKO Radio Pictures	1958	Copyright not renewed.

Penny Serenade	1941	George Stevens	Columbia Pictures	1968	Copyright not renewed.

The Phantom of the Opera	1925	Rupert Julian	Universal Studios	1953	Copyright not renewed.

Plan 9 from Outer Space	1959	Ed Wood	Distributors Corporation of America	1987	[Data unknown/missing.]

Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves	1937	Dave Fleischer	Paramount Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]	Second of three Popeye Technicolor two-reel specials.

Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor	1936	Dave Fleischer	Paramount Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]	First of three Popeye Technicolor two-reel specials.

Private Snafu Series	1943-1946	Various	Warner Bros., MGM, UPA, Harman-Ising Studio	1943-1946	Work of the United States Government

Quicksand	1950	Irving Pichel	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Rain	1932	Lewis Milestone	United Artists	1960	Copyright not renewed.

Randy Rides Alone	1934	Harry L. Fraser	Lone Star Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.].

The Red House	1947	Delmer Daves	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Reefer Madness	1936	Louis J. Gasnier	Motion Picture Ventures	1936	Improper copyright notice.	Also called The Burning Question, Dope Addict, and Tell Your Children.

Riders of Destiny	1933	Robert N. Bradbury	Lone Star Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.].

Road to Bali	1952	Hal Walker	Paramount Pictures	1980	Copyright not renewed on time.	Ancillary rights now owned by FremantleMedia.

Rock, Rock, Rock!	1956	Will Price	Distributors Corporation of America	1984	Copyright not renewed.	The Chuck Berry soundtrack may not be in the public domain.

The Royal Bed	1931 (copyright notice: 1930)	Lowell Sherman	RKO Radio Pictures	1958	Copyright not renewed.

Royal Wedding	1951 (copyright notice: 1950)	Stanley Donen	MGM	1978	Copyright not renewed.

Sagebrush Trail	1933	Armand Schaefer	Lone Star Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.].	Remake of Partners of the Trail (Wallace Fox, 1931)

Salt of the Earth	1954	Herbert Biberman	Independent Productions	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians	1964	Nicholas Webster	Embassy Pictures Corporation	[Data unknown/missing.]	Missing copyright notice	Musical score owned by Famous Music.

Santa Fe Trail	1940	Michael Curtiz	Warner Bros.	1968	Copyright not renewed.

Scarlet Street	1945	Fritz Lang	Universal Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

The Screaming Skull	1958	Alex Nicol	American International Pictures	1958	Not registered for copyright.

Second Chorus	1940	H.C. Potter	Paramount Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	Copyright not renewed.

The Secret Hour	1928	Rowland V. Lee	Paramount Pictures	1956	Copyright not renewed.	Based on the play They Knew What They Wanted.

The Silver Horde	1930	George Archainbaud	RKO Radio Pictures	1958	Copyright not renewed.

Sin Takes a Holiday	1930	Paul L. Stein	RKO Radio Pictures	1958	Copyright not renewed.

Sing a Song of Six Pants	1947	Jules White	Columbia Pictures	1960s	Copyright not renewed.

Sinners in Paradise	1938	James Whale	Universal Pictures	1966	Copyright not renewed.

Smouldering Fires	1925	Clarence Brown	Universal Pictures	1953	Copyright not renewed.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro	1952	Henry King	20th Century Fox	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

The Southerner	1945	Jean Renoir	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

A Star Is Born	1937	William A. Wellman	Selznick, United Artists	1965	Copyright not renewed.

The Star Packer	1934	Robert N. Bradbury	Lone Star Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.].

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers	1946	Lewis Milestone	Paramount Pictures	1974	Copyright not renewed.

The Stranger	1946	Orson Welles	International Pictures, RKO Radio Productions	1973	Copyright not renewed.

Suddenly	1954	Lewis Allen	United Artists	1983	Copyright not renewed.

Superman (1940s cartoons)	1941-1943	Dave Fleischer, Various	Paramount Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]	Although all entries are in the public domain, ancillary rights such as merchandising contract rights, as well as the original 35mm master elements, are owned today by Warner Bros.

Swing High, Swing Low	1937	Mitchell Leisen	Paramount Pictures	1965	Copyright not renewed.

Target for Today	1944	William Keighley	First Motion Picture Unit	1941	Work of the United States Government

Target Nevada	1951	Unknown	First Motion Picture Unit	1951	Work of the United States Government

Teenagers from Outer Space	1959	Tom Graeff	Warner Bros.	1987	Copyright not renewed.

The Terror	1963	Roger Corman	American International Pictures, Filmgroup	1963	Missing copyright registration	In the early 1990s, Corman asked Mark Griffiths to shoot 12 minutes of additional footage starring Dick Miller, thus making a new film titled The Return of the Terror (1991) so Corman could claim his copyright.

That Justice Be Done	1945	George Stevens	Office of War Information	1942–44	Work of the United States Government

Three Guys Named Mike	1951 (copyright notice: 1950)	Charles Walters	MGM	1978	Copyright not renewed.

Till the Clouds Roll By	1946	Richard Whorf	MGM	1974	Copyright not renewed.

Too Late for Tears	1949	Byron Haskin	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

Topper Returns	1941	Roy Del Ruth	United Artists	1969	Copyright not renewed.

Vengeance Valley	1951 (copyright notice: 1950)	Richard Thorpe	MGM	1978	Copyright not renewed.

The Wasp Woman	1959	Roger Corman	Filmgroup	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]

West of the Divide	1934	Robert N. Bradbury	Lone Star Pictures	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.].

Wings for This Man	1945	[Data unknown/missing.]	Office of War Information	1945	Work of the United States Government

White Zombie	1932	Victor Halperin	United Artists	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]	Source material for the film may not be in the public domain.

Why We Fight	1942–1944	Frank Capra	United States Army Pictorial Services	1942–44	Work of the United States Government

Wives Under Suspicion	1938	James Whale	Universal Pictures	1966	Copyright not renewed.

Sentence(s)

In 1969, Meet John Doe entered the public domain in the United States because the copyright was not renewed.

final_sentence: In 1969, Meet John Doe entered the public domain in the United States because the copyright was not renewed.