Why these films are ours to publish

Every film we restore has a rights basis on record. Here is each one, in full — along with the ones where the answer came back no.

Before we touch a film we establish that it is in the public domain in the United States, and we write down how we know. That means the registration number where there is one, the renewal volumes searched and the years they cover, and the reference works consulted. It is tedious work and it is the reason we can add an audio description track at all: a license lets you show a film, not change it.

Sometimes the answer is that we may not. Three of the films below are on public domain lists everywhere and are in copyright until the 2050s, and those pages are here for the same reason as the rest: a record that only ever agreed with us would be worth nothing.

We publish the working because a claim without it is worth nothing. If you are trying to answer the same question about the same film, take what is useful.

103 films researched so far.

27 that are not free, whatever you have read

Each of these is on public domain lists all over the internet, and each of them is in copyright. We do not publish them. The registration numbers are on the pages.

Most of them were renewed by the same three parties, between 1984 and 1987 — who renewed the films everyone thinks are public domain.

• Missile to the Moon (1958)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000247361 on 14 May 1985, in copyright to the end of 2053.
• The Brain from Planet Arous (1957)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000258469 on 3 September 1985 by Howco Productions, in copyright to the end of 2052.
• Glen or Glenda (1953)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000105166 on 31 July 1981 by Paramount, in copyright to the end of 2048.
• Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
  Still in copyright: renewal became automatic for works first published 1964 to 1977, so the empty renewal search proves nothing at all.
• Robot Monster (1953)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000107158 on 6 November 1981, in copyright to the end of 2048.
• Cat-Women of the Moon (1953)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000136473 on 31 August 1982, in copyright to the end of 2048.
• The Creeping Terror (1964)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000561567 on 17 December 1991, and a 1964 film did not need renewing to stay protected.
• The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000260918 on 15 October 1985, in copyright to the end of 2052.
• Beyond the Time Barrier (1960)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000363097 on 28 December 1987, in copyright to the end of 2055.
• The Giant Claw (1957)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000227767 on 15 January 1985 by Columbia, in copyright to the end of 2052.
• Invisible Invaders (1959)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000330636 on 28 January 1987, in copyright to the end of 2054.
• The Angry Red Planet (1959)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000367877 on 11 January 1988 by Sino Productions, and in copyright.
• Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000291853 on 17 April 1986, in copyright to the end of 2053.
• Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)
  Not public domain: renewed twice on 6 January 1986, RE0000279707 and RE0000278774, in copyright to the end of 2052.
• Bride of the Monster (1955)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000216687 on 13 July 1984, in copyright to the end of 2050.
• Night of the Blood Beast (1958)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000318733 on 16 December 1986, in copyright to the end of 2053.
• The Hideous Sun Demon (1958)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000361389 on 17 December 1987, in copyright to the end of 2053.
• The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000352396 on 20 October 1986, in copyright to the end of 2054.
• I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000260915 on 15 October 1985, in copyright to the end of 2052.
• Teenage Cave Man (1958)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000286138 on 12 February 1986, in copyright to the end of 2053.
• The Astounding She-Monster (1957)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000270085 on 1 August 1985, in copyright to the end of 2052.
• House on Haunted Hill (1959)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000318809 on 12 January 1986, in copyright to 2054.
• The Brain Eaters (1958)
  Not public domain: renewed as RE0000301078 on 30 April 1986, in copyright to 2053.
• Horrors of Spider Island (1960)
  Not public domain: a German film whose US copyright was restored by treaty on 1 January 1996, in copyright to 2055.
• The File on Thelma Jordon (1949)
  In copyright: registered L2455 in 1949 and renewed as R638187 on 5 August 1976 by Paramount, which still lists it as a current title because it is one.
• Atom Age Vampire (1960)
  In copyright: an Italian film with no US registration and no renewal, restored by the URAA on 1 January 1996 and running to the end of 2055.
• Nightmare Castle (1965)
  In copyright twice over: restored by the URAA, and a 1965 work whose renewal term was automatic anyway. The Morricone score is separately live.

Films we publish, and the working behind each one

• A Bucket of Blood (1959)
  Rights basis on record
• Angel on My Shoulder (1946)
  Rights basis on record
• Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952)
  Rights basis on record
• Carnival of Souls (1962)
  Rights basis on record
• Century 21 Calling (1962)
  Public domain in the United States
• Dementia 13 (1963)
  Rights basis on record
• Design for Dreaming (1956)
  Public domain in the United States
• Habit Patterns (1954)
  Public domain in the United States
• He Walked by Night (1948)
  Rights basis on record
• His Girl Friday (1940)
  Rights basis on record
• Impact (1949)
  Rights basis on record
• Inner Sanctum (1948)
  Public domain in the United States
• Kansas City Confidential (1952)
  Rights basis on record
• Mr. B Natural (1956)
  Public domain in the United States
• Night of the Living Dead (1968)
  Public domain in the United States
• One Week (1920)
  Rights basis on record
• Reefer Madness (1936)
  Rights basis on record
• Scarlet Street (1945)
  Rights basis on record
• The Amazing Mr. X (1948)
  Public domain in the United States
• The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)
  Public domain in the United States
• The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
  Rights basis on record
• The Great Train Robbery (1903)
  Rights basis on record
• The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
  Rights basis on record
• The Home Economics Story (1951)
  Public domain in the United States
• The Killer Shrews (1959)
  Rights basis on record
• The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
  Public domain in the United States
• The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
  Rights basis on record
• The Stranger (1946)
  Rights basis on record
• The Terror (1963)
  Rights basis on record
• The Wasp Woman (1959)
  Rights basis on record
• White Zombie (1932)
  Rights basis on record
• Woman on the Run (1950)
  Rights basis on record

Films we checked but have not published

Cleared on the record, and researched the same way, but not restored by us yet.

• The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The one record on "yucca" is a different film entirely.
• The Big Combo (1955)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal registration exists for it. The renewal class returns two records on "combo" and neither is this film.
• The Amazing Transparent Man (1960)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The renewal class returns thirty-two records on "amazing" and this film is not among them.
• Jail Bait (1954)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The renewal class returns thirty records on "jail" and none is this film.
• 711 Ocean Drive (1950)
  No renewal was found, but this one is not settled by that search: the online catalog begins in 1978 and this film’s renewal window closed before it.
• Please Murder Me (1956)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The renewal class returns 294 records on "murder" and none is this film.
• Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The renewal class returns two records on "leeches" and neither is this film.
• Last Woman on Earth (1960)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The renewal class returns 407 records on "woman" and none is this film.
• Tormented (1960)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The renewal class returns five records on "tormented" and none is this film.
• The Devil's Partner (1961)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The renewal class returns 67 records on "partner" and none is this film.
• The Phantom Planet (1961)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The renewal class returns 85 records on "phantom" and none is this film.
• Bloodlust! (1961)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The renewal class returns 134 records on "blood" and none is this film.
• Eegah (1962)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The renewal class returns nothing on "eegah", and the same word finds the film readily outside that class.
• Teenage Zombies (1959)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal exists. The renewal class returns 11 records on "zombies" and none is this film.
• The Bat (1959)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP13957, with no renewal in a window the online catalog covers completely.
• Scared to Death (1947)
  Public domain in the United States: registered L963, and the Copyright Office renewed L962 and L964 while passing it over.
• The Screaming Skull (1958)
  The film is public domain in the United States. The score is not: Ernest Gold renewed it as RE0000278988.
• Night Tide (1961)
  No renewal exists for the film, but the score was renewed as RE0000418480, and the original registration could not be found.
• Detour (1945)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP13599 in 1945, and the PRC library around it was demonstrably swept for renewals while this title was left behind.
• Quicksand (1950)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP2950 in 1950, with a renewal window that straddles print and online — both halves were searched.
• Suddenly (1954)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP4300 in 1954 and never renewed — though not for the reason the story usually gives.
• The Red House (1947)
  The film is public domain: registered LP864 in 1947, with the registrations either side renewed and this one passed over. The Rozsa score has not been checked.
• The Vampire Bat (1933)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP3579 in 1933, with neither the title nor Majestic Pictures appearing anywhere in the 1960 or 1961 volumes.
• King of the Zombies (1941)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP10469 in 1941, absent from a renewal run so dense that almost nothing else in it was skipped.
• Bluebeard (1944)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP13562 in 1944 by PRC Pictures, with no renewal in the 1971 or 1972 volumes under the title or the claimant.
• Dressed to Kill (1946)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP360 in 1946, and missing from the 1973 volume in which Universal renewed nearly all of its other 1946 features.
• Behind Green Lights (1946)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP156 in 1946 by Twentieth Century-Fox, and absent from the alphabetical run where its renewal would sit.
• The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947)
  Public domain in the United States: no renewal in any volume from 1957 to 1978, under either title or any of the three claimants, and no renewal record after 1978.
• The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP131 in 1946 for Hal Wallis Productions, and absent from the 1973 and 1974 volumes in which other Wallis films were renewed.
• The Fast and the Furious (1954)
  Public domain in the United States: no registration in the 1950–1959 cumulative catalog, and no renewal, while the same company renewed two of its other films.
• Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927)
  Public domain in the United States since 1 January 2023: a 1927 film, past the 95-year term. No renewal question arises.
• Jungle Book (1942)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP11215 in 1942 as Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, with no renewal in the 1969, 1970 or 1971 volumes.
• Tarzan’s Revenge (1938)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP8030 in 1938 and not renewed, while eight neighboring registrations were.
• Jigsaw (1949)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP2158 in 1949, with no renewal in the 1976, 1977 or early 1978 volumes.
• The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP697 at the very end of 1950, with no renewal in the printed 1977 volume or in the online records that cover 1978.
• The Second Woman (1950)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP613, and its producer renewed two other films of his in the same window and not this one.
• Big Bluff (1955)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP5869 in 1955, with no renewal under the title, the company or any of the people credited.
• The Naked Witch (1961)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP27580 in 1961, with no renewal under the title, the director or the company.
• Diary of a Nudist (1961)
  Public domain in the United States: registered LP22793 as Nature Camp Diary in 1961, with no renewal under either title, the company or the director.
• Grave of the Vampire (1972)
  Public domain in the United States: no registration exists under either title or any of the production names in the 1972 to 1977 catalogs, and our copy carries no notice.
• Rogue’s Tavern (1936)
  Public domain in the United States: registered in 1936 by Puritan Pictures, with no renewal in the 1963 or 1964 volumes.
• Sex Madness (1938)
  Public domain in the United States: registered unpublished as Human Wreckage in 1938 under LU7988, with no renewal in any volume from 1957 to 1978.
• Charlie Chaplin Festival (1941)
  Public domain in the United States: the four 1917 shorts are free by age, and the 1941 compilation itself was never registered and never renewed.
• Dr. Sex (1964)
  Public domain in the United States: never registered, and every title and credit card in the film was read frame by frame with no copyright notice on any of them.