Welcome to 2026, and our annual celebration of Public Domain Day!
This year, movies from 1930 that are now in public domain
include:
Betty Boop’s first cartoon Dizzy Dishes, and several
more Mickey Mouse cartoons
All Quiet on the Western Front
Animal Crackers – starring the Marx Brothers in their
second film.
In King of Jazz, in which, as the Center for the Study of Public Domain, Duke Law Center astutely notes: a man gets drunk and stammers: “You know what’s the matter with this country? It’s a tariff! That’s who!”, referring to the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act that worsened the Great Depression and eerily reflects our own troubled times.
Morocco with Gary Cooper and Marlene Dietrich
The Blue Angel, likewise, with Marlene Dietrich in her breakout role, introducing her to American audiences.
Hell’s Angels – Jean Harlow’s first film
The Big Trail – John Wayne’s first feature role, though his stardom would wait until later in the decade.
Free and Easy – Buster Keaton’s first speaking role and singing role.
For more on the movies, books, music, and art of 1929 that
now enters public domain, have a look at this Center for the
Study of Public Domain, part of the Duke Law Center website.
Here's a look at past posts on movies entering public
domain:
Another
Old Movie Blog: Public Domain Day - 2025
Another
Old Movie Blog: Public Domain Day - 2024
Another
Old Movie Blog: Public Domain Day - 2023
Another
Old Movie Blog: Public Domain Day - 2022
Another
Old Movie Blog: Public Domain Day - 2021
Another
Old Movie Blog: Public Domain Day - 2020
Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. and Movies in Our Time - Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century and Hollywood Fights Fascism and Christmas in Classic Films. TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.
My new non-fiction book, CHILDREN'S WARTIME ADVENTURE NOVELS - The Silent Generation's Vicarious Experience of World War II -- is now available in eBook here at Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and a wide variety of other online shops.
And it is here in eBook, paperback print, and hardcover, from Amazon.
It is also here in paperback from Ingram.
From Cherry Ames, to Meet the Malones, from Dave Dawson to Kitty Carter - Canteen Girl, the Silent Generation spent their childhood immersed in geopolitical events through the prism of their middle grade and young adult books. From the home front to the battlefield, these books are a window on their world, and influenced their hard-working, conformity-loving generation.
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