Public Domain Day - 2026

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

 

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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.

Or here from my Shopify store if you want to buy direct from me and avoid the big companies.

And it is here in eBook, paperback print, and hardcover, from Amazon.

It is also here in paperback from Ingram.

And here in hardcover 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. 

 

 

Public Domain Day - 2025

Today we begin the new year with our annual celebration of Public Domain Day, and some of the films that are entering public domain January 1st, 2025.

Mickey Mouse speaks for the first time in The Karnival Kid, hawking hot dogs and singing "Sweet Adeline" to his sweetie, Minnie Mouse.

Another Disney cartoon is The Skeleton Dance.

The Marx Brothers' first movie, The Cocoanuts enters public domain, and we discussed that one in this previous post.

Best Oscar film The Broadway Melody, and The Hollywood Review of 1929 gives us a song and a Charleston dance by Joan Crawford, as well as the first presentation of the song "Singin' in the Rain."

We have a few firsts and lasts among the 1929 films:  Blackmail, director Alfred Hitchcock's first sound film;  Hallelujah, the first film produced by a major studio with an all African-American cast; and Spite Marriage, Buster Keaton's last silent movie.

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 - 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

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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.

Or here from my Shopify store if you want to buy direct from me and avoid the big companies.

And it is here in eBook, paperback print, and hardcover, from Amazon.

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.

Public Domain Day - 2024

Happy Public Domain Day!

Time for our annual look at the films being released into public domain as of January 1st.  For 2024, we find ourselves in the toehold of the sound era with movies from 1928:

The Crowd, which we covered here in this previous post.

The Cameraman with Buster Keaton

The Man Who Laughs - Conrad Veidt at his creepiest

The Wind - Lillian Gish (a movie I keep meaning to cover.  Maybe this year.)

The Last Command - for which Emil Jannings won the first Best Actor Oscar.

Street Angel - with Janet Gaynor

The Circus - Charlie Chaplin, of course.

Speedy - Harold Lloyd's last silent feature

Should Married Men Go Home?  - first teaming of Laurel and Hardy.

And...believe it or not... we get Disney cartoons escaping from the tight hold of the Disney vault - the iconic Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy.

For more on films, books, and music now entering public domain, have a look at this article by Jennifer Jenkins on the website: Duke Center for the Study of Public Domain.

Here's a look at our past posts on movies entering public domain:

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

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Our greatest gift from the Greatest Generation was freedom from fascism. Relive, and celebrate, how evil was faced, discussed, dramatized...and fought. Classic films were the weapon.

Get your copy of Hollywood Fights Fascism here at Amazon in print or eBook, or here at Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and a variety of other online shops.

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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.

Public Domain Day - 2023

Time once again to update our annual look at Public Domain Day, which is January 1^st, the day that another year of creative works enter into public domain.

This year the works of 1927 apply, and for films this includes:

Metropolis

The Jazz Singer

Wings

Sunrise

7th Heaven

As you can see, we have giants among them, Oscar nominees and winners among them, since the first Academy Awards covered entries from August 1927 to July 1928.  We also note that with the Jazz Singer, we’ve got a toehold in the coming sound era, so 1927 certainly marks a great sea change in our culture.

 Another Old Movie Blog: Public Domain Day - 2022

Another Old Movie Blog: Public Domain Day - 2021

Another Old Movie Blog: Public Domain Day - 2020

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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.  Her latest book is Christmas in Classic Films. TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

Public Domain Day - 2022

Once again, annually, we have a look at this year’s batch of copyrighted films that as of January 1^, 2022, will enter U.S. public domain.  This year includes movies made in 1926.  I would note that, additionally, this year some 400,000 sound recordings made before 1923 will enter public domain.

Some of the movies from 1926 that are now in public domain include:

Battling Butler with Buster Keaton

The Son of the Sheik with Rudolph Valentino

Don Juan with John Barrymore, Mary Astor, and Warner Oland

3 Bad Men – which we covered here in this previous post.  

Beau Geste with Ronald Colman

La Bohème by King Vidor with Lillian Gish

Flesh and the Devil – John Gilbert and Greta Garbo

The General with Buster Keaton – which we covered here in this previous post.  

Here are previous posts on Public Domain Day 2020 and 2021.

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. and Memories in Our Time - Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century. Her newspaper column on classic films, Silver Screen, Golden Memories is syndicated nationally.  Her new book, a collection of posts from this blog - Hollywood Fights Fascism - is available here on Amazon.

Public Domain Day - 2021

On January 1st, the creative works of 1925 entered into public domain.  Here are a few classic films that are now public domain items:

The original Stella Dallas with Ronald Colman, Belle Bennett, Lois Moran, Alice Joyce, Jean Hersholt, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

King Vidor's The Big Parade starring John Gilbert.

The Freshman with Harold Lloyd, which we covered here.

Go West, with Buster Keaton.

The Gold Rush with Charlie Chaplin

The Unholy Three with Lon Chaney.

The biggest convenience to classic film writers of the annual Public Domain Day is knowing that all works of a certain year have now passed into public domain and that makes it easier to remember than having to research individual titles to see which ones are and which aren't due to failure to renew the copyright under the last century's various copyright extensions.  Some titles of the many produced in 1925 were already in public domain, but now they all are free to use.

Here's a link to last year's Public Domain Day post for films of 1924.

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. and Memories in Our Time - Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century. Her newspaper column on classic films, Silver Screen, Golden Memories is syndicated nationally.  Her new book, a collection of posts from this blog - Hollywood Fights Fascism - is available here on Amazon.

Public Domain Day - 2020

January 1st has become yet another reflection of our media-conscious society in its being heralded as Public Domain Day.  

This achieved widespread attention last year in 2019 when the creative works of 1923 passed into public domain (in the U.S. and many other countries--not all nations have uniform copyright codes). There had been a period between 1998 and 2018 when, in the U.S., the Copyright Term Extension Act kept works from entering the public domain.  With that expiration, it is expected that each year will bring a new crop of creative works -- books, music, art, and film -- into public domain.

This year, we welcome the works of 1924 into public domain.  For us classic film fans, that includes the following films:

Harold Lloyd's Girl Shy and Hot Water (which we discussed here)
Erich von Stroheim's Greed
Buster Keaton's The Navigator and Sherlock, Jr.
Raoul Walsh's The Thief of Bagdad
Herbert Brenon's Peter Pan starring Betty Bronson

To enter into public domain is a double-edged sword, as we know.  It can mean more accessibility to films and thereby increasing their popularity (perhaps the most famous example of this is the annual showing on TV of It's a Wonderful Life when it had been previously listed in public domain -- it is no longer), but it can also mean a lower likelihood to be restored and preserved if being in public domain appears to devalue it.

In an era where it seems much of our cultural heritage on film is being preserved by classic film fans and bloggers, we can be happy that a little more classic film is in our hands.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year, and thank you again for the pleasure of your company.

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. and Memories in Our Time - Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century. Her newspaper column on classic films, Silver Screen, Golden Memories is syndicated nationally.