List of films in the public domain in the United States (Old 2011)
This is a list of films that certain cited sources believe are in the public domain in the United States. Being in the public domain refers to cinematic, dramatic, literary, musical and artistic works that no government, organization, or individual owns, and as such is common property. Note: Films in this list may incorporate elements from other works that are still under copyright, even though the film itself is out of copyright. (Wikipedia)
(This list was made in 2011. See "List of films in the public domain in the United States (New 2012)" for a newer list)
(This list was made in 2011. See "List of films in the public domain in the United States (New 2012)" for a newer list)
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- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsWalter HustonUna MerkelWilliam L. ThorneAn episodic biography of the 16th President of the United States.
- DirectorFord BeebeClifford SmithStarsJohn 'Dusty' KingJean RogersNoah Beery Jr.This 13 chapter serial is based on the comic strip character Ace Drummond created by Eddie Rickenbacker. Ace is a 'G-Man of the sky' working out of Washington D.C. He is sent to Mongolia to find out why a mysterious villain known only as 'The Dragon' is trying to prevent the newly formed International Airways from setting up an airport there. Ace meets Peggy Trainor (Jean Rogers) who is searching for her archaeologist father who has disappeared. Together they search for answers to the puzzles.
- DirectorLewis D. CollinsRay TaylorStarsTom BrownRose HobartEdgar BarrierJust before World War II, the Chinese and American governments mount a joint operation to prevent the Germans and Japanese from taking over the strategic island of Mandon.
- DirectorCharles BartonStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloClyde BeattyTwo booksellers search for diamonds in Africa, along the way meeting a visually-impaired gunner, a hungry lion, and a tribe of cannibals.
- DirectorDave FleischerDave TendlarStarsMargie HinesJack MercerCarl MeyerWorking in the story department of Surprise Pictures, Olive Oyl writes a script based on the story of Aladdin, casting Popeye as the thief and herself as the Princess.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsCharles BoyerHedy LamarrSigrid GurieA wanted jewel thief ensconced in the Casbah meets a beautiful woman who makes him long for an escape.
- DirectorTex AveryStarsMel BlancDarrell PayneDanny WebbBugs heckles a black hunter and escapes from a bear.
- DirectorBernard VorhausStarsTurhan BeyLynn BariCathy O'DonnellOn the beach one night, Christine Faber, two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf; then meets a tall dark man Alexis, who seems to know all about such things.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsMarguerite ChapmanDouglas KennedyJames GriffithA crazed scientist invents an invisibility formula. He plans to use the formula to create an army of invisible zombies.
- DirectorRené ClairStarsBarry FitzgeraldWalter HustonLouis HaywardSeven guests, a newly hired secretary and two staff are gathered at a manor house on an isolated island by an unknown absentee host and are killed off one-by-one. They work together to determine who the killer is before it's too late.
- DirectorJames Edward GrantStarsJohn WayneGail RussellHarry CareyQuirt Evans, an all round bad guy, is nursed back to health and sought after by Penelope Worth, a Quaker girl. He eventually finds himself having to choose between his world and the world Penelope lives in.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsPaul MuniAnne BaxterClaude RainsThe Devil arranges for a deceased gangster to return to Earth as a well-respected judge to make up for his previous life.
- DirectorJoe ViolaStarsScott GlennCharles DierkopJames IglehartSex, violence, and bikers on an action filled ride, in this film produced and co-written by Jonathan Demme.
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsBoris KarloffMaris WrixonGene O'DonnellDr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly mad scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. He needs spinal fluid from a human to complete the formula for his experimental serum.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsBela LugosiLouise CurrieWallace FordA crazed scientist accidentally turns himself into a half ape, half human creature, and scrambles to find a cure.
- DirectorElmer CliftonStarsLuana WaltersArthur GardnerDorothy ShortA high-school girl gets involved with a ring of teenage marijuana smokers and starts down the road to ruin. A reporter poses as a soda jerk to infiltrate the gang of teen dope fiends.
- DirectorHal WalkerStarsDean MartinJerry LewisMike KellinAlvin Corwin is low man on the totem pole, and goes from one mishap to another at an army training camp in World War II.
- DirectorAnton Giulio MajanoStarsAlberto LupoSusanne LoretSergio FantoniAn exotic dancer is disfigured in a car accident. A scientist develops a treatment that restores her beauty. To preserve her appearance the doctor must give her additional treatments using glands taken from murdered women.Alternate title: Atom Age Vampire
- DirectorBernard L. KowalskiStarsKen ClarkYvette VickersJan ShepardA backwoods game warden and a local doctor discover that giant leeches are responsible for disappearances and deaths in a local swamp, but the local police don't believe them.
- DirectorCrane WilburStarsVincent PriceAgnes MooreheadGavin GordonA crazed killer known as "The Bat" is on the loose in a mansion full of people.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsAleksandr AntonovVladimir BarskiyGrigoriy AleksandrovIn the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutiny against the brutal, tyrannical regime of the vessel's officers. The resulting street demonstration in Odessa brings on a police massacre.
- DirectorWalter LantzManuel MorenoStarsBernice HansenOswald Rabbit, his dog and a duck family are going to the beach. While Oswald goes fishing, his dog and the unattended little ducklings are teasing each other with pranks and high jinks ensue.
- DirectorRobert F. McGowanStarsNorman 'Chubby' ChaneyJackie CooperAllen 'Farina' HoskinsWhile on a camping trip, the gang comes across poachers.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartJennifer JonesGina LollobrigidaOn their way to Africa are a group of rogues who hope to get rich there, and a seemingly innocent British couple. They meet and things happen...
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsBela LugosiDuke MitchellSammy PetrilloTwo goofy entertainers meet a mad scientist on a jungle island.
- DirectorRobert D. WebbStarsRobert WagnerTerry MooreGilbert RolandFierce competition among sponge fishermen forces a Greek-American family to fish in the dangerous 12-mile reef area off the western coast of Florida.
- DirectorIda LupinoStarsJoan FontaineIda LupinoEdmund GwennA man secretly married to two women feels the pressure of his deceit.
- DirectorMack V. WrightJoseph KaneStarsGene AutrySmiley BurnetteKay HughesAt the Texas Centennial in Dallas Autry confuses two girls by being himself and his own stunt double.
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsBela LugosiJoan BarclayGeorge PembrokeA cabal of American industrialists, all fifth-columnists intent on sabotaging the war effort, are methodically murdered by the malevolent Monsieur Colomb. It is only until detective Dick Martin is assigned to the case that everyone's true motives and identities are revealed.
- DirectorSpencer WilliamsStarsCathryn CavinessSpencer WilliamsJuanita RileyAn atheist accidentally shoots his Baptist wife. She dies and goes to a crossroads, where the devil tries to lead her astray.
- DirectorMassimo PupilloStarsMickey HargitayWalter BrandiLuisa BarattoA photographer and models go to an abandoned castle to shoot some sexy covers for horror novels. Unbeknownst to them, the castle is inhabited by a lunatic who believes himself to be the reincarnated spirit of a 17th century executioner.Alternate title: Bloody Pit of Horror
- DirectorRichard JefferiesStarsJames Earl JonesJosé FerrerLila KedrovaAn adventurer hunting for treasure in Greece accidentally frees a monster that forces local villagers to sacrifice virgins.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsJohn CarradineJean ParkerNils AstherIn Paris, an artist hires portrait models, and after he finishes their portraits, he strangles them.
- DirectorWallace FoxStarsBela LugosiJohn ArcherWanda McKayKindly soup kitchen operator and professor of criminology Bela Lugosi uses his soup kitchen as a front for a criminal gang who commit a series of daring robberies and murders.
- DirectorWalter LantzStarsBilly BletcherThe RhythmettesWalter TetleyA commercial short made for the Bristol-Myers Co. (plugging their toothpaste) that features the characters from the "Reg'lar Fellers" syndicated newspaper comic strip by Gene Byrnes. The plot concerns a boy who has an old grouch for a daddy, runs off, meets a dog and joins a gang of kids. Meanwhile,the old man has a nightmare,where he sees himself as an old sour puss because he doesn't take care of his teeth and gums. He sees an electric sign for Bristol-Myers toothpaste, and that sets him on a more positive course. (The few-seconds of film showing the sign represents the only commercial intrusion in this short).
- DirectorRandal KleiserStarsJohn TravoltaGlynnis O'ConnorRobert ReedThe girl next door makes a teen born with immune deficiencies want to leave his germ-free bubble.
- StarsSid DavisThis anti-homosexual social "scare" short film focuses on the dangers of young boys talking to strangers.
- DirectorJoseph GreenStarsJason EversVirginia LeithAnthony La PennaA doctor experimenting with transplant techniques keeps his girlfriend's head alive when she is decapitated in a car crash, then goes hunting for a new body.
- DirectorCurt SiodmakStarsBarbara PaytonLon Chaney Jr.Raymond BurrThe owner of a plantation in the jungle marries a beautiful woman. Shortly afterward, he is plagued by a strange voodoo curse which transforms him into a gorilla.
- DirectorEdward BerndsStarsMoe HowardLarry FineShemp HowardTo inherit a fortune, Shemp must get married by 6 o'clock that very day, but finding a willing bride proves a challenge.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsDick MillerBarboura MorrisAntony CarboneA dimwitted busboy at a beatnik cafe passes off a cat he accidentally killed and covered in plaster as a sculpture, prompting a demand for more art that compels him to commit murders.
- DirectorF. Richard JonesStarsRonald ColmanClaud AllisterLawrence GrantA bored WWI veteran helps out a young woman whose uncle is being held hostage by embezzlers.
- DirectorColbert ClarkArmand SchaeferStarsJack MulhallFrankie DarroLola LaneMarjorie Temple, owner of a bus line and an apparently worthless plot of land, is set upon by rich oil speculators who know her land actually is worth millions. When they try to put her out of business for good, young race driver Burn 'em Up Barnes comes to her rescue - again and again and again.
- DirectorRowland V. LeeStarsCharles LaughtonRandolph ScottBarbara BrittonThe unhistorical adventures of pirate Captain Kidd revolve around treasure and treachery.
- DirectorHerk HarveyStarsCandace HilligossFrances FeistSidney BergerAfter a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsLoretta YoungBarry SullivanBruce CowlingAn invalid husband (Barry Sullivan) wrongly believes his wife (Loretta Young) and doctor (Bruce Cowling) are conspiring to kill him and outlines that suspicion in a letter, which causes a serious concern when he ends up dying anyway.
- DirectorHarry L. FraserStarsViolet HiltonDaisy HiltonMario LavalA Siamese twin kills the husband who left her. The courts have to decide if she is convicted of murder, how can they punish her sister, who had nothing to do with the crime?
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsCary GrantAudrey HepburnWalter MatthauRomance and suspense ensue in Paris as a woman is pursued by several men who want a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. Whom can she trust?
- DirectorMelville W. BrownStarsFreeman F. GosdenCharles J. CorrellSue CarolTypical Amos 'n Andy storyline has the boys trying to make a go of their "open-air" taxi business while they get caught up in a society hassle, involving driving musicians to a fancy party. All the regular characters are here (or mentioned), including the famous Mystic Knights of the Sea. The only film appearance of radio's long-running characters.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsLowell ThomasAdvances in chicken and egg farming.
- DirectorHarry RevierStarsShirley MillsBob BollingerWarner RichmondA schoolteacher in a rural community campaigns to stop the practice of older men marrying underage girls.
- DirectorDave FleischerSeymour KneitelStarsEverett ClarkJack MercerMae QuestelAt an orphanage, the children are sad because they received broken toys as gifts. Professor Grampy sees the children while passing by in his sled and has an idea on how to give them a merry Christmas.
- DirectorJohn Llewellyn MoxeyStarsPatricia JesselDennis LotisChristopher LeeA young college student arrives in a sleepy Massachusetts town to research witchcraft; during her stay at an eerie inn, she discovers a startling secret about the town and its inhabitants.
- DirectorF. Lyle GoldmanFrancis Lyle GoldmanThe typical Cinderella storyline: wicked stepmother and stepsisters, and Cinderella can't go to the ball. We see elves and woodland creatures making a dress and a coach out of various woodland materials. A twist: the coach they make then goes though a "modernizer" and comes out as a 1946 Chevy.
- DirectorRobert ClampettStarsArthur Q. BryanRobert ClampettBea BenaderetElmer Fudd introduces two pieces of classical music: "Tales of the Vienna Woods" and "The Blue Danube", and acted out by Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Laramore the Hound Dog, a family of swans, and a juvenile Daffy Duck.
- DirectorWallace FoxStarsBela LugosiLuana WaltersTristram CoffinA scientist, aided by an old hag and her two sons, kills virginal brides, steals their bodies, and extracts gland fluid to keep his ancient wife alive and young.
- DirectorHollingsworth MorseStarsRichard CraneScotty BeckettSally MansfieldThis was never released as a feature film but, instead, is comprised of 3 episodes from the TV series, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (1954) which were edited together and released on video as a feature-length story.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsAntony CarboneBetsy Jones-MorelandRobert TowneA crook decides to bump off members of his inept crew and blame their deaths on a legendary sea creature. What he doesn't know is that the creature is real.
- DirectorMichael GordonStarsJosé FerrerMala PowersWilliam PrinceThe charismatic swordsman-poet helps another woo the woman he loves.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsEdmond O'BrienPamela BrittonLuther AdlerFrank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancCommando Daffy Duck goes behind enemy lines and causes havoc for a Nazi German officer and his troops.
- DirectorTex AveryStarsDanny WebbTex AveryMel BlancA tour of the zoo, in typical Tex Avery style: a series of one-liners and sight gags, punctuated by Elmer Fudd teasing a lion at intervals, despite the admonishments of the narrator.
- DirectorSam NewfieldStarsGeorge ZuccoMary CarlisleNedrick YoungThe twin of a kindly small-town physician returns from the grave for vengeance against his brother, who secretly killed him because the twin served Satan.
- DirectorGiulio PetroniStarsLee Van CleefJohn Phillip LawMario BregaA young gunfighter forms a tenuous alliance with an aging ex-outlaw to track down and eliminate the bandits who killed his family, till the surprising end.Alternate title: Death Rides a Horse
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsWilliam CampbellLuana AndersBart PattonA scheming widow hatches a bold plan to acquire her late husband's inheritance, unaware that she is being targeted by an ax murderer who lurks in the family's estate.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsTom NealAnn SavageClaudia DrakeThe life of Al Roberts, a pianist in a New York nightclub, turns into a nightmare when he decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to visit his girlfriend.
- DirectorAlan JamesRay TaylorStarsRalph ByrdKay HughesSmiley BurnetteA master criminal called The Spider puts the famous detective's brother under a hypnotic spell and turns him against Dick.
- DirectorJack WhiteStarsMoe HowardLarry FineCurly HowardThe stooges are witnesses at a trial where their friend, a dancer at a nightclub where they are musicians, is accused of murder. The stooges manage to disrupt the proceedings but save the day when they discover the real murderer's identity.
- DirectorRobert F. McGowanStarsHal Roach's RascalsJoe CobbJackie CondonThe gang wages war using old vegetables as munitions. Later, they ruin a movie in progress when they double-expose the film.
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsBoris KarloffMarjorie ReynoldsGrant WithersMr. Wong and a girl reporter investigate a shipping magnate's murder.
- DirectorRoy William NeillStarsBasil RathboneNigel BrucePatricia MorisonSherlock Holmes sets out to discover why a trio of murderous villains, including a dangerously attractive female, are desperate to obtain three unassuming and inexpensive little music boxes.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsAbel FerraraCarolyn MarzBaybi DayAn artist slowly goes insane while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings, and care for his two female roommates, which leads him taking to the streets of New York after dark and randomly killing derelicts with a power drill.
- DirectorAnthony RizzoStarsGeorge WinslowLeo M. Langlois IIIRay J. MauerInstructional short aimed at school-aged children of the early 1950s that combines animation and live-action footage with voice-over narration to explain what to do to increase their chances of surviving the blast from an atomic bomb.
- DirectorArch Hall Sr.StarsArch Hall Jr.Marilyn ManningRichard KielTeenagers stumble across a prehistoric caveman, who goes on a rampage.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsRock HudsonBarbara CarreraDiane LaddA scientist (Rock Hudson) doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days. All is not well though as the child begins to exhibit some horrific tendencies.
- DirectorFritz HipplerStarsCurt BoisCharles ChaplinAlbert EinsteinUnder the guise of a brutally honest documentary, this malevolent propaganda film aims to be an "indispensable tool in the hands of the Aryan race", designed to depict the "true" Jew when the masks of western civilisation fall off.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsLoretta YoungDavid NivenHugh HerbertAnita Halstead, swept off her feet by magician Arturo, finds the results less than magical.
- DirectorD.I. YashinStarsS.S. BryukhonenkoWalter B. CannonJ.B.S. HaldaneThis film shows experiments preformed by Soviet scientists reviving the lungs, heart, and even the head of dead dogs.
- DirectorRobert ClampettStarsMel BlancRobert ClampettBugs encounters wartime sabotage and takes to the air to do battle.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsGary CooperHelen HayesAdolphe MenjouAn American ambulance driver and an English nurse fall in love in Italy during World War I.
- DirectorJohn IrelandEdward SampsonStarsJohn IrelandDorothy MaloneBruce CarlisleA trucker framed for murder breaks out of jail, takes a young woman hostage, and enters her sports car in cross-border road race hoping to get to Mexico before the police catch him.
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsBoris KarloffMarjorie ReynoldsGrant WithersWhen Captain Street's best friend Dan Grady is murdered, Street receives help from Chinese detective James Lee Wong and local newspaper reporter Bobbie Logan.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsSpencer TracyJoan BennettElizabeth TaylorShortly after coming to terms with his daughter's marriage, a father faces the prospect of becoming a grandfather.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGösta EkmanEmil JanningsCamilla HornThe demon Mephisto wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man's soul.Alternate title: Faust
- DirectorMaxwell ShaneStarsPaul KellyDeForest KelleyKay ScottA man dreams he committed murder, then begins to suspect it was real.
- DirectorWilliam K. HowardStarsLaurence OlivierFlora RobsonVivien LeighDuring the reign of Elizabeth I, a young man's fervent devotion to the crown and to his sweetheart, a lady-in-waiting, lead him to battle for England's victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588.
- DirectorFord BeebeRay TaylorStarsBuster CrabbeCarol HughesCharles MiddletonA ravaging plague has struck the Earth threatening no less than global extinction. This alien disease is believed to be the evil spawn of Ming, the merciless Emperor of Planet Mongo. The world's only hope now rests with Flash Gordon.
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyJean ParkerOllie has fallen in love with the innkeeper's daughter in Paris. The only problem - she's very much in love with her husband. To forget her he joins the Foreign Legion with Stan. Bad idea.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsWallace FordLeila HyamsOlga BaclanovaA circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancArthur Q. BryanThe Sportsmen QuartetIn the Canadian North Woods, Bugs is wanted dead or alive and Elmer is out to bring him in.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsAdolphe MenjouPat O'BrienMary BrianA crusading newspaper editor tricks his retiring star reporter into covering one last case.
- DirectorClyde BruckmanBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonMarion MackGlen CavenderAfter being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines.
- DirectorRay KelloggStarsDon SullivanFred GrahamLisa SimoneA giant lizard terrorizes a rural Texas community and a heroic teenager attempts to destroy the creature.
- StarsLinda ArrozNancy BirdTony Boldi[Glamour Gal (1945 documentary) is missing on IMDb]
- DirectorMillard WebbStarsMary EatonEddie CantorHelen MorganThe rise of a showgirl, Gloria Hughes, culminating in a Ziegfeld extravaganza "Glorifying the American Girl".
- DirectorSpencer WilliamsStarsMyra D. HemmingsSamuel H. JamesEddye L. HoustonThe owner of a juke joint arranges to frame an innocent preacher with a scandalous photograph, but his scheme backfires when his own adoptive mother interferes.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMack SwainTom MurrayA prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune, and is smitten with a girl he sees in a dance hall.
- DirectorHugh HarmanRudolf IsingStarsMarcellite GarnerRudolf IsingThe King's MenGoopy, a dog of no particular personality, but a crackerjack piano player, plays several songs on the stage of a nightclub. We spend a fair amount of time watching the patrons and staff of the nightclub.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsThe Ritz BrothersJimmy RitzHarry RitzWhen a wealthy man is threatened by a killer known as The Gorilla, he hires the Ritz Brothers to investigate. A real escaped gorilla shows up at the mansion just as the investigators arrive.
- DirectorLewis D. CollinsRay TaylorStarsMilburn StoneMarjorie WeaverEdgar KennedyAn adventurer goes after Nazi spies who have a new death ray called the Paratron.