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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1.
Abraham Lincoln
(1930)
An episodic biography of the 16th President of the United States. (96 mins.)
Director: D.W. Griffith
2.
Ace Drummond
(1936)
This 13 chapter serial is based on the comic strip character Ace Drummond created by Eddie Rickenbacker... (255 mins.)
Director: Ford Beebe, Cliff Smith
3.
The Adventures of Smilin' Jack
(1943)
Just 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. (265 mins.)
Director: Lewis D. Collins, Ray Taylor
4.
Africa Screams
(1949)
Abbott & Costello search for diamonds in Africa, along the way meeting a visually-impaired gunner, a hungry lion, and a tribe of cannibals... (79 mins.)
Director: Charles Barton
5.
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
(1939 Short Film)
Working 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. (22 mins.)
Director: Dave Fleischer
6.
Algiers
(1938)
Beautiful Gaby meets a romantic jewel thief in the mysterious Casbah. (96 mins.)
Director: John Cromwell
7.
All This and Rabbit Stew
(1941 Short Film)
Bugs heckles a black hunter and escapes from a bear. (7 mins.)
Stars: Mel Blanc, Danny Webb
8.
The Amazing Mr. X
(1948)
On the beach one night, Christine Faber, two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf... (78 mins.)
Director: Bernard Vorhaus
9.
The Amazing Transparent Man
(1960)
A crazed scientist invents an invisibility formula. He plans to use the formula to create an army of invisible zombies. (58 mins.)
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
10.
And Then There Were None
(1945)
Based on a novel and subsequent stage play by Agatha Christie; ten people are invited to an isolated island, only to be killed one-by-one. Could one of them be the killer? (97 mins.)
Director: Rene Clair
11.
Angel and the Badman
(1947)
Quirt 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. (100 mins.)
Director: James Edward Grant
12.
Angel on My Shoulder
(1946)
The Devil arranges for a deceased gangster to return to Earth as a well-respected judge to make up for his previous life. (100 mins.)
Director: Archie Mayo
13.
Angels Hard as They Come
(1971)
Sex, violence and bikers on an action filled ride, in this film produced and co-written by Jonathan Demme. (85 mins.)
Director: Joe Viola
14.
The Ape
(1940)
Dr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly mad scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. He needs spinal... (62 mins.)
Director: William Nigh
15.
The Ape Man
(1943)
Conducting weird scientific experiments, crazed Dr. James Brewster, aided by his colleague Dr. Randall... (64 mins.)
Director: William Beaudine
16.
Assassin of Youth
(1937)
A 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. (80 mins.)
Director: Elmer Clifton
17.
At War with the Army
(1950)
Alvin Corwin is low man on the totem pole, and goes from one mishap to another at an army training camp in World War II. (93 mins.)
Director: Hal Walker
18.
Seddok, l'erede di Satana
(1960)
A stripper is horribly disfigured in a car accident. A brilliant scientist develops a treatment that restores her beauty and falls in love with her... (107 mins.)
Director: Anton Giulio Majano
“ Alternate title: Atom Age Vampire ” - olicool10
19.
Attack of the Giant Leeches
(1959)
After local-moonshine swilling trapper Lem Sawyer sees a giant creature, people start disappearing.... (62 mins.)
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski
20.
The Bat
(1959)
A crazed killer known as "The Bat" is on the loose in a mansion full of people. (80 mins.)
Director: Crane Wilbur
21.
Battleship Potemkin
(1925)
A dramatized account of a great Russian naval mutiny and a resulting street demonstration which brought on a police massacre. (75 mins.)
Director: S.M. Eisenstein
23.
Bear Shooters
(1930 Short Film)
While on a camping trip, the gang comes across poachers. (20 mins.)
Director: Robert McGowan
24.
Beat the Devil
(1953)
On 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... (89 mins.)
Director: John Huston
25.
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla
(1952)
Two goofy entertainers meet a mad scientist on a jungle island. (74 mins.)
Director: William Beaudine
26.
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
(1953)
Mike and Tony Petrakis are a Greek father and son team who dive for sponges off the coast of Florida... (102 mins.)
Director: Robert D. Webb
27.
The Bigamist
(1953)
Harry and Eve Graham are trying to adopt a baby. The head of the agency senses Harry is keeping a secret and does some investigating... (80 mins.)
Director: Ida Lupino
28.
The Big Show
(1936)
At the Texas Centennial in Dallas Autry confuses two girls by being himself and his own stunt double. (71 mins.)
Director: Mack V. Wright
29.
Black Dragons
(1942)
A cabal of American industrialists, all fifth-columnists intent on sabotaging the war effort, are methodically... (64 mins.)
Director: William Nigh
30.
The Blood of Jesus
(1941)
An atheist accidentally shoots his Baptist wife. She dies and goes to a crossroads, where the devil tries to lead her astray. (57 mins.)
Director: Spencer Williams
31.
Il boia scarlatto
(1965)
A photographer and his models go to an old, abandoned castle to shoot some sexy covers for horror novels... (87 mins.)
Director: Max Hunter
“ Alternate title: Bloody Pit of Horror ” - olicool10
32.
Blood Tide
(1982)
An adventurer hunting for treasure in Greece accidentally frees a monster that forces local villagers to sacrifice virgins. (97 mins.)
Director: Richard Jeffries
33.
Bluebeard
(1944)
In Paris, an artist hires portrait models, and after he finishes their portraits, he strangles them. (72 mins.)
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
34.
Bowery at Midnight
(1942)
Kindly soup kitchen operator and professor of criminology Bela Lugosi uses his soup kitchen as a front... (61 mins.)
Director: Wallace Fox
35.
Boy Meets Dog
(1938 Short Film)
A commercial short made for the Bristol-Myers Co. (plugging their toothpaste) that features the characters... (9 mins.)
Director: Walter Lantz
Stars: Billy Bletcher
36.
The Boy in the Plastic Bubble
(1976 TV Movie)
Based on a true story, Tod Lubitch is born with a deficient immune system (which is unlike being born with AIDS)... (96 mins.)
Director: Randal Kleiser
37.
Boys Beware
(1961 Short Film)
Young Jimmy accepts a ride home from a friendly stranger, Ralph. Jimmy likes Ralph. Ralph likes Jimmy... (10 mins.)
Stars: Sid Davis
38.
The Brain That Wouldn't Die
(1962)
A 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. (82 mins.)
Director: Joseph Green
39.
Bride of the Gorilla
(1951)
The 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. (70 mins.)
Director: Curt Siodmak
40.
Brideless Groom
(1947 Short Film)
To inherit a fortune, voice teacher Shemp must marry before six o'clock, but no girl will accept his proposal... (17 mins.)
Director: Edward Bernds
41.
A Bucket of Blood
(1959)
A frustrated and talentless artist finds acclaim for a plaster covered dead cat that is mistaken as a skillful statuette. Soon the desire for more praise leads to an increasingly deadly series of works. (66 mins.)
Director: Roger Corman
42.
Bulldog Drummond
(1929)
A bored WWI veteran helps out a young woman, who believes her uncle is being held hostage. (90 mins.)
Director: F. Richard Jones
43.
Burn 'Em Up Barnes
(1934)
Marjorie Temple, owner of a bus line and an apparently worthless plot of land, is set upon by rich oil... (210 mins.)
Director: Colbert Clark, Armand Schaefer
44.
Captain Kidd
(1945)
The unhistorical adventures of pirate Captain Kidd revolve around treasure and treachery. (90 mins.)
Director: Rowland V. Lee
45.
Carnival of Souls
(1962)
After a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival. (78 mins.)
Director: Herk Harvey
46.
Cause for Alarm!
(1951)
Mr. Jones is a invalid husband who wrongly thinks his wife and doctor are conspiring to kill him and outlines that suspicion in letter, which causes a serious concern when he ends up dying anyway. (74 mins.)
Director: Tay Garnett
47.
Chained for Life
(1952)
A 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? (81 mins.)
Director: Harry L. Fraser
48.
Charade
(1963)
Romance and suspense in Paris, as a woman is pursued by several men who want a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. Who can she trust? (113 mins.)
Director: Stanley Donen
49.
Check and Double Check
(1930)
Typical 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... (77 mins.)
Director: Melville Brown
50.
The Chicken of Tomorrow
(1948 Documentary)
Advances in chicken and egg farming. (18 mins.)
Director: Jack Arnold
Stars: Lowell Thomas
51.
Child Bride
(1938)
Schoolteacher in a rural community campaigns to stop the practice of older men marrying young, underage girls. (62 mins.)
Director: Harry J. Revier
52.
Christmas Comes But Once a Year
(1936 Short Film)
At 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. (9 mins.)
Director: Dave Fleischer
Stars: Jack Mercer, Mae Questel
53.
The City of the Dead
(1960)
A young coed (Nan Barlow) uses her winter vacation to research a paper on witchcraft in New England... (78 mins.)
Director: John Moxey
54.
A Coach for Cinderella
(1937 Short Film)
The typical Cinderella storyline: wicked stepmother and stepsisters, and Cinderella can't go to the ball... (9 mins.)
55.
A Corny Concerto
(1943 Short Film)
Making fun of "Fantasia", Bugs, Porky Pig and Porky's dog do a ballet after Elmer Fudd introduces "A Tale of the Vienna Woods." (8 mins.)
Director: Robert Clampett
Stars: Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. Bryan
56.
The Corpse Vanishes
(1942)
A scientist, aided by an old hag & her two sons - a malicious dwarf and a brutish moron, kills virgin brides, steals their bodies, & extracts gland fluid to keep his ancient wife alive and young. (64 mins.)
Director: Wallace Fox
57.
Crash of Moons
(1954 TV Movie)
Not a feature film but a three-part episode from the TV series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger edited together and released as a feature. (78 mins.)
Director: Hollingsworth Morse
58.
Creature from the Haunted Sea
(1961)
A 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. (63 mins.)
Director: Roger Corman
59.
Cyrano de Bergerac
(1950)
The charismatic swordsman-poet helps another woo the woman he loves in this straightforward version of the play. (112 mins.)
Director: Michael Gordon
60.
D.O.A.
(1950)
Frank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why. (83 mins.)
Director: Rudolph Maté
61.
Daffy - The Commando
(1943 Short Film)
Commando Daffy Duck goes behind enemy lines and causes havoc for a Nazi German officer and his troops. (7 mins.)
Director: I. Freleng
Stars: Mel Blanc
62.
A Day at the Zoo
(1939 Short Film)
A tour of the zoo, in typical Tex Avery style: a series of one-liners and sight gags, punctuated by Egghead teasing a lion at intervals, despite the admonishments of the narrator. (7 mins.)
Director: Fred Avery
63.
Dead Men Walk
(1943)
The 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. (64 mins.)
Director: Sam Newfield
64.
Da uomo a uomo
(1967)
In the Old West a little boy witnesses the murder of his family by gunmen and grows up with plans to track them all down, and kill them. (120 mins.)
Director: Giulio Petroni
“ Alternate title: Death Rides a Horse ” - olicool10
65.
Dementia 13
(1963)
When her husband John has a heart attack while out in a rowboat on the lake, Louise Haloran throws his... (75 mins.)
Director: Francis Coppola
66.
Detour
(1945)
Chance events trap hitch-hiker Al Roberts in a tightening net of film noir trouble. (67 mins.)
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
67.
Dick Tracy
(1937)
A master criminal called The Spider puts the famous detective's brother under a hypnotic spell and turns him against Dick. (290 mins.)
Director: Alan James, Ray Taylor
68.
Disorder in the Court
(1936 Short Film)
The stooges are witnesses at a trial where their friend, a dancer at a nightclub where they are musicians... (16 mins.)
Director: Preston Black
69.
Dogs of War
(1923 Short Film)
The gang wages war using old vegetables as munitions. Later, they ruin a movie in progress when they double-expose the film. (24 mins.)
Director: Robert F. McGowan
70.
Doomed to Die
(1940)
Mr. Wong and a girl reporter investigate a shipping magnate's murder. (68 mins.)
Director: William Nigh
71.
Dressed to Kill
(1946)
Sherlock 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. (76 mins.)
Director: Roy William Neill
72.
The Driller Killer
(1979)
An 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. (96 mins.)
Director: Abel Ferrara
73.
Duck and Cover
(1952 Short Film)
A grinning monkey sitting in a tree dangles a lit firecracker from a fishing pole just over the head of an unwary turtle... (9 mins.)
74.
Eegah
(1962)
Teenagers stumble across a prehistoric caveman, who goes on a rampage. (90 mins.)
Director: Nicholas Merriwether
75.
Embryo
(1976)
A scientist doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days... (104 mins.)
Director: Ralph Nelson
76.
The Eternal Jew
(1940 Documentary)
The Jews of Poland (invaded by Germany in 1939) are depicted as filthy, evil, corrupt, and intent on world domination... (62 mins.)
Director: Fritz Hippler
77.
Eternally Yours
(1939)
Anita Halstead, swept off her feet by magician Arturo, finds the results less than magical. (95 mins.)
Director: Tay Garnett
78.
Experiments in the Revival of Organisms
(1940 Documentary)
This film shows experiments preformed by Soviet scientists reviving the lungs, heart, and even the head of dead dogs. (20 mins.)
Director: D.I. Yashin
Stars: J.B.S. Haldane
79.
Falling Hare
(1943 Short Film)
Bugs encounters wartime sabotage and takes to the air to do battle. (8 mins.)
Director: Robert Clampett
Stars: Mel Blanc, Robert Clampett
80.
A Farewell to Arms
(1932)
A tale of the love between ambulance driver Lt. Henry and Nurse Catherine Barkley during World War I... (80 mins.)
Director: Frank Borzage
81.
The Fast and the Furious
(1955)
A man wrongly imprisoned for murder breaks out of jail. He wants to clear his name, but with the police pursuing him... (73 mins.)
Director: John Ireland, Edwards Sampson
82.
The Fatal Hour
(1940)
When Captain Street's best friend Dan O'Grady is murdered, Street enlists the help of Chinese detective James Lee Wong... (68 mins.)
Director: William Nigh
83.
Father's Little Dividend
(1951)
In this sequel to Father of the Bride, newly married Kay Dunstan announces that she and her husband are going to have a baby, leaving her father having to come to grips with the fact that he will soon be a granddad. (82 mins.)
Director: Vincente Minnelli
84.
Faust: A German Folk Legend
(1926)
The demon Mephisto wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man's soul. (85 mins.)
Director: F.W. Murnau
“ Alternate title: Faust ” - olicool10
85.
Fear in the Night
(1947)
A man dreams he committed murder, then begins to suspect it was real. (72 mins.)
Director: Maxwell Shane
86.
Fire Over England
(1937)
Queen Elizabeth is running this show. The men in her court should be thinking about how to add to the... (92 mins.)
Director: William K. Howard
87.
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
(1940)
Flash and his friends return to planet Mongo for an antidote to the Purple Death. But Ming the Merciless has other plans for them... (220 mins.)
Director: Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor
88.
The Flying Deuces
(1939)
Oliver is heartbroken when he finds that Georgette, the inkeeper's daughter he's fallen in love with... (69 mins.)
Director: A. Edward Sutherland
89.
Freaks
(1932)
A 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. (64 mins.)
Director: Tod Browning
90.
Fresh Hare
(1942 Short Film)
In the Canadian North Woods, Bugs is wanted dead or alive and Elmer is out to bring him in. (7 mins.)
Director: I. Freleng
91.
The Front Page
(1931)
Hildy Johnson, newspaper reporter, is engaged to Peggy Grant and planning to move to New York for a higher paying advertising job... (101 mins.)
Director: Lewis Milestone
92.
The General
(1926)
When Union spies steal an engineer's beloved locomotive, he pursues it single handedly and straight through enemy lines. (107 mins.)
Director: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton
93.
The Giant Gila Monster
(1959)
A giant lizard terrorizes a rural Texas community with a heroic teenager attempting to destroy the creature. (74 mins.)
Director: Ray Kellogg
94.
Before & After'noon Movies
(2001 TV Series)
Episode: From Garden Grunge to Glamour Gal (2002)
Director: Andrew Greenberger
“ [Glamour Gal (1945 documentary) is missing on IMDb] ” - olicool10
95.
Glorifying the American Girl
(1929)
The rise of a showgirl, Gloria Hughes, culminating in a Ziegfeld extravaganza "Glorifying the American Girl". (95 mins.)
Director: Millard Webb
96.
Go Down, Death!
(1944)
The 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. (56 mins.)
Director: Spencer Williams
97.
The Gold Rush
(1925)
The Tramp goes to the Klondike in search of gold and finds it and more. (95 mins.)
Director: Charles Chaplin
98.
Goopy Geer
(1932 Short Film)
Goopy, 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. (7 mins.)
99.
The Gorilla
(1939)
When a wealthy man (Atwill) is threatened by a killer known as The Gorilla, he hires the Ritz Brothers to investigate... (66 mins.)
Director: Allan Dwan
100.
The Great Alaskan Mystery
(1944)
An adventurer goes after Nazi spies who have a new death ray called the Paratron. (223 mins.)
Director: Lewis D. Collins, Ray Taylor
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