Public Domain Feature Films

Here is a list of feature films and short subjects that fall under Public Domain in the United States or elsewhere. In addition to those listed, any films that were made before 1928 are classified under this as well. There's also a 1970s book, 50,000 Motion Pictures in the Public Domain, which the compilers created by checking films that either didn't renew their copyrights (as it wasn't automatic until 1978) or never filed them to begin with.

Under U.S. copyright law, all works created by the federal government, or by its employees who are acting within the scope of their employment, are public domain from their creation. Note that this does not necessarily apply to works made by state or local governments.

Here, "feature-length" is defined as 40+ minutes, the definition used by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the American Film Institute, and the British Film Institute; however it should be noted that other bodies use different definitions. SAG-AFTRA, the American trade union for film and TV actors, among others (but not stage actors), considers 75 minutes to be the lower cutoff for "feature-length".

Keep in mind when editing the page that just because a movie is old or widely bootlegged doesn't automatically mean it's PD, there needs to be evidence that the copyright either ran out or was waived by the filmmakers before adding it here. Links to view movies without pages here are permitted when possible. Animated examples have their own page.

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0—9, A—C

• 3 Bad Men (1926)
• The 39 Steps (1935) (copyright was restored in 1996, although it's still released by PD distributors)
• Abilene Town (1946)
• Abraham Lincoln (1930)
• Ace Drummond (1936)
• The Adventures of Smilin' Jack (1943)
• The Adventures of Tartu (1943)
• Aerial Gunner (1943)
• Africa Screams (1949)
• Algiers (1938)
• The Alien Factor (1978)
• All the Kind Strangers (1974)
• The Alpha Incident (1978)
• The Amazing Mr. X (1948)
• The Amazing Transparent Man (1960)
• America (1924)
• Anatomy of a Psycho (1961)
• And Then There Were None (1945)
• Angel and the Badman (1947)
• Angel on My Shoulder (1946)
• Angels Hard As They Come (1971)
• The Animal Kingdom (1932)
• Another Son of Sam (1975)
• Apache Blood (1975)
• The Ape (1940)
• The Ape Man (1943)
• Assassin of Youth (1937)
• Assignment Outer Space (1960)
• Assignment Terror (1970)
• The Astro-Zombies (1968)
• Asylum (1972)
• At War with the Army (1950)
• Atom Age Vampire (1963)
• Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)
• Attack from Space (1964)
• A Woman of the World (1925)
• Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes (1974) (aka Jive Turkey)
• Bad Man of Deadwood (1941)
• Bad Taste (1987)^note (was incorrectly labelled PD until Peter Jackson revealed that the copyright was still valid)
• The Bat (1959)
• The Battleship Potemkin (1925)
• The Beachcomber (1939)
• Bear Shooters (1930)
• The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)
• Beat the Devil (1953)
• Becky Sharp (1935)
• Behave Yourself (1951)
• Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952)
• The Beloved Rogue (1927)^note (the United Artists feature film is PD and the R-C comedy short is not)
• The Believer's Heaven (1977)
• Beneath the 12 Mile Reef (1953)
• Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
• Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis (1927)
• Betsy Ross (1917)
• Beyond Justice (1992)
• The Bigamist (1953)
• Bigfoot (1970)
• The Big Parade (1925)
• The Big Show (1936)
• The Birth of a Nation (1915)^note (noted film preservationist Raymond Rohauer tried to claim copyright on it through purchasing the copyrights of the film's producer Epoch Producing Corporation, who thought they had the rights [they didn't; D. W. Griffith did] and renewed its copyright in 1942, and sued fellow film preservationist Paul Killiam for reissuing the film in 1964, touching off a legal battle which ended in 1975 with the ruling that the 1942 copyright renewal was invalid and the film thus in the public domain, a ruling the Supreme Court upheld in 1976)
• The Black Cobra (1987)
  • Black Cobra 2 (1989)
  • Black Cobra 3: Manila Connection (1990)
• The Black Klansman (1966) (aka I Crossed the Color Line)
• Black Dragons (1942)
• The Black Pirate (1926)
• Black Rage (1972) (aka Catch the Black Sunshine)
• The Black Raven (1943)
• The Black Stork
• The Blazing Ninja (1973)
• Blazing Stewardesses (1975)
• Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969)
• The Blood of Jesus (1941)
• Blood Orgy of the She-Devils (1973)
• Bloody Pit of Horror (1965)
• Bluebeard (1944)
• Blue Steel (1934)
• La Bohème (1926)
• Bomba the Jungle Boy (1949)^note (the first film is copyrighted, however the sequels are not)
  • Bomba and the Jungle Girl (1952)
  • The Hidden City (1950)
  • Killer Leopard (1954)
  • Lord of the Jungle (1955)
  • The Lost Volcano (1950)
• Bootleggers (1974)^note (thought to be PD up until 2018, when the director's daughter purchased the film rights from a licensing firm after discovering they still had possession of it)
• Born to the West (1937) (aka Hell Town)
• Bowery At Midnight (1942)
• The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976)
• The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)
• Brain Twisters (1991)
• Bride of the Gorilla (1951)
• Brideless Groom (1947)
• Broken Blossoms (1919)
• The Brother from Another Planet (1984)
• A Bucket of Blood (1959)
• Bulldog Drummond (1929)
• Burial Path (1978)
• Burn 'Em Up Barnes (1934)
• The Burning Hell (1974)
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
• Captain Kidd (1945)
• Carnival of Souls (1962)
• Cause for Alarm! (1951)
• Cavalcade of the West (1936)
• Chained for Life (1951)
• Chanthaly (2013)^note (The director willingly rescinded its copyright after her Kickstarter campaign to get it into the PD reached its goal)
• Charade (1963)^note (accidentally released into the PD because Universal had neglected to put "Copyright", "Copr." or "©" in the copyright notice as was required. The soundtrack in isolation is still copyrighted however)
• Many Charlie Chan films were accidentally released into the public domain due to improper copyright notices:
  • Charlie Chan's Secret (1936)^note (the notice reads "Copyright MCMXXXV" with no claimant; this was shortly after Fox Film (who produced past Charlie Chan films) and 20th Century Pictures merged into 20th Century Fox, which probably led to confusion over which company to list as claimant)
  • The Scarlet Clue (1945)^note (on this and most of the next ones, Monogram Pictures straight up forgot to put any sort of copyright notice in the film!)
  • Dangerous Money (1946)
  • Dark Alibi (1946)^note (they remembered this time, but the notice reads "Copyright by Monogram Pictures, Corp." with no year, which didn't do much good)
  • The Trap (1946)
  • The Chinese Ring (1947)
  • The Golden Eye (1948)
• Check and Double Check (1930)
• Chess Fever (1925)
• The Chicken of Tomorrow (1948)
• Child Bride (1938)
• The Child Molester (1964)
• Children of Japan (1941)
• Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972)
• The Cigarette Girl from Mosselprom (1924)
• City of the Dead (1960)
• City of the Living Dead (1980)
• The City Without Jews (1924)
• Claws (1977)
• Cobra (1925)
• Commingled Containers (1997)
• The Corpse Grinders (1971)
• The Corpse Vanishes (1942)
• Corregidor (1943)
• The Country Doctor (1909)
• The Covered Wagon (1923)
• Crash of the Moons (1954)
• Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)
• Cry Blood, Apache (1970)
• Curse of Bigfoot (1975)
• Curses! (1925)
• Criminally Insane (1975)
• Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)

D—F

• D.O.A. (1950)
• Daniel Boone (1936)
• Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer (1956)
• Dante's Inferno (1924)
• Day of the Panther (1988)
• The Day the Sky Exploded (1958)
• Dead Men Walk (1943)
• Death Rides a Horse (1967)
• Dementia 13 (1963)
• The Demon Lover (1976) (aka Devil Master)
  • Demon Lover Diary (1980; making of documentary to the above film)
• The Demons of Ludlow (1983)
• Detour (1945)
• The Devil's Messenger (1961)
• Devil Times Five (1974)
• Dick Tracy (1945)
  • Dick Tracy (1937)
• Disneyland Dream (1956)
• Disorder In The Court (1936)
• The Divorce of Lady X (1938)
• Django the Bastard (1969)
• Dogs of War (1923)
• Dog Star Man (1961-64)
• The Doll Squad (1973)
• Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925)
• Doomed to Die (1940)
• Doomsday Machine (1972)
• The Door to Heaven (1941)
• Don't Open Till Christmas (1984)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)
• Dressed to Kill (1946)
• The Driller Killer (1979)
• Duck and Cover (1952)
• East Lynne (1925)
• Eaux d'Artifice (1953)
• Eegah! (1962)
• The Eagle (1925)
• Embryo (1976)
• Equinox (1970)
• The Eternal Jew (1940)
• Eternally Yours (1939)
• Evil Kinevil (1971)
• Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger (1976)
  • Return of the Tiger (1978)
• Experiments in the Revival of Organisms (1940)
• The Extra Girl (1923)
• The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks (1924)
• Faithful Heart (1923)
• A Farewell to Arms (1932)
• The Fast and the Furious (1955)
• The Fatal Hour (1940)
• Father's Little Dividend (1951)
• Faust (1926)
• Fear in the Night (1947)
• Feu Mathias Pascal (1925)
• The Fight for the Sky (1945)
• Fighting Caravans (1931)
• Fire Over England (1937)
• Fireworks (1947)
• Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1941)
• The Flying Ace (1926)
• The Flying Deuces (1939)
• Foolish Wives (1922)
• For Heaven's Sake (1926)
• Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks (1974)
• Frankenstein 80 (1972)
• Freaks (1932)
• The Freshman (1925)
• The Front Page (1931)
• The Frozen North (1922)
• Fun in Balloon Land (1965)

G—I

• The Gangster's Den (1945)
• Gangster Story (1960)
• The General (1927)
• Get Your Man (1927)
• The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
• Girl in Gold Boots (1969)
• Girl Shy (1924)
• Glamour Gal (1945)
• Glen or Glenda (1953)
• Glorifying the American Girl (1929)
• Go Down, Death! (1944)
• The Gold Rush (1925)
• Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)^note (copyright expired in the late 80s, but the film is still protected under Toho's copyright of the titular monster)
• The Goose Woman (1925)
• The Gorilla (1939)
• Go West (1925)
• The Grandmother (1969)
• Grass (1925)
• The Great Alaskan Mystery (1944)
• The Great Rupert (1950)
• Greed (1924)
• Happy Go Lovely (1951)
• Hallucination Generation (1966)
• Haunts (1977)
• Häxan (1922)
• He Walked By Night (1948)
• The Head Hunter (1982; English dub)
• The Headless Horseman (1922)
• Hell's House (1932)
• Hemp for Victory (1942)
• Hercules (1958)
• Hercules Unchained (1959)
• Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon (1964)
• Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964)
• He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
• His Girl Friday (1940)
• His People (1925)
• The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
• The Hollow (1975)
• Hollow Triumph (1948)
• Holy Ghost People (1967)
• Home (2009)^note (while a copyright notice appears in the end credits, director Yann Arthus-Bertrand states it was always intended to be PD so its environmental message can be made further available across the world)
• The Hoodlum (1951)
• Horror Express (1972)
• Horrors of Spider Island (1960)
• Hot Water (1924)
• The House by the Cemetery (1981)
• House on Haunted Hill (1959)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)^note (entered the US PD in 1952 because Universal failed to renew copyright)
• The Hurricane Express (1932)
• I Cover the Waterfront (1933)
• If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? (1972)
• Impact (1949)
• The Image (1969)
• Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)
• The Incredible Petrified World (1957)
• The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971)
• Indestructible Man (1956)
• The Inspector General (1949)
• Invasion from Inner Earth (1974)
• Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973)
• Invasion of the Blood Farmers (1972)
• Invisible Ghost (1941)
• Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969)
• Intolerance (1916)
• Isn't Life Terrible? (1925)
• It's a Wonderful Life (1946)^note (while the film's images are Public Domain, under the ruling in Stewart v. Abend the script is based off the still-copyrighted story The Greatest Gift. Republic Pictures also purchased exclusive rights to the copyrighted music to further shore up its rights)

J—L

• Jack and the Beanstalk (1952)
• The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
• Jail Bait (1954)
• Jane Eyre (1970)
• Jap Zero (1943)^note (PD from creation as work of the U.S. government)
• Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966)
• Joyless Street (1925)
• Jungle Book (1942)
• Kansas City Confidential (1952)
• Keep Off the Grass (1969)
• The Killer Shrews (1959)
• King Kong (1933)
• The King on Main Street (1925)
• King of the Zombies (1941)
• A Kiss for Cinderella (1925)
• The Klansman (1974)
• Knife for the Ladies (1974) (aka Jack the Ripper Goes West)
• The Lady (1925)
• Lady Frankenstein (1971)
• Lady Gangster (1942)
• Lady of the Night (1925)
• The Lady Vanishes (1938)
• Lady Windermere's Fan (1925)
• L'Age d'Or (1930)
• The Last House on Dead End Street (1977)
• The Last Man on Earth (1964)
• Last of the Mohicans (1920)
• The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)^note (the film is PD, but the soundtrack in isolation is not. The copyright notice mistakenly has a 1944 date due to an error in the Roman numerals (MCMXLIV instead of MCMLIV), so the copyright protection ended 10 years earlier than expected and MGM neglected to renew it probably because they thought they still had 10 years left)
• Last Woman on Earth (1960)
• Las Vegas Bloodbath (1989)
• Lazybones (1925)
• The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)^note (like Bootleggers, the director's daughter bought the rights in 2018 after discovering a licensing firm to have been in possession of it)
• Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters (1965)
• Let There Be Light (1946)^note (PD from creation as work of the U.S. government)
• Life with Father (1947)^note (the copyright wasn't renewed due to a clerical error, resulting in the film entering the PD in 1976)
• The Light of Asia (1925)
• The Light of Western Stars (1940)
• Little Annie Rooney (1925)
• Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
• Little Old New York (1923)
• The Little Princess (1939) - The Little Princess (1939)
• The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
• The Lodger (1927)
• The Loners (1972)
• The Lost City (1935)
• The Lost Jungle (1934)
• The Lost World (1925)
• Lovers in Quarantine (1925)
• Lucifer Rising (1972)

M—O

• M (1931)
• Ma Barker's Killer Brood (1960)
• The Mad Monster (1942)
• Malice in the Palace (1949)
• The Man from O.R.G.Y. (1970)
• The Man Who Saves the World (1982) (aka Turkish Star Wars)
• Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
• Manfish (1956)
• Maniac (1934)
• Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)
• The Manster (1959)
• Master of the House (1925)
• Marihuana (1936)
• Massacre at Central High (1976)
• McLintock! (1963)^note (the film is PD, but the soundtrack in isolation is not)
• Meet John Doe (1941)
• The Merry Widow (1925)
• Metropolis (1927)
• Michael (1924)
• Midnight Manhunt (1945)
• Mondo Trasho (1969)^note (the film is PD, but the soundtrack in isolation is not)
• The Monster (1925)
• The Monster Maker (1944)
• The Monster Walks (1932)
• Mother (1926)
• Mothlight (1963)
• Mr. Adam's Bomb (1949)
• Mr. Boggs Steps Out (1938)
• Mr. Robinson Cruesoe (1932)
• Multiple SI Dosis (1970)
• Murder at the Baskervilles (1937) (aka Silver Blaze)
• Mutiny (1952)
• My Dear Secretary (1949)
• My Favorite Brunette (1947)
• The Mystic (1925)
• The Mysterious Monsters (1976)
• The Mystery of the Hooded Horsemen (1937)
• Nancy Drew... Reporter (1939)
• The Navigator (1924)
• Neath Brooklyn Bridge (1942)
• The Negro Soldier (1944)^note (PD from creation as work of the U.S. government)
• The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935)
• The New Moscow (1938)
• Die Nibelungen (1924)
• Night of the Demon (1980)
• Night of the Living Dead (1968)^note (the title card with the original title Night of the Flesh Eaters had a proper copyright notice, but when the distributor changed the title, it neglected to put a copyright notice on the new title card, thus accidentally releasing it into the public domain)
• Nightmare Castle (1965)
• The North Star (1943)
• Nosferatu (1922)
• Nothing Sacred (1937)
• Of Human Bondage (1934)
• One Body Too Many (1944)
• One More Time (2009) (aka The Incredibly Strange Creatures 2)
• Orochi (1925)
• Orphans of the Storm (1921)
• Our Gang (1922)
• Our Gang Follies of 1938 (1937)
• Outer and Inner Space (1966)
• The Outlaw (1943)

P—R

• The Painted Hills (1951)
• Paper Bullets (1941) (aka Gangs Inc.)
• Peter Pan (1924)
• Phantom from Space (1953)
• The Phantom Empire (1935)
• The Phantom of the Opera (1925)^note (entered the US PD in 1954 because Universal failed to renew copyright)
• Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
• The Plastic Age (1925)
• Please Murder Me! (1956)
• The Pleasure Garden (1925)
• Pod People (1983)
• Poor Little Rich Girl (1963)
• Pretty Ladies (1925)
• Prologue to Wounded Knee (1973) (aka Gentle Savage)
• Proud Flesh (1925)
• Puce Moment (1949) 
• Pulgasari (1985)^note (considered this in countries still technically at war with North Korea, such as the U.S.)
• Quicksand (1950)
• Rabbit's Moon (1971; both the original and the 1979 re-edit)
• The Rag Man (1925)
• Rainbow Valley (1935)
• The Rat (1925)
• Rat Pfink a Boo Boo (1966)
• The Rawhide Terror (1934)
• The Red Head (1925)
• Red Heels (1925)
• The Red House (1947)
• Red Zone Cuba (1966)
• Reefer Madness (1936)
• Reign of Terror (1949)
• The Return of Superman (1979) (aka Turkish Superman)
• Return of The Streetfighter (1974/5)
• Revenge of the Virgins (1959)
• Road to Bali (1952)
• The Road to Yesterday (1925)
• Robot Monster (1953)
• Rosita (1923)
• R.O.T.O.R. (1987)
• La Roue (1923)

S—U

• Safety Last! (1923)
• Sally of the Sawdust (1925)
• Salome (1923)
• Salt of the Earth (1954)
• Santa Fe Trail (1940)
• Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (1972)
  • Jack and the Beanstalk (1970)
  • Thumbelina (1970)
• Santa's Christmas Elf Named Calvin (1971)
• Santa Claus (1959)
• Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
• The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1974)^note Under the title Count Dracula And His Vampire Bride
• Scaramouche (1923)
• The Scarlet Letter (1926)
• Scorpio Rising (1963)
• The Sea Hawk (1924)
• Secrets (1933)
• Sex Madness (1938)
• Seven Chances (1925)
• She (1925)
• She Gods of Shark Reef (1958)
• Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
• The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case (1932)
• Shock Treatment (1964)
• Silent Night Bloody Night (1972)
• The Sinful Dwarf (1973)
• The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947)
• Sin Takes a Holiday (1930)
• Sinners in Paradise (1939)
• Sita Sings the Blues (2008)
• The Skydivers (1963)
• The Sleeping Cardinal (1931)
• Smile Orange (1976)
• Smouldering Fires (1925)
• Snowbeast (1977)
• The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
• South Bronx Heroes (1985)
• Stage Struck (1925)
• Star Garden (1974)
• Stella Dallas (1925)
• Stellar (1993)
• The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
• The Stranger (1946)
• Sister Streetfighter (1974/6)
• The Streetfighter (1974/5)
• The Streetfighter's Last Revenge (1974/9)
• Strike (1925)
• Strike Me Deadly (1963)
• A Study in Scarlet (1933)
• Suddenly (1954)
• Sunrise (1927)
• Swing High, Swing Low (1937)
• Swing Parade (1946)
• The Tailor from Torzhok (1925)
• Target for Today (1944)^note (PD from creation as work of the U.S. government)
• Tartuffe (1925)
• Tarzan's Revenge (1938)
• Teenage Zombies (1959)
• Teenagers from Outer Space (1959)
• The Ten Commandments (1923)
• The Terror (1963)
• The Terror of Tiny Town (1938)
• The Text of Light (1974)
• The Thief of Bagdad (1924; original cut only)
• They Made Me a Criminal (1939)
• They Saved Hitler's Brain (1968)
• The Thing with 2 Heads (1972)
• This Is Hormel (1965)
• This Is Kung Fu (1983)
• Three Big Men (1973)
• Three on a Meathook (1973)
• Thunder County (1974) (aka Cell Block Girls)
• Tiger Fangs (1943)
• Tom Thumb and Little Red Riding Hood (1962; English dub)
• Too Late for Tears (1949)
• Track of the Moon Beast (1976)
• Tumbleweeds (1925)
• Twister's Revenge! (1987)
• Two Women (1960) (aka La Ciociara)
• The Unholy Three (1925)
• Unknown World (1951)

V—X

• Variety (1925)
• Vengeance of the Zombies (1973)
• Warning Shadows (1923)
• The Wasp Woman (1959)
• Waxworks (1924)
• The Way to Shadow Garden (1954)
• Weasels Rip My Flesh (1979)
• Whistle Stop (1946)
• The White Sister (1923)
• Whom the Gods Destroy (1916)
• Why We Fight (1942-45)^note (PD from creation as work of the U.S. government)
  • Prelude to War (1942)
  • The Battle of Russia (1943)
• Why Worry? (1923)
• The Wild Women of Wongo (1958)
• The Wild World of Batwoman (1966)
• Window Water Baby Moving (1958)
• Wings (1927)
• The Wizard of Mars (1965)
• The Wizard of Oz (1925)
• Womanhandled (1925)
• The Woman in Green (1945)
• Woman on the Run (1950)
• Women in Revolt (1971)
• Wolf Blood (1925)

Y—Z

• Young and Innocent (1937) (aka The Girl Was Young)
• Zapruder Film (1963)
• Zaza (1923)

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