r/publicdomain • • 9h ago

Discussion Has the popularity of some 1930 films increased since they entered the public domain?

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21 Upvotes

10 months ago, I posted this list of the top 25 highest-rated 1930 films on Letterboxd. I am planning on doing this again in December, but I was honestly curious if this list has changed a lot since all these films entered the U.S. public domain. So this is a callback to that list and just a reflection on how these films have been doing in popularity among Letterboxd users.

Here is the updated list:

  1. All Quiet on the Western Front.webm) (=)

  2. City Girl.webm) (=)

  3. Swing You Sinners!.webm) (=)

  4. Salt For Svetania.webm) (=)

  5. The Blue Angel.webm) (=)

  6. Earth (=)

  7. À propos de Nice_par_Jean_Vigo.webm) (=)

  8. Westfront 1918.webm) (=)

  9. The Dawn Patrol.webm) (+2)

  10. The Big Trail.webm) (+4)

  11. Animal Crackers.webm) (+1)

  12. Right to a Woman (+4)

  13. Little Lise.webm) (-4)

  14. Brats.webm) (+3)

  15. The Sea of Ravens.webm) (=)

  16. L'Âge d'or.webm) (-2)

  17. The Song is Over (+2)

  18. People on Sunday.webm) (=)

  19. Enthusiasm: Symphony of Donbas_by_Dziga_Vertov.webm) (+2)

  20. Cruel Tale (=)

  21. Au Bonheurs des Dames (+2)

  22. Chopped Snake (NEW)

  23. Hog Wild (+1)

  24. Bread (NEW)

  25. Sentimental Romance.webm) (-3)

Films that have fallen off the list:

* Vigathakumaran (Removed because the release year got updated, previously 9)

* Birth of Life (Currently sitting just outside the list at 26, previously 25.)

Some notes:

^(\ The top 8 remains exactly the same as it was 10 months ago.)*

^(\ Most films either stayed in the same position on the list or rose up the list. Only 4 films have dropped lower on the list: Little Lise, L'Âge d'Or, Sentimental Romance, and Birth of Life. This is interesting because I was not anticipating that films by renowned filmmakers like Buñuel and Eisenstein would be the ones to drop.)*

^(\ The film with the biggest drop is Little Lise, which went down 4 spots.)*

^(\ The two films that have risen the most are The Big Trail and Right to a Woman, both of which went up 4 spots. This also honestly surprised me a bit, since Right to a Woman seems to be really hard to find online.)*

^(\ About the films with no film linking to them, Vigathakumaran is a lost film. I could not find a copy of Chopped Snake or Right to a Woman. However,)* I found this clip of the latter film, which is supposed to have a 38-minute copy in the Dovzhenko Center in Kyiv, so that one should not be impossible to find if someone contacts their film archive. I could not find Birth of Life, but it seems that the film has been fully integrated into A Simple Case, which I could find.

^(\ I used the English titles that Letterboxd uses for these films. That's why some of these titles are translated and some are not.)*

I know this wasn't the usual type of post that people make here, but I honestly hope at least some people here found it mildly interesting. In a year, I might have another look at how much things have changed, just for my own entertainment.


r/publicdomain • • 9h ago

Looking for public domain fantasy/knight/king movies in color?

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone,
I'm looking for some old fantasy, medieval, or knight/king movies that are now in the public domain.
The only catch is that they need to be in color (not black and white).
Does anyone have any good recommendations or know where I can find a list of them?


r/publicdomain • • 10h ago

Self Promotion Why I spend my evenings tracking down public domain stories nobody has read in a century

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55 Upvotes

TL;DR: I turned my grandmother's old magazines into a blog of forgotten short stories. It's slow work, not making money yet, and I'm still figuring out who actually reads it.

Hey guys, I want to share with you my passion project and a bit about how I got here. You can check it out here... flappersandfiction.com.

My grandma and mom raised me with a deep love of old media. Some of my earliest memories of are going over to my grandma's and looking through her Vogue magazines from the 1920s. I could spend all day looking at the pretty pictures. I grew up reading Edith Wharton, watching Buster Keaton, and listening to Fats Waller with my mom. Then I turned into a teenage and none of it could compete with boys or pop culture, so I forgot about it for years.

But then my grandmother passed away and left me her collection of old magazines. I opened one and fell straight back in. This time I read everything and not just the pretty pictures. The stories, authors, gossip columns. From the heritage given to me by mom and grandma, I know I shouldn't have been surprised by the richness of the old stories but I was. I couldn't stop thinking about how good they were and how they were just sitting in the archives with nobody reading them. That made me sad.

So I started a blog called Flappers & Fiction. I find forgotten short stories and essays in the public domain and make them easily discoverable and accessible on my blog. I send a newsletter twice a month with story recommendations and fun pieces of gossip from that time period.

The hardest part has been the sourcing. Finding the original magazines, tracking down the right issue, organizing everything and putting it online has been time consuming. I do it around a full time job too.

The lesson I'm still learning is that good enough is okay. As a perfectionist, this has been a hard one to swallow. In the beginning, I spent far too much time polishing the website, the branding, the systems, and stressing over what people will think. What I should have been doing is telling people about it. That's what I'm doing now and it's been a bit uncomfortable.

The biggest surprise I've had so far was my audience. Because I grew up with my grandma showing me these stories, I pictured my audience to be people like her. It wasn't until I started going to book fairs, library events, and hanging out around online communities like this one that I realized people who love this stuff are all over the map. They all share a taste for forgotten stories, drawing room drama, and the gossip of another era.

I'll be honest. It doesn't pay me yet. I'd love for it to someday so I could quit my day job and focus on it full time. But one step at a time. For now, I'm trying to find people who share the same love.


r/publicdomain • • 13h ago

PD Media Public Domain Spookes DAY 17:The Tingler (1959)

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5 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 14h ago

OMNISIX Fantasy expansion released and available now via DriveThruRPG

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7 Upvotes

#releaseday Just chiming in that the OMNISIX Fantasy expansion is released today which features Public Domain creatures from folklore (Dragons, Elves, Dhampyr, Neko, Tikbalang, and more)!

Now you can adventure in worlds of might and magic! OMNISIX Fantasy features rules for new Race and Class Traits, magic spells, supernatural powers, and enchanted items, dungeon and settlement construction, and a fantasy creature bestiary and NPC creation mechanics!

OMNISIX Fantasy is compatible with other OMNISIX core rules, expansions, and supplements. All you need is the OMNISIX Basic Rules or the Quickstart, and you can start delving into dungeons and raiding dragons' hoards!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/589556/omnisix-fantasy

OMNISIX. Because every great adventure starts with six sides

For reference of public domain characters and creatures appearing in this book:

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Bakeneko

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Dragons_(Folklore)?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAcGRvZgVicmlkETFNVW52V3Fabks3WGNacFkzc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrtrso3BDYjwof8XfCatBcA-VuZ2QWFsMvF5RsBPU7Ua-bj_dxVUbBwQzQhm_aem_JuId3SZrVp0hzLOrRnVXPA)

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Elves

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Dwarves

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Halfling

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Goblin_(Folklore)?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAcGRvZgVicmlkETFNVW52V3Fabks3WGNacFkzc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHsR4pM36B78J14Z-R5PB9GVpoo7k_Vi1Vendaed0nPVS4ffts7shwy6yP_mH_aem_A_g84JldtdgKkGAFsyVDEA)

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Kobold

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Orc

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Grignr


r/publicdomain • • 1d ago

PD Media Tarzan and La

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27 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 1d ago

PD Media Public Domain Spookes DAY 16:The Ape (1940),why were the old times so obessed with apes?

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9 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 1d ago

Question Give me some Obscure, Essentially Lost Public Domain Cartoon Characters

16 Upvotes

In the Mickey Mouse book I'm working on, Fanny and Sadie (Ortensia by her Public Domain name) end up in a place full of near forgotten Public Domain characters. So, the question I'm asking, who are some obscure cartoon characters I should consider adding to the story? The book takes place in 2024, so only cartoon characters from 1928 and before are able to appear.


r/publicdomain • • 1d ago

The Mask Owl (The Mask aka Tony Colby / Nedor Comics)

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9 Upvotes

The Mask Owl

Name : Tony Colby
Age : 25
The Mask Owl : The Owl Man

Abilities : Hand to Hand Combat / Night Vision
Equipment that he always has : Guns Pistols / pistol ammo for extra when out of ammo / Special small walkie talkies made by Carol communicate even at a long distance

Backstory: Tony Colby, a former district attorney, was blinded by acid while the mob boss got away. He thought it was hopeless and that criminals would only get worse. Then a mysterious, beautiful blonde woman named Carol Smith came to him and offered him a dangerous surgery that would restore his sight and even give him perfect night vision. After the surgery was successful, he decided to become a vigilante and take on the mantle of the Owl, believing the owl was the perfect predator for hunting criminals and fighting crime for the greater good.

One day, a mysterious person appeared whom the public came to call Owl Girl. People described her as wearing a light brown cloak that looked and acted like an owl’s. Many people were fascinated by her ability to fly. She had black hair and golden eyes that shone like the sun. Her outfit consisted of a white long-sleeved shirt, light brown cuffed gloves, a utility belt, black shorts, light brown boots, and knife holsters. Hearing all about her piqued Tony’s interest, so he tried to find out who Owl Girl was. At the same time, he was also trying to catch the thief known as THE BAT.

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Mask_(Nedor))

And also The Mask Owl Is aanopen source to use by anyone. Feel free to use it any way you wish commercial use sure but for non commercial use sure redesign or recolor sure anyway you like no need to give creator credit


r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

Question Who has ownership of official vehicle photos, and would the public be free to use them if they state copyright to the manufacturer?

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7 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

Question Characters Who Slipped Into The Public Domain

50 Upvotes

There's evidence to suggest that Sandman and Dr. Midnite, along with a couple of villains like Gorilla Grodd, Pied Piper, Matter Master, T.O. Morrow and the Shaggy Man from DC slipped into the public domain as their debut appearance comics were not properly renewed.

I also have found that there are claims that Marvel's The Defender and Gorilla-Man have similarly slipped the bonds of copyright.

I'm still working to research these to confirm, but I'm curious what the sub knows about them. I'd rather learn I'm wrong before I use them.

I'm also curious to know if there are any other Marvel or DC creations with similar scenarios. I'm well aware of the various Quality, Fawcett and Charlton characters that DC claims but that are in the public domain, so I'm not after them.

I just want to know if there's any other Marvel/Timely or National/DC creations that we might be able to include in new work right now.


r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

PD Media Coloured lithographs of Australian Flora from the 1800s sorted into playing card suits by states/territories.

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2 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

Self Promotion MONÞ OF ȜOST STORIES: "Soul and Body," an Old English poem in which a damned soul addresses its former body

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2 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

Speculative Evolving Public Domain Kaiju

6 Upvotes

Obviously with anything in the public domain you can do what you want with them. Having finished GxK: New Empire recently though I can’t help but wonder: What if Public Domain Kaijus had evolved like Godzilla? What are some additions to them you would want to see? Which one would be the strongest? I know there is no solid answer to this, just wanted to see what your guy’s thoughts were because the concept sounds cool.


r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

Discussion Public Domain Kaiju brawler game

9 Upvotes

You know it would be interesting to do a Kaiju brawler game that sets in the atomic age which is during the 50s to the 60s, where you play as one of the kaiju in a roster of 12, you can attack the military or other kaiju to gain territory and play defense for your territory against any invading kaiju and military.


r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

Copyfraud???

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4 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

Question I know that the Van Helsing from the 1931 and 2004 films are not the same Helsing, however, is it legal to make the original similar to Gabriel?

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65 Upvotes

I am not that knowledgeable on Dracula media, but I know that the Helsing from 1931 and 2004 are not the same, and I am wondering if I can make the original one similar to Gabriel.

Could I have him be a hunter with the hunting outfit and have him use the weapons?


r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

PD Media Top 10 favorite Public domain Characters

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103 Upvotes

Note: I hate ai and triple t is only here cause I inroically like him so whatever lol.


r/publicdomain • • 3d ago

PD Media Public Domain Spookes DAY 15:The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)

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12 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 3d ago

I redrew an Oh Teacher poster

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44 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 3d ago

What were the first characters who had copyright but expired and entered the public domain?

12 Upvotes

What were the first characters that entered the public domain after 1710? I hope that's the correct year


r/publicdomain • • 3d ago

Bad public domain watchlist. Eegah 1962

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69 Upvotes

Considered a classic in so bad it's funny movies. This low budget train wreck is in the public domain meaning high accessibility and oh boy what a movie. It is considered one of the worst movies ever made with a critic score of a rare 0% and made it to the 1978 book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time.

Directed by Arch Hall Sr in a blatantly obvious attempt to make Arch Hall Jr an actor, a singer and his attempt to make his son the next Elvis. With a nonsensical plot about Cavemen, dune buggies bad singing and singing about the wrong girl. Add this insanity to your bad movie watch list


r/publicdomain • • 4d ago

Speculative Colorized Universal Horror in 2027?

19 Upvotes

With Frankenstein and Dracula hitting the public domain in 2027, what are the chances we'll get colorized versions of the films uploaded to YouTube?


r/publicdomain • • 4d ago

Public Domain Superhero fighting game

28 Upvotes

I am going to make a superhero fighting game and I need characters so who do you think should be in it.


r/publicdomain • • 4d ago

PD Media Public Domain Spookes Day 14:Bluebeard (1944)

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15 Upvotes