A Close Call for Ellery Queen

The film was released in 1942 and registered for copyright by Columbia Pictures Corp. (LP11003). Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works from this era required a renewal filing in the 28th year to maintain protection. For a 1942 release, the renewal window occurred in 1969-1970. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no renewal registration for this specific title. While several other films in the Ellery Queen series were renewed, 'A Close Call for Ellery Queen' (along with 'A Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen' and 'Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen') entered the public domain due to non-renewal. This finding is corroborated by 'Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain', which lists the film as a non-renewed work.