Public Domain
A Howling Success
1954 · Terrytoons · Dir. Connie Rasinski
A favorite plot at the studio: a character running around the house being terrorized mostly by his own imagination. A sure-fire setup for freak-out animation by Jim Tyer, Carlo Vinci, Conrad "Connie" Rasinski (the director, after whose dog "Pago" was named) and Paul Sommer.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
A Howling Success (1954) is a Terrytoons animated short featuring the character Little Roquefort, released by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. The film was originally registered for copyright on May 14, 1954, under registration number LP3744.
Under the 1909 Copyright Act, works from this era required a renewal filing in their 28th year to maintain protection. For a 1954 release, the renewal window was open in 1981-1982. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the US Copyright Office records (CCE) reveals no renewal registration for this specific title. While Viacom/Paramount (the successors to Terrytoons) renewed many films in the catalog, this particular entry was omitted. Per the Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1950-1959), this title is confirmed as non-renewed and thus entered the public domain in 1982.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures 1950-1959 (LP3744)
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database (No renewal record found for LP3744)
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (Hurst/Baer)
- The Terrytoons Filmography (Lenburg)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.