A Man Betrayed

The film 'A Man Betrayed' (1936), starring Edward Ellis and John Wayne, was registered for copyright by Republic Pictures Corp. on December 28, 1936 (Registration No. LP6799). Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works from this era required a renewal filing in the 28th year of the initial term to maintain protection. For a 1936 work, the renewal window was 1963-1964. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no renewal registration for this title. While the 1941 John Wayne film of the same title (also released by Republic, sometimes called 'Wheel of Fortune') was validly renewed, the 1936 production was not. Because the copyright was not renewed within the statutory timeframe, the work entered the public domain in the United States upon the expiration of its first term on December 28, 1964. This status is corroborated by the film's presence in the 'Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain' by Hurst and Baer, which confirms the lack of a renewal record for the 1936 registration.