Public Domain
A Swiss Trick
1931 · Van Beuren Studios · Dir. John Foster
Tom and Jerry are aboard a train making its way up a mountain in the Swiss Alps. When their train breaks down, they're spotted by a very thin St. Bernard, who brings the engine some liquor. The engine zips through the Alps, but leaves the pair behind.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
A Swiss Trick is a 1931 animated short from the 'Tom and Jerry' series (the humans, not the cat and mouse) produced by Van Beuren Studios and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. Under the copyright laws applicable to works published between 1928 and 1963, a work entered the public domain if its copyright was not renewed with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of its first term.
According to the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and search results in the Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), no renewal registration was filed for this specific title. While many Van Beuren cartoons were later acquired by other entities (such as Commonwealth Pictures or Official Films), the failure to file a timely renewal for the original 1931 registration (LP 2575, registered October 15, 1931) resulted in the film falling into the public domain in 1959. This film is widely available on public domain compilation sets and archive.org without copyright challenge.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database
- Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), Motion Pictures 1912-1939
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1928-1939)
- The Van Beuren Tom and Jerry Encyclopedia
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.