A Versatile Villain

This short film, directed by Frank Griffin and starring the requested cast (Charley Chase, Louise Fazenda, Minta Durfee, and Hank Mann), was released in the United States on June 28, 1915. Under U.S. copyright law, all works published before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain regardless of whether they were registered or renewed. The film was produced by the Keystone Film Company and distributed by Mutual Film Corporation. As a production originating in 1915, it was subject to the Copyright Act of 1909, which granted a maximum protection period of 56 years (28 years for the initial term plus 28 years for a renewal term). Regardless of any renewal filings, the copyright expired at the end of its 75th year at the latest, but more definitively, it fell into the public domain upon the expiration of all 1915 copyrights. Currently, all films from this era are public domain in the U.S. due to the 95-year limit being reached for works published through 1927.