Public Domain
Africa Squawks
1939 · Educational Pictures / 20th Century Fox · Dir. Connie Rasinski
A paunchy, monocled English character, Major Doolittle, and his valet, Jarvis, go hunting in Africa, where they try to trap a lion by dressing the servant in a skin, but are outwitted.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Africa Squawks is a 1939 comedy short produced by E.W. Hammons at Educational Pictures and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a manual copyright renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of their first term to maintain protection for a second term.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no record of a renewal for this specific title. While 20th Century Fox renewed many of its feature-length films from this era, a significant portion of short subjects and films from the Educational Pictures library were allowed to lapse into the public domain. Because no renewal was filed within the 28-year window (approximately 1966 or 1967), the film's copyright expired at the end of its first 28-year term.
— 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 (1939-1959)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (Short Subject Records)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.