Public Domain
Are We Civilized?
1934 · Raspin Productions · Dir. Edwin Carewe
1934 drama of man's inhumanity to man, starring William Farnum and Anita Louise, directed by Edwin Carewe, screenplay by Harold Sherman. This film was meant to denounce Hitler prior to US involvement in WWII
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'Are We Civilized?' was released in the United States in June 1934 and was registered for copyright by Raspin Productions on June 11, 1934, under registration number LP4744. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works registered between 1928 and 1963 required a formal renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of the initial term to extend protection to a second term.
I conducted a search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) and found no record of a renewal for this film. Since the 28-year window for renewal expired in 1962 without a filing, the film entered the public domain in the United States. This status is corroborated by its presence in public domain film catalogs (such as Sinister Cinema and Alpha Video) and its frequent, unchallenged availability on platforms like the Internet Archive and YouTube through various public domain aggregators.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Library of Congress, Catalog of Copyright Entries, Motion Pictures 1912-1939 (LP4744)
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database (no renewal record for LP4744 found)
- Hurst / D. Richard Baer, Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1894-1939
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (Entry 4905)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.