Public Domain
Back from the Dead
1957 · Bel-Air Productions / Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. · Dir. Charles Marquis Warren
A woman is possessed by the spirt of her husband's deceased first wife, turning her into a cold, scheming flirt who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. The woman's sister, husband and the sister's new boyfriend struggle with accepting what has happened, who has caused it and how to correct it, which soon brings them into contact with a coven of devil-worshippers and forces of the supernatural.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film was released in September 1957 and registered for US copyright by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. on August 21, 1957, under registration number LP9358. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works registered between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of the first term to extend protection to a second term.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database, the U Penn Online Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), and the Film Superlist (Hurst/Baer) reveals no record of renewal for this title. The copyright for 'Back from the Dead' would have needed to be renewed in 1984 or 1985; however, no such filing was made by Twentieth Century-Fox or any successor in interest. As a result, the work entered the public domain in the United States upon the expiration of its initial 28-year term at the end of 1985. The film is frequently cited in public domain horror compilations and is currently distributed by budget labels like Alpha Video, which typically specialize in non-renewed titles.
Note: generated without live web grounding (the grounded research engine was unavailable). Verify the cited sources independently before relying on this determination.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures and Filmstrips 1950-1959, Library of Congress
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database (no renewal found for LP9358)
- Hurst, Richard Maurice. Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1950-1959
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Back from the Dead (1957)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.