Public Domain
City Park
1934 · Chesterfield Motion Pictures Corp. · Dir. Richard Thorpe
The old men meet a young girl, broke, hungry and discouraged, in the park. Colonel Henry Randolph Ransome (Henry B. Walthall) bluffs his way into obtaining enough money to support the welfare of the girl,Rose Wentworth (Sally Blane), and his two cronies. He sends for the girl's former sweetheart, who turns out to be a crook.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
City Park, a Chesterfield Motion Pictures production directed by James Cruze, was released on May 1, 1934. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, US works published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the Library of Congress during the 28th year of their first copyright term to remain protected.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no renewal record for this title. Chesterfield was a 'Poverty Row' studio that frequently failed to renew its library, and many of its titles fell into the public domain following the expiration of their initial 28-year terms in the early 1960s.
Because the film was not renewed in its 28th year (specifically 1961 or 1962), it entered the public domain in the United States. This status is corroborated by the film's presence in various public domain film catalogs and its availability for unrestricted distribution by multiple independent labels.
— 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 (1894–1939) by Hurst / D. Richard Baer
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (1931-1940)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.