Cry Danger

Cry Danger was released in early 1951 and was originally registered for copyright by Olympic Productions, Inc. under registration number LP741 on February 2, 1951. According to the U.S. Copyright Act of 1909, works from this era required a renewal filing in the 28th year of their initial term to maintain protection. For a 1951 registration, a renewal application should have been filed between February 1978 and December 31, 1979. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database, the Library of Congress Online Catalog (which covers 1978–present), and David Pierce's 'Motion Picture Copyrights and Renewals 1950–1959' indicates that no renewal was ever filed for this title. While the film was produced by independent entity Olympic Productions and distributed by RKO, the rights were not maintained, causing the film to fall into the public domain upon the expiration of its first term in 1979. This public domain status is well-documented in the film noir community; notably, the Film Noir Foundation and UCLA Film & Television Archive undertook a restoration of the film in 2011 because the original elements were at risk, a common scenario for public domain 'orphan' prints where no commercial studio is actively maintaining the copyright. The film is frequently included in public domain collections and is legally available for streaming and broadcast by third parties without licensing from the defunct Olympic Productions.