Public Domain
Day the World Ended
1955 · American Releasing Corp. / Golden State Productions · Dir. Roger Corman
After a nuclear attack, an unlikely group of survivors, including a geologist, a crook and his moll, and a prospector, find temporary shelter in the remote-valley home of a survivalist and his beautiful daughter, but soon have to deal with the spread of radioactivity - and its effects on animal life, including humans.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'Day the World Ended' was released in December 1955 (copyright notice 1955) and registered for US copyright by Golden State Productions on December 15, 1955 (Registration No. LP5736). Under the law governing works from the 1928–1963 period, the copyright had to be renewed during the 28th year to maintain protection. For a 1955 registration, the renewal window was 1982 to 1983.
Searches of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database, the U Penn Online Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), and the Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1950–1959) confirm that no renewal was ever filed for this title. The copyright expired at the end of its first term on December 31, 1983. Consequently, the film entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 1984. It is widely circulated on budget labels (Alpha Video, Mill Creek) and archive.org without challenge.
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
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database
- U Penn Catalog of Copyright Entries (Motion Pictures 1950-1959, page 51)
- Hurst, Richard. Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1950-1959)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (ID 51478)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.