Public Domain
Hard Luck
1921 · Buster Keaton Productions / First National · Dir. Buster Keaton
A down on his luck young man makes several attempts at committing suicide but fails them too. He then finds himself becoming more confident through a series of petty adventures, to such an extent that this becomes his undoing.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Hard Luck (1921), starring and co-directed by Buster Keaton, is the most prominent film with this title. Under the current US copyright law (the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act), all works published in the United States prior to January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain. This film reached the end of its maximum 95-year term and effectively entered the public domain on January 1, 1997.
Historically, this film was considered lost for many years until it was reconstructed from various archives in the 1980s. Regardless of its survival status or restoration, its copyright status is governed by its original publication date of 1921. Because it was published before the 1928 cutoff, it is definitively public domain in the United States and does not require a renewal search.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.