Public Domain
Hell's Hinges
1916 · Triangle Film Corporation / Kay-Bee Pictures · Dir. Charles Swickard
When Reverend Robert Henley and his sister Faith arrive in the town of Hell's Hinges, saloon owner Silk Miller and his cohorts sense danger to their evil ways. They hire gunman Blaze Tracy to run the minister out of town. But Blaze finds something in Faith Henley that turns him around, and soon Silk Miller and his compadres have Blaze to deal with.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Hell's Hinges is a classic American silent Western starring William S. Hart, released in 1916. Under the current United States copyright law, specifically the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, all works published or registered in the U.S. prior to January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain.
Since this film was released in 1916, it became part of the public domain long ago. Even under the previous 1909 Act, which required a renewal in the 28th year of the copyright term, the maximum protection would have lasted 75 years (1916 + 75 = 1991). Following the automatic expiration of pre-1928 works, there is no legal basis for any entity to claim active copyright on the original cinematographic work in the United States. It is widely available in public domain archives such as the Internet Archive and via public domain distributors.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- https://archive.org/details/HellsHinges1916
- https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1894–1939 (Hurst)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.