Name: High School Big Shot
Director: Joel Rapp
Released: 1959

High School Big Shot

1959 · Sparta Productions · Dir. Joel Rapp

Unpopular at school because of his high I.Q., neglected by his weak and alcoholic father, Marvin is easy prey for the campus vamp, Betty, who pretends an interest in Marv only so that he will write her term paper. When the two are discovered cheating by their professor, the longed-for scholarship recommendation is withdrawn. Meanwhile the jealousy of Betty's boyfriend has been aroused and when Marv learns that he can only hold the girl's affections by offering her riches, he plans a million dollar robbery. Even the professional gangsters with whom he works are amazed at the brilliance of the young genius.

Confidence

Why this status applies

High School Big Shot was released in 1959 by Sparta Productions and distributed by Filmgroup. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the US Copyright Office in the 28th year of their copyright term to remain protected for a second term. 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. The film is widely documented as having entered the public domain due to this failure to renew. It is listed as public domain in 'Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain' by David Pierce and D. Richard Baer. Consequently, the film has been frequently released by public domain home video distributors such as Alpha Video and Sinister Cinema, and it was famously featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Episode 618), a program that frequently utilized public domain films of this era.

Why this status applies

Supporting facts