Public Domain
Idol of the Crowds
1937 · Universal Pictures · Dir. Arthur Lubin
Retired hockey player Johnny Hansen, in order to make money to enlarge his chicken farm, returns to the game and leads his team into the championship series. Just before the series starts, he is offered a bribe to throw the games but refuses. An attempt is made on his life which results in Bobby, the team's mascot, being injured.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Idol of the Crowds was released in 1937 by Universal Pictures. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works registered between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing in the 28th year of their initial term to remain under protection. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals the original registration (LP7439; September 21, 1937), but no record of a renewal filing exists.
Universal Pictures, a major studio, was diligent about renewing its A-list features, but many B-movies and programmers from this era were allowed to lapse. Because the renewal period for a 1937 film occurred in 1964–1965 and no filing was recorded, the film entered the public domain in the United States at the end of its first 28-year term. The film is widely cited in public domain inventories (such as the Film Superlist) as having failed to renew.
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 (Motion Pictures)
- Catalog of Copyright Entries 1937, Motion Pictures, LP7439
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1900-1939)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Idol of the Crowds (1937)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.