Public Domain
In the Land of the Head Hunters
1914 · Seattle Film Company · Dir. Edward S. Curtis
In the Land of the Head Hunters is a 1914 silent film fictionalizing the world of the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) peoples of the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada, written and directed by Edward S. Curtis and acted entirely by Kwakwaka'wakw natives. It was the first feature-length film whose cast was composed entirely of Native North Americans; the second, eight years later, was Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Under the current U.S. copyright law (the 1976 Act as amended), all works published before January 1, 1929, have entered the public domain. This film, directed by Edward S. Curtis, was released in December 1914, placing it well before the 1929 cutoff.
Even under the older 1909 Act framework, the film would have reached the end of its maximum 56-year protection term (28-year initial term plus a 28-year renewal) by 1970. Because it was produced and published before 1929, it is definitively in the public domain in the United States, regardless of any later restoration efforts (such as the 1973 'In the Land of the War Canoes' re-edit or the 2008 restoration), though those specific new creative contributions may be eligible for their own separate protections.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.