Public Domain
King, Queen, Joker
1921 · Syd Chaplin Classics · Dir. Syd Chaplin
King, Queen, Joker is a 1921 silent feature farce written and directed by Sydney Chaplin, Charlie's older brother. The picture was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. The film was shot in England, France and the United States. Less than a reel of this film, the barbershop sequence, survives at the British Film Institute. It was included in the 2011 Criterion DVD special two disc edition release of The Great Dictator.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'King, Queen, Joker' (also known as 'King, Queen and Joker') was produced and released in 1921. It was written, directed by, and starred Syd Chaplin, the brother of Charlie Chaplin.
Under current U.S. copyright law (the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act), all works published or registered in the United States prior to January 1, 1929, have entered the public domain. Because this film was published in 1921, its statutory copyright protection expired 95 years after its publication date, specifically on January 1, 1997. No further analysis regarding renewal is required for works of this age.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/
- https://archive.org/details/KingQueenJoker1921
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0012356/
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1894-1939)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.