Public Domain
Mabel's Busy Day
1914 · Keystone Film Company · Dir. Mack Sennett
Mabel tries to sell hot dogs at a car race, but isn't doing a very good job at it. She sets down the box of hot dogs and leaves them for a moment. Charlie finds them and gives them away to the hungry spectators at the track as Mabel frantically tries to find her lost box of hot dogs. Mabel finds out that Charlie has stolen them and sends the police after him. Chaos ensues.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Under the US Copyright Act, all works published before January 1, 1929, have entered the public domain. This film, produced by Mack Sennett's Keystone Film Company and starring Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin, was released in June 1914.
Because the film was published over 95 years ago and falls before the 1928 cutoff (as of 2024), its copyright has expired regardless of whether it was ever registered or if that registration was renewed. This is a definitive status for all films of this era.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- https://archive.org/details/mabels_busy_day
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004273/
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1894-1939)
- U.S. Copyright Office Circ. 15a
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.