Public Domain
Mabel's Married Life
1914 · Keystone Film Company · Dir. Mack Sennett
Mabel goes home after being humiliated by a masher whom her husband won't fight. The husband goes off to a bar and gets drunk.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Under US copyright law, any work published before January 1, 1928, is definitively in the public domain. 'Mabel's Married Life' was released on June 20, 1914, by the Keystone Film Company, starring Mabel Normand and Charles Chaplin.
Because the film was published over 100 years ago, its maximum 75-year copyright term (under the 1909 Act and later extensions) expired long ago. Additionally, even prior to its natural expiration, most Keystone shorts fell into the public domain due to a lack of copyright renewal by subsequent rights holders, but the pre-1928 publication date is the primary legal justification for its current status.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- https://archive.org/details/MabelsMarriedLife
- https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/public_domain_film_factsheet.pdf
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (referencing 1914 shorts)
- Hurst, 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.