Public Domain
Missile to the Moon
1958 · Astor Pictures · Dir. Richard E. Cunha
Two escaped convicts are found hiding in a rocketship built by a renegade inventor, who forces them to become the crew for a trip to the Moon. Also on board, as inadvertent stowaways, are his assistant and his secretary; and none of them are aware that the inventor is actually a Lunarian explorer sent to Earth by the dying Lunar civilization and the only remaining male member of that civilization.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film was released in late 1958 (registered for copyright on November 15, 1958, under LP13257 by Layton Film Productions, Inc.). Under the 1909 Copyright Act, the initial term was 28 years, requiring a renewal filing between the 27th and 28th year of the original term. For a 1958 registration, the renewal window was open throughout 1986.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress online records (covering 1978 onwards) yields no renewal registration for 'Missile to the Moon' or Layton Film Productions. Because the copyright was not renewed in its 28th year, the work entered the public domain on January 1, 1987. This film, a remake of 'Cat-Women of the Moon' (1953), is widely recognized in film scholarship and legal databases (such as the Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain) as having fallen into the public domain due to non-renewal.
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
- U.S. Copyright Office Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), Motion Pictures 1950–1959
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1950-1959), Vol 3
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.