Public Domain
Monte Cristo
1922 · Fox Film Corp. · Dir. Emmett J. Flynn
A film adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas novel. Edmond Dantes is falsely accused by those jealous of his good fortune, and is sentenced to spend the rest of his life in the notorious island prison, Chateau d'If. While imprisoned, he meets the Abbe Faria, a fellow prisoner whom everyone believes to be mad. The Abbe tells Edmond of a fantastic treasure hidden away on a tiny island, that only he knows the location of...
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'Monte Cristo' (1922), directed by Emmett J. Flynn and starring John Gilbert, is in the public domain in the United States. Under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the subsequent Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, all works published or registered in the U.S. prior to January 1, 1928, have seen their copyright terms expire if they had not already entered the public domain due to non-renewal.
As a 1922 release, the film was subject to a maximum copyright term of 95 years from publication (provided it was renewed). However, regardless of whether a renewal was filed with the U.S. Copyright Office, any work from 1922 reached the end of its legal protection by January 1, 1998, at the latest. Consequently, the film is now legally free of copyright restrictions in the U.S. and is widely available through public domain film archives and restoration projects.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- U.S. Copyright Office, Catalog of Copyright Entries
- Stanford University Copyright Renewal Database
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1894-1939)
- IMDb: Monte Cristo (1922)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.