Public Domain
No Man's Woman
1955 · Republic Pictures Corporation · Dir. Franklin Adreon
A greedy, scheming woman is found murdered in her studio, and the police find that there is no shortage of suspects who wanted to see her dead--among them a rich husband she wouldn't divorce unless he paid her a huge settlement, a lover she caused to be fired from his job and an assistant whose fiancé she tried to seduce.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
No Man's Woman was a US theatrical production released by Republic Pictures in 1955. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during their 28th year of exposure to remain protected. For a 1955 film, the renewal window was open in 1982 or 1983.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress online records (covering registrations from 1978 onward) confirms that while the original registration was filed on August 10, 1955 (LP5468), no renewal was ever recorded by Republic Pictures or its successors-in-interest (such as NTA or Paramount/Melange). Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (Vol. 3) also lists this title as non-renewed. As a result, the film entered the public domain in the United States upon the expiration of its first term on December 31, 1983.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database (https://exhibits.stanford.edu/copyrightrenewals)
- U.S. Copyright Office Public Catalog (https://cocatalog.loc.gov)
- Hurst, Richard Maurice. Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1950-1959)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/51598)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.