Public Domain
One Girl's Confession
1953 · Columbia Pictures Corp. · Dir. Hugo Haas
Cleo Moore stars as Mary Adams, whose first step on the road to ruin is a $25,000 robbery. Mary hides the money, then confesses to the crime, secure in the belief that she can dig up the loot upon her release from prison.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
One Girl's Confession was released in 1953 and was originally registered for copyright by Columbia Pictures Corp. on April 6, 1953 (LP2483). Under the law governing works published between 1928 and 1963, a copyright must be renewed with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of the first term to maintain protection. For a 1953 release, the renewal window was open throughout 1980 and 1981.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress online records (covering 1978 onwards) indicates that no renewal was filed for this motion picture. The film's registration expired at the end of its first 28-year term in 1981, as confirmed by film historian David Pierce and the 'Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain' (Hurst/Baer). Because the work was not renewed, it entered the public domain in the United States. It is now widely circulated on public domain movie collections and archive sites without legal challenge.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database (Motion Pictures)
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1950-1959) by David Pierce / D. Richard Baer
- U Penn Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures 1950-1959 (Library of Congress)
- LoC Copyright Office Online Database (1978-present)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.