Name: Soul-Fire
Director: John S. Robertson
Released: 1925

Soul-Fire

1925 · Inspiration Pictures · Dir. John S. Robertson

Eric Fane (Richard Barthelmess) is a composer unwilling to compromise his dream for a steady job back home in the United States. After his studies in Italy, he moves to Paris, where he is forced to write popular songs for money when he stops receiving support from his father. He tires of selling out and, after an encounter with the mob, starts to travel. He begins a madcap journey from Paris to Port Said, Egypt, and to the South Seas, where he believes he has found love with Teita (Bessie Love).

Confidence

100

Why this status applies

Soul-Fire was released in 1925 and registered for copyright by Inspiration Pictures (LP21453). Under the 1909 Copyright Act, works published in the United States between 1922 and 1928 were subject to a maximum term of 95 years, provided that the copyright was properly renewed in the 28th year of the initial term. This film would have required a renewal filing in 1952 or 1953 to remain protected. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no renewal registration for this title or its underlying registration number (LP21453). Because the copyright was not renewed, the work entered the public domain in the United States at the expiration of its first 28-year term on January 1, 1954. Furthermore, all US works published before 1929 have since entered the public domain regardless of renewal status. As of January 1, 2021, all works from 1925 are definitively in the public domain in the United States due to the expiration of the 95-year statutory term.

Why this status applies

Supporting facts