Public Domain
Stella Maris
1918 · Artcraft Pictures Corporation · Dir. Marshall Neilan
Stella Maris is a beautiful, crippled girl, who is cared for by a rich family. They shield her from the harsh realities of the world, so that she has no idea of the cruel things that some people do. Unity Blake is a poor orphan all too familiar with the harsh realities of the real world. These two young women both fall in love with John, love which is complicated by the fact that he is still married to (though separated from) a bad wife.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Stella Maris, starring Mary Pickford and directed by Marshall Neilan, was released in January 1918. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works registered for copyright in the United States were granted an initial term of 28 years and could be renewed for an additional period (eventually totaling 95 years of protection). However, all works published in the United States prior to January 1, 1928, have now entered the public domain due to the expiration of their maximum possible copyright terms.
Following the 'rule of 1928,' any film published before this cutoff became public domain on January 1, 2023, at the latest. As a 1918 production, Stella Maris's copyright has definitively expired regardless of whether it was originally renewed or not. This is confirmed by its presence in the Public Domain Review and catalogs of public domain cinema providers.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- https://archive.org/details/StellaMaris1918
- https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/stella-maris-1918/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0009653/
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Stella Maris (1918)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.