Public Domain
Tess of the Storm Country
1922 · Mary Pickford Company / United Artists · Dir. John S. Robertson
Wealthy Elias Graves builds his home on the top of a hill, where a group of squatters have taken up residence at the bottom. Many of the men in the squatters' village have their eyes on young Tess, and one of them, Ben Letts, frames Tess's father for murder. While maintaining her father's innocence, Tess must keep her love for Graves' son a secret, while caring for Elias' daughter's illegitamate child.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Under the current copyright laws of the United States, all works published or registered before January 1, 1929, have entered the public domain. This 1922 production is a remake of Mary Pickford's own 1914 film of the same name and was directed by John S. Robertson.
Because the film was released in 1922, its maximum possible copyright term (including the renewal term) was 95 years from publication. This term expired at the end of 2017, and the film entered the public domain on January 1, 2018. Prior to this expiration, the film was maintained under copyright by the Mary Pickford Foundation, but the statutory limit for 1922 works has now been reached regardless of renewal status.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- U.S. Copyright Office Circular 15a
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Mary Pickford Foundation Filmography
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.