Public Domain
The Bell Hop
1921 · Vitagraph Company of America · Dir. Larry Semon
A government official staying in a hotel puts some important secret papers in the hotel safe. A ring of spies out to get the papers manages to steal them from the safe, and a lady government agent enlists the help of the hotel's bumbling bellhop in getting back the papers and breaking up the spy ring.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'The Bell Hop' (also known as 'The Bellhop'), starring Lawrence Semon and Oliver Hardy, was released in April 1921. Under US copyright law, all works published before January 1, 1929, have entered the public domain regardless of whether they were registered or renewed.
Because this film was published in 1921, its statutory copyright term has expired. It transitioned into the public domain 75 years after publication (under the 1976 Act) and remained there as the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 only extended the duration for works still under copyright as of 1999 (those from 1923 and later). Therefore, 'The Bell Hop' is definitively in the public domain in the United States.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures 1912-1939
- IMDb
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- 17 U.S.C. § 304
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.