Public Domain
The Disembodied
1957 · Allied Artists · Dir. Walter Grauman
When men on a photo safari stumble into a misanthropic doctor’s remote camp with a wounded comrade, the doctor's restless wife supplements her usual pursuit (voodoo, especially as a way to off her husband) with a new one: seduction. As men lose their hearts (sometimes literally) to the alluring voodoo priestess, she embarks on a killing spree that turns the jungle blood red.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film was released in the United States in 1957 and was registered for copyright by Allied Artists Pictures Corp. with registration number LP8854 on August 25, 1957. Under the laws governing films released between 1928 and 1963, the copyright was required to be renewed with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of the first term to extend protection for a second term.
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 registration number (LP8854). The 28th year for renewal would have been 1985. Because the copyright was not renewed, the work entered the public domain in the United States upon the expiration of its initial 28-year term on December 31, 1985.
This status is corroborated by the film's presence in several 'Public Domain' film collections and its frequent inclusion in multi-film 'gray market' DVD sets (such as those from Mill Creek Entertainment) that specialize in expired-copyright titles.
Note: generated without live web grounding (the grounded research engine was unavailable). Verify the cited sources independently before relying on this determination.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures and Filmstrips 1950-1959
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1950-1959)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.