Public Domain
The Forbidden City
1918 · Select Pictures Corporation · Dir. Sidney Franklin
The daughter of a Chinese mandarin is sentenced to death for her secret marriage to an American. Their child, raised in the mandarin's palace, grows up and escapes to seek her father, now a high-ranking official in the Philippines.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'The Forbidden City' (originally titled 'In the Forbidden City'), starring Norma Talmadge and directed by Sidney Franklin, was released in the United States on October 6, 1918. According to the U.S. Copyright Act, all works published or registered before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain regardless of renewal status.
As this film was published in 1918, its original 28-year copyright term and any subsequent renewal terms have expired. The work entered the public domain no later than 95 years after its publication, though under the laws preceding the 1998 Extension Act, it would have entered the public domain even earlier. It is currently widely available in the public domain, including archival copies held by the Library of Congress and various public domain distributors.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15a.pdf
- https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/14546
- https://archive.org/details/TheForbiddenCity1918
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1894-1939)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.