Public Domain
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
1916 · Triangle Film Corporation · Dir. Christy Cabanne
Coke Ennyday, the scientific detective, divides his time into periods of "Sleep", "Eat", "Dope" and "Drinks". In fact, he overcomes every situation with drugs: consuming cocaine to increase his energy or injecting it in his opponents to incapacitate them. To help the police, he tracks down a contraband of opium (which he eagerly tastes) transported within "leaping fishes", saving a "fish-blower" girl from blackmail along the way.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish is a short film released in 1916 starring Douglas Fairbanks and written by Tod Browning. Under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the subsequent Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, all works published in the United States prior to January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain regardless of whether they were renewed.
Because this film was published in 1916, its maximum copyright protection of 75 years (extended to 95 years) has expired. The work entered the public domain on January 1, 1992. It is widely available for free download and reuse on platforms like the Internet Archive and Wikimedia Commons due to its expired copyright status.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.