Public Domain
The Night Club
1925 · Famous Players-Lasky / Paramount Pictures · Dir. Frank Urson
After having been stood up at his own wedding, a young man vows that he will have nothing more to ever do with women. However, he soon discovers that he has been left a fortune--on condition that he gets married. Deciding that being rich and married would be preferable to being broke and single, he goes in search of a wife, but things don't turn out quite the way he planned.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Under the terms of the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, all works published or registered in the United States before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain. This film, a silent comedy starring Raymond Griffith and Wallace Beery, was released in April 1925 and registered for copyright by Famous Players-Lasky Corp. (registration LP21319) in the same year.
Because the film was published prior to the 1928 cutoff, it is in the public domain regardless of whether its copyright was renewed in its 28th year. Even if it had been renewed (the renewal period would have been in 1952-1953), the maximum 95-year term for works of that era expired at the end of 2020. As of January 1, 2021, all films from 1925 are legally in the public domain in the United States.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- U.S. Copyright Office Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), Motion Pictures 1912-1939
- Stanford University Copyright Renewal Database
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (Hurst/Baer)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (The Night Club, 1925)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.