Public Domain
The Saphead
1920 · Metro Pictures Corporation · Dir. Winchell Smith
Nick Van Alstyne owns the Henrietta silver mine and is very rich and his son Bertie is naive and spoiled. His daughter Rose is married to shady investor Mark. Mark wrecks Bertie's wedding plans by making him take the blame for Mark's illegitimate daughter, and also nearly ruins the family business by selling off some stock at too low a price.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The Saphead is a Buster Keaton comedy released on October 18, 1920. Under US copyright law, all works published or registered before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain regardless of whether their copyright was ever renewed.
The film was originally registered for copyright by Metro Pictures Corp. on September 24, 1920 (LP15629). While records show it was later renewed in 1948 by Loew's Inc. (R38531), this renewal only extended the copyright for a total of 75 years from the publication date. Consequently, the film entered the public domain on January 1, 1996. It is now widely available via public domain distributors and archive.org.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) 1920, 1948
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1894-1939)
- IMDb
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.