Public Domain
The Strange Mrs. Crane
1948 · Eagle-Lion Films, Inc. · Dir. Sam Newfield
Hoping to bury her criminal past, Jenny Hadley settles into a comfortable existence as Gina, the wife of the politician Clinton Crane. When her former associate Floyd Durant shows up to blackmail Gina, she has no choice but to murder him. Things take a bizarre turn when Barbara Arnold is charged with Durant's murder and Gina is selected to serve on the jury.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The Strange Mrs. Crane was released in 1948 and copyright was registered by Eagle-Lion Films, Inc. on December 1, 1948, under registration number LP2015. To remain under copyright protection in the United States, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the U.S. Copyright Office during the 28th year of the first term.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database, the U. Penn online Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), and the Library of Congress records shows no evidence of a renewal being filed in 1975 or 1976. The film is consistently listed in 'Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain' (vol. 3) as a work that entered the public domain due to non-renewal. Because it is a 1948 US production that failed its renewal requirement, it fell into the public domain on January 1, 1977.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- U.S. Copyright Office Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), Motion Pictures 1940-1949 (LP2015)
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database
- Hurst/Baer, Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1940-1949)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.