Public Domain
The Texan
1920 · Fox Film Corp. · Dir. Lynn Reynolds
Tex Benton, riding across the country, sees a turtle, catches a jack rabbit and tests out the old fable of the tortoise and the hare; when the rabbit wins, Tex vows to model his behavior on that style. In a border town, he rescues an Indian, "Bat," and the two become friends. In Wolfville, Tex enters a rodeo. Meanwhile, a stalled Eastern train carries Alice Marcum, the girl Tex decides he wants. Tex competes with an Easterner for the girl's attentions, but Tex, the "hare," loses to the Eastern tenderfoot, the "tortoise." Tex then concludes that he is not the marrying kind.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The Texan, directed by Lynn Reynolds and starring Tom Mix, was released in 1920 (copyright registration LP15707 on October 31, 1920).
Under US copyright law, any work published or registered before January 1, 1928, has reached the end of its maximum possible protection term (95 years). As a 1920 release, this film's copyright expired no later than 1995. Even if the film had been renewed in its 28th year (circa 1948), it would still be in the public domain today. Consequently, the film is definitively in the public domain in the United States.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures 1912-1939
- American Film Institute (AFI) Catalog of Feature Films
- Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.