A lot of early cinema is disappearing — original negatives lost to fire, neglect, or studio junking; prints scattered across archives or degraded past saving; whole films now known only from a still or a synopsis. We think what survived deserves to be watched, not just cataloged, so this site exists to put a few of those scenes back in front of people and document why they mattered — a small effort at keeping a vital part of film history from being lost for good.
Ten-second clips paired with commentary is roughly what a lot of YouTube reaction channels do, but that's not evidence the practice is legally safe to build a standalone site on. There's no bright-line duration that makes a clip "fair use" — it's a case-by-case four-factor test — and what actually protects most of those YouTube channels is platform-specific (YouTube's Content ID lets a studio monetize instead of suing, and YouTube absorbs the takedown process). A standalone site has neither cushion.
So this site only uses films whose US copyright has expired or lapsed, meaning the film itself can legally be hosted outright, no fair-use argument required. Two ways a film ends up here: term expiration (anything published before 1930 is now out of copyright in the US regardless of anything else), or a notice or renewal lapse — some later films fell into the public domain because of a technicality under the copyright law in effect when they were made, like a missing copyright notice or an unrenewed registration.
This is not legal advice. Verify a film's status yourself before relying on it, especially for anything commercial — renewal-lapse cases in particular are more error-prone to confirm than a straightforward "published before 1930."
Basis for each film
Nosferatu 1922
US copyright term fully expired (published 1922, well past the 95-year term).
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920
US copyright term fully expired (published 1920, well past the 95-year term).
The General 1926
US copyright term fully expired (published 1926, well past the 95-year term).
His Girl Friday 1940
Entered the public domain when its US copyright registration was not renewed at the required 28-year mark.
Renewal-lapse titles like this one are well documented, but always confirm current status before commercial use — renewal research is more error-prone than a straightforward term-expiration case. This one has an extra layer: the film is adapted from the stage play "The Front Page" (Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur), whose own separate copyright didn't expire until 2024 — the film itself lapsed decades earlier, but the underlying play was a distinct rights question until recently.
Night of the Living Dead 1968
Entered the public domain immediately upon release because the distributor's title-card change dropped the copyright notice, which US law at the time required.
Metropolis 1927
US copyright term fully expired for the original 1927 release (published well past the 95-year term).
The only prints readily available are the 2010 "complete" restoration, which adds newly rediscovered footage of its own. This clip is limited to the robot-transformation shot specifically, which was already present in every prior public-domain cut — a plain rescan of pre-existing PD frames is unlikely to carry its own copyright, but confirm before commercial use, and avoid pulling clips from this print's newly-restored scenes.
A Trip to the Moon 1902
US copyright term fully expired (published 1902, well past the 95-year term).
Safety Last! 1923
US copyright term fully expired (published 1923, well past the 95-year term).
The Phantom of the Opera 1925
US copyright term fully expired (published 1925, well past the 95-year term).
The Kid 1921
US copyright term fully expired (published 1921, well past the 95-year term).
White Zombie 1932
Entered the public domain when its US copyright registration was not renewed at the required 28-year mark.
Renewal-lapse titles like this one are well documented, but always confirm current status before commercial use -- renewal research is more error-prone than a straightforward term-expiration case.
Häxan 1922
US copyright term fully expired (published 1922, well past the 95-year term).
Reefer Madness 1936
Copyright was never renewed, and multiple sources indicate the film may have entered the public domain even earlier due to a defective or missing original notice -- either way it's one of the most-cited public-domain films in the US.
Widely treated as public domain and freely redistributed for decades, but exact chain-of-title research varies by source -- confirm before commercial use.
The Great Train Robbery 1903
US copyright term fully expired (published 1903, well past the 95-year term).
Detour 1945
Entered the public domain when its US copyright registration was not renewed at the required 28-year mark.
Renewal-lapse titles like this one are well documented, but always confirm current status before commercial use -- renewal research is more error-prone than a straightforward term-expiration case.
Charade 1963
Entered the public domain immediately upon release because the film's copyright notice omitted the required word or symbol ("Copyright", "Copr.", or ©), which US law at the time required.
The Unknown 1927
US copyright term fully expired (published 1927, well past the 95-year term).
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1920
US copyright term fully expired (published 1920, well past the 95-year term).
The Cocaine Fiends 1935
Entered the public domain when its US copyright registration was not renewed at the required 28-year mark.
Renewal-lapse titles like this one are well documented, but always confirm current status before commercial use -- renewal research is more error-prone than a straightforward term-expiration case.
My Man Godfrey 1936
Entered the public domain when its US copyright registration was not renewed at the required 28-year mark.
Renewal-lapse titles like this one are well documented, but always confirm current status before commercial use -- renewal research is more error-prone than a straightforward term-expiration case.
Pandora's Box 1929
Never registered for US copyright and not renewed; entered the public domain in the US as an unregistered foreign work.
Foreign-film PD status under the US's URAA rules turns on registration and renewal history that can be genuinely hard to verify -- confirm independently before commercial use.
The Phantom Carriage 1921
US copyright term fully expired (published 1921, well past the 95-year term).
Steamboat Willie 1928
US copyright term fully expired (published 1928, well past the 95-year term).
The film's copyright is fully expired, but Disney still holds trademark rights over the Mickey Mouse character -- solid ground for hosting this original 1928 short itself, but worth knowing before building anything derivative from the character.
Battleship Potemkin 1925
US copyright term fully expired (published 1925, well past the 95-year term).
Nanook of the North 1922
US copyright term fully expired (published 1922, well past the 95-year term).
Un Chien Andalou 1929
US copyright term fully expired (published 1929, well past the 95-year term).
As a foreign work, it also had to clear registration and renewal formalities that don't apply to US productions -- Internet Archive's own curators only cleared it for US public domain in January 2025. It remains under copyright in Spain, its country of origin, until 2060.
Maniac 1934
Entered the public domain when its US copyright registration was not renewed at the required 28-year mark.
Renewal-lapse titles like this one are well documented, but always confirm current status before commercial use -- renewal research is more error-prone than a straightforward term-expiration case.
Tomorrow's Children 1934
Entered the public domain when its US copyright registration was not renewed at the required 28-year mark.
Renewal-lapse titles like this one are well documented, but always confirm current status before commercial use -- renewal research is more error-prone than a straightforward term-expiration case.
D.O.A. 1950
Entered the public domain when its US copyright registration was not renewed at the required 28-year mark.
Renewal-lapse titles like this one are well documented, but always confirm current status before commercial use -- renewal research is more error-prone than a straightforward term-expiration case.
Beat the Devil 1953
Entered the public domain when its US copyright registration was not renewed at the required 28-year mark.
Renewal-lapse titles like this one are well documented, but always confirm current status before commercial use -- renewal research is more error-prone than a straightforward term-expiration case.
The Little Shop of Horrors 1960
Entered the public domain when its US copyright registration was not renewed at the required 28-year mark.
Some sources instead say the film was never formally copyrighted at all -- either way, it's one of the most widely cited and freely redistributed public-domain films in the US, but confirm current status before commercial use.
Steamboat Bill, Jr. 1928
US copyright term fully expired (published 1928, well past the 95-year term).
Sherlock Jr. 1924
US copyright term fully expired (published 1924, well past the 95-year term).
The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923
US copyright term fully expired (published 1923, well past the 95-year term).
The Lost World 1925
US copyright term fully expired (published 1925, well past the 95-year term).
The Adventures of Prince Achmed 1926
US copyright term fully expired (published 1926, well past the 95-year term).
Faust 1926
US copyright term fully expired (published 1926, well past the 95-year term).
The Thief of Bagdad 1924
US copyright term fully expired (published 1924, well past the 95-year term).
The Mark of Zorro 1920
US copyright term fully expired (published 1920, well past the 95-year term).
Body and Soul 1925
US copyright term fully expired (published 1925, well past the 95-year term).
The Black Pirate 1926
US copyright term fully expired (published 1926, well past the 95-year term).
Salomé 1923
US copyright term fully expired (published 1923, well past the 95-year term).
Traffic in Souls 1913
US copyright term fully expired (published 1913, well past the 95-year term).
Intolerance 1916
US copyright term fully expired (published 1916, well past the 95-year term).
Way Down East 1920
US copyright term fully expired (published 1920, well past the 95-year term).
A Fool There Was 1915
US copyright term fully expired (published 1915, well past the 95-year term).
The Golem: How He Came into the World 1920
US copyright term fully expired (published 1920, well past the 95-year term).
Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life 1925
US copyright term fully expired (published 1925, well past the 95-year term).
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog 1927
US copyright term fully expired (published 1927, well past the 95-year term).
Gertie the Dinosaur 1914
US copyright term fully expired (published 1914, well past the 95-year term).
The Iron Horse 1924
US copyright term fully expired (published 1924, well past the 95-year term).
Wings 1927
US copyright term fully expired (published 1927, well past the 95-year term).
The Covered Wagon 1923
US copyright term fully expired (published 1923, well past the 95-year term).
The Big Parade 1925
US copyright term fully expired (published 1925, well past the 95-year term).
Frankenstein 1910
US copyright term fully expired (published 1910, well past the 95-year term).
He Who Gets Slapped 1924
US copyright term fully expired (published 1924, well past the 95-year term).
Seven Chances 1925
US copyright term fully expired (published 1925, well past the 95-year term).
Man with a Movie Camera 1929
US copyright term fully expired (published 1929, well past the 95-year term).
Cabiria 1914
US copyright term fully expired (published 1914, well past the 95-year term).
Aelita: Queen of Mars 1924
US copyright term fully expired (published 1924, well past the 95-year term).
Gulliver's Travels 1939
US copyright term fully expired via non-renewal (published 1939; the required renewal filing was never made).
The Passion of Joan of Arc 1928
US copyright term fully expired (published 1928, well past the 95-year term).
A Page of Madness 1926
US copyright term fully expired (published 1926, well past the 95-year term).
Carnival of Souls 1962
US copyright term expired via non-renewal (released 1962; the required renewal filing was never made).
The Immigrant 1917
US copyright term fully expired (published 1917, well past the 95-year term).
Speedy 1928
US copyright term fully expired (published 1928, well past the 95-year term).
Blackmail 1929
US copyright term fully expired (published 1929, well past the 95-year term).
Feline Follies 1919
US copyright term fully expired (published 1919, well past the 95-year term).
The Cameraman's Revenge 1912
US copyright term fully expired (published 1912, well past the 95-year term).
The Electric Hotel 1908
US copyright term fully expired (published 1908, well past the 95-year term).
Master of the House 1925
US copyright term fully expired (published 1925, well past the 95-year term).
The Ten Commandments 1923
US copyright not renewed; the film entered the public domain after its initial 28-year term expired without renewal.
Applause 1929
US copyright not renewed; the film entered the public domain after its initial 28-year term expired without renewal.
The Oyster Princess 1919
Published in Germany 1919; US copyright term fully expired (well past the 95-year term).
The Fall of the House of Usher 1928
Published in France 1928; US copyright term fully expired (well past the 95-year term).
The Perils of Pauline 1914
Published in the US 1914; public domain via term expiration, never renewed.
The Cat and the Canary 1927
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
Piccadilly 1929
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
Earth 1930
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item.
The Toll of the Sea 1922
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
A Throw of Dice 1929
US copyright term fully expired (published 1929, well past the 95-year term).
Angel and the Badman 1947
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; copyright was not renewed.
Suspense 1913
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
The Flying Ace 1926
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
It 1927
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
Foolish Wives 1922
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
The Smiling Madame Beudet 1923
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item.
Big Business 1929
US copyright term fully expired (published 1929, well past the 95-year term); Internet Archive's own newly-public-domain project independently confirmed this title entered the public domain effective January 1, 2025.
Falling Leaves 1912
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
Erotikon 1920
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item.
The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra 1928
US copyright term fully expired (published 1928, well past the 95-year term); an independently produced and distributed 1928 film with no studio copyright-renewal infrastructure behind it, long circulated as public domain including in Library of Congress holdings with no rights restriction noted.
Manhatta 1921
US copyright term fully expired (published 1921, well past the 95-year term).
The Extra Girl 1923
US Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
Afgrunden 1910
CC0 (public domain dedication) confirmed directly on the archive.org item.
Raja Harishchandra 1913
Explicit CC0 (public domain dedication) confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
Laborer's Love 1922
US copyright term fully expired (published 1922, well past the 95-year term).
Fragmentos da Vida 1929
US copyright term fully expired (published 1929, well past the 95-year term).
A Trip Down Market Street 1906
Explicit CC0 (public domain dedication) confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
Regeneration 1915
Explicit Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
The Sentimental Bloke 1919
Pre-1931 release with no evidence of US copyright registration; the film was already public domain in its home country of Australia (cinematograph-film copyright of that era ran roughly 50 years from release, lapsed well before 1996) at the URAA restoration date, so URAA does not restore a US copyright.
The Kiss 1896
Explicit CC public-domain license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
Fantasmagorie 1908
Explicit Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
The Curse of Quon Gwon 1916
Explicit Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item.
Tumbleweeds 1925
Explicit Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
The Cocoanuts 1929
Explicit Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
El Automóvil Gris 1919
Explicit Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
Assunta Spina 1915
Explicit Public Domain Mark license confirmed directly on the archive.org item; also independently pre-1931 with a fully expired US copyright term.
The Ocean Waif 1916
US copyright term fully expired (published 1916, well past the 95-year term).
Shoes 1916
US copyright term fully expired (published 1916, well past the 95-year term).
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