A film enters the public domain in the U.S. if its copyright has expired, was not renewed, or if it was intentionally or unintentionally released into the public domain by the rights holder. All U.S. films released before 1929 are automatically in the public domain. For films released between 1929 and 1963, copyright renewal was required to maintain protection.
Movies that You Can Watch Full for Free Right Now” is relevant because it directly lists and links to several public domain films.
Here are 10 notable public domain movies, with descriptions and links to view them on YouTube:
- Night of the Living Dead (1968): George A. Romero’s iconic horror film about a group of survivors trapped in a farmhouse during a zombie apocalypse. The film famously entered the public domain due to a missing copyright notice.
- The General (1926): A highly acclaimed silent comedy starring Buster Keaton as a Confederate train engineer who attempts to retrieve his locomotive after it’s stolen by Union spies.
- Nosferatu (1922): F.W. Murnau’s classic German Expressionist horror film, an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, known for its chilling atmosphere and Count Orlok’s iconic design.
- His Girl Friday (1940): A fast-paced screwball comedy directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell as newspaper editor Walter Burns and his ex-wife/star reporter Hildy Johnson.
- Charade (1963): Often described as “the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made,” this stylish mystery-thriller stars Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in a suspenseful cat-and-mouse game in Paris.
- My Man Godfrey (1936): A classic screwball comedy featuring William Powell as a “forgotten man” who is hired as a butler by a wealthy, eccentric family, leading to humorous social commentary.
- Carnival of Souls (1962): A low-budget independent horror film about a young woman who survives a car accident but finds herself drawn to a mysterious, abandoned carnival. It’s renowned for its unsettling atmosphere and psychological depth.
- The Last Man on Earth (1964): Starring Vincent Price, this is the first film adaptation of Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend, depicting the lone survivor of a vampiric plague.
- The Gold Rush (1925): One of Charlie Chaplin’s most celebrated silent comedies, following the Tramp’s adventures in the Alaskan Klondike during the gold rush.
- Dementia 13 (1963): Francis Ford Coppola’s directorial debut, a low-budget horror film produced by Roger Corman, involving a family’s dark secrets and a series of murders at an Irish castle.