PUBLIC DOMAIN FILMS ARE NOW FREE TO WATCH ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Whenever a film is made, the copyright for said-film usually lasts for a specified period of time (ranging from 50 years to 95 years), unless whoever owns the original copyright decides to renew it for an additional duration. However, some films don't get renewed and are allowed to be shown on other platforms for free. Such as my YouTube channel, for instance, which includes such classics as...

Name of Film: A Star Is Born / Year of Release: 1937
Directed by: William A. Wellman / Distributed by: United Artists

Genre: Romance / Box Office Total: $2 million

Starring: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, and Adolphe Menjou

Tagline: Is the price of stardom a broken heart?

Synopsis: When a famous movie star helps a young actress make her way through the film industry, he eventually takes a nosedive because of a couple of disastrous decisions that affect his career and his life. Poor sod. 
Filmic Fact: According to certain unconfirmed sources, this film was loosely based on Barbara Stanwyck‘s marriage to her first husband, Frank Fay. Their marriage lasted from 1928 to 1935, and likewise, encountered a number of highs and lows.

Name of Film: My Favorite Brunette / Year of Release: 1947
Directed by: Elliott Nugent / Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Genre: Comedy / Box Office Total: $3.1 million

Starring: Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Peter Lorre

Tagline: LOOK WHO'S SOLVING MURDERS!

Synopsis: Can a bumbling photographer become a hard-nosed private investigator? Even though he's as funny as a fart and as smart as a sap! Well, someone who stars in this film likes to think so! Someone who isn't Alan Ladd and doesn't know what to do when he's faced with a crime that involves a damsel in distress, a missing baron, and a gang of gangsters that frame him for murder! 

Filmic Fact: Now without giving too much away, Bing Crosby (also known as Bob Hope's other half) makes a quick cameo appearance at the very end of this film. It cost the studio $5,000, which he swiftly donated to charity.

Name of Film: Meet John Doe / Year of Release: 1941
Directed by: Frank Capra / Distributed by: Warner Bros.

Genre: Political-Drama / Box Office Total: $1.8 million

Starring: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward Arnold

Tagline: ALL AMERICA WANTS TO MEET THE "MR. DEEDS" OF 1941!

Synopsis: In order to save her job, a newspaper columnist unwittingly creates a 'grassroots' political movement by hiring and then elevating the status of a homeless man who she claims is the main focus of a 'story' she wrote. A 'fictitious story' about the average American.

Filmic Fact: While he was making this film, Frank Capra refused to reveal what it was all about because he feared the possible backlash from powerful US fascist organizations that might have pressured Warner Bros. to prevent its production.

Name of Film: The Time Of Your Life / Year of Release: 1948
Directed by: H.C. Potter / Distributed by: United Artists

Genre: Social-Drama / Box Office Total: $1.5 million

Starring: James Cagney, William Bendix, and Wayne Morris

Tagline: Big Shots, Bar Girls, Wrong Guys, Good Joes, I Know 'em All!

Synopsis: What does a drunk, an entrepreneur, and a couple of crooks have in common? Well, they all hang out at Nick's 'Pacific Street Saloon'! Some for work, some for play, and some for something else, wink-wink!
Filmic Fact: This film was based on an original Broadway play (of the same name) written by William Saroyan. It opened at the Booth Theater on the 25th of October, 1939, and then ran for 185 performances.

With a little luck, I will try to upload at least one public domain film each week (usually on a Wednesday), and if you so wish, I'd appreciate it if you'd share them over your social media in order to spread the word and spread some fun. Many thanks.