1. International Movie Script Database

This is a non-definitive list of films in the public domain in the United States. A number of films exist that certain cited sources believe are in the public domain in the United States. Being in the public domain refers to cinematic, dramatic, literary, musical, and artistic works that no government, organization, or individual owns, and as such is common property.^[1] This list is not comprehensive; the vast majority of public domain films are not included here for various reasons.

(The Internet Movie Script Database) site [5]. The site contains. 2017 IEEE Third International Conference on Big Data Computing Service and Applications. IMDb (Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television programs, home videos and video games, and internet streams, including cast, production crew and personnel biographies, plot summaries, trivia, and fan reviews and ratings. An additional fan feature, message boards, was abandoned in February 2017.

Note: Films in this list may incorporate elements from other works that are still under copyright, even though the film itself is out of copyright.

• 3Documenting public domain status

Copyrightable elements of a film[edit]

There is no official list of films (or other works) in the public domain. It is difficult to determine the public domain status of a film because it can incorporate any or all of the following copyrightable elements:

• Cinematography
• Drama
• Literature
• Music
• Art
• Graphical characters (e.g., Bugs Bunny)^[2]
• Fictional characters (e.g., James Bond)^[3]

Film copyright involves the copyright status of multiple elements that make up the film.^[4] A film can lose its copyright in some of those elements while retaining copyright in other elements.^[4] Experts in the field of public domain sometimes differ in their opinions as to whether a particular film is in the public domain.

The use of music in a film can cause uncertainty with regard to copyright. As of 2010, it is not known whether the use of music in a film constitutes publication of the music for the purpose of copyright.^[5] Unpublished works are treated differently from published works under US copyright law.^[6]

Judicial interpretation of public domain[edit]

Judges, too, differ in their interpretation of the laws governing copyright protection. The United States is a 'patchwork quilt' of inconsistent copyright rules in different federal judicial districts. The courts of one jurisdiction are not obliged to follow the decisions of another.^[7] The Supreme Court of the United States (which could resolve those inconsistencies) very seldom decides copyright cases, and then only when an important principle is involved.^{[citation needed]}

Documenting public domain status[edit]

If a film appears on the list below, there is a high probability it has lost some or all of its United States copyright protection or in the case of U.S. government films, was never protected by copyright.

There is no single method for determining if a film, or parts of it, is in the public domain. There are several methods that can be used to document a film's public domain status. These include the following:

Lack of renewal[edit]

Prior to 1988, all motion picture films published after 1909 with a copyright notice where the 28th year of copyright would occur before 1988, had to be registered and before the 28th year, the registration had to be renewed, or the copyright for the film would expire and it would enter the public domain. This would apply to all films registered for copyright prior to 1960. Copyright renewals became optional in 1988.

Missing or flawed copyright notice[edit]

Prior to 1978, films had to contain a valid copyright notice in order to claim copyright; at the bare minimum, the copyright notice had to list the word 'copyright' (or, as an acceptable abbreviation, a circled C), the year of publication (which could not be more than one year ahead of the actual publication), and the name of the entity claiming the copyright. From 1978 to 1988, if a work was published without a notice, the creator had five years to claim a copyright by registering it with the U.S. Copyright Board.^[8]

For an example, note the case of the television series The New 3 Stooges, pictured. Episodes of the series were published with an incomplete copyright notice with a year and copyright symbol but no claimant. Had the series been published under the terms of the post-1988 Berne Convention, and automatic copyright granted, it would be an orphan work, since it would be unclear which of the three companies involved in its production; Cambria Studios, C3 Entertainment and Normandy Productions; could claim to own the series. Because it was published before the U.S. joined the Berne Convention, its laws requiring the claimant to be explicitly stated ensured the series immediately lapsed into the public domain.

Date of publication[edit]

All motion pictures made and exhibited before 1924 are indisputably in the public domain in the United States. This date will move forward one year, every year, meaning that films released in 1924 will enter the public domain in 2020, films from 1925 in 2021, and so on.

Before the passage of the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) in 1998, the term of copyright in the U.S. was a maximum of 75 years, with the work entering the public domain on January 1 of the 76th year from creation (so, for example, a film made in 1930 whose copyright was properly registered and renewed would enter the public domain on January 1, 2006). As such, all films released before 1923 would have entered the public domain by January 1, 1998. Although the CTEA added 20 years to the terms of all existing copyrights, until 2019, it explicitly refused to revive any copyrights that had expired prior to its passage. On January 1, 2019, the 20 year extension expired and new works began entering the public domain each year thereafter.

Work of the United States government[edit]

All copyrightable works made by United States government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain from their creation. The status of works made by contractors is dependent on the terms of their contract. Note that this applies only to the federal government, and not to state or local governments, which may or may not claim copyright depending on state laws.^{[citation needed]}

Determine copyright registration[edit]

Motion picture copyright registrations prior to 1978 were published in semi-annual Copyright Catalogs. The Library of Congress also published cumulative Copyright Catalogs of motion picture registrations for the periods

• 1894–1911
• 1912–1939^[9]
• 1940–1949
• 1950–1959
• 1960–1969
• 1970–1979
• 1980–1989

All are out of print. However, the Film Superlist series is a complete reprint of all registrations in the Copyright Catalogs for 1894 through 1959. There is no cumulative Copyright Catalog for 1970–1977; the Copyright Office published 16 semi-annual Copyright Catalog booklets covering that eight-year period, but all are out of print and extremely rare. All copyright registrations from 1978 onward are online at the Library of Congress website.

Some decades of The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures include copyright registration information for feature films (not shorts) of United States origin. This can include a statement that research failed to disclose copyright registration for a particular film. Copyright registration information is given in the following:

• The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures, 1931–1940; ISBN0-913616-00-1
• The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures, 1941–1950; ISBN0-913616-39-7

The United States copyright website catalogs all the works prior to 1978 that have been renewed.^[10]Several pieces of work have been renewed in the form of collections, thus giving the collection as a whole copyright protection.

Copyright renewal status[edit]

For films registered in 1923–1963 inclusive, it is essential to know the renewal status. The semi-annual Copyright Catalog booklets have virtually complete (at least 99.99%) lists of renewals for the films registered 28 years earlier. Those semi-annual booklets all are out of print. However, for 1923 through 1959, the Film Superlist books match copyright renewals with earlier registrations. Copyright registrations and renewals can be found in

• Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1894–1939 (Volume 1)
• Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1940–1949 (Volume 2)
• Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1950–1959 (Volume 3)

In 1992, Congress changed the copyright law to make renewal automatic for copyrights registered in 1964 and later.

Underlying rights[edit]

Many of the movies listed below are based on plays, novels, magazine stories or a combination of those sources. In some cases, a film's copyright has lapsed because of non-renewal while the underlying literary or dramatic source is still protected by copyright. For example, the movie His Girl Friday (1940) became a public domain film in 1969 because it was not renewed, but it is based on the 1928 play The Front Page, which is still under copyright until 2024 and thus as a practical matter the film cannot be used without permission.^[4]

Films[edit]

All films that were released before 1924, or are the work of the United States Government, are now in the public domain in the United States. They are not listed here in order to keep this list to a manageable size. See Category:Films by year for pre-1924 films.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

• ^G Public domain in the U.S. from creation as work of the United States government

References[edit]

1. ^'An Introduction to Films and Motion Pictures' at RoyaltyFreeMusic.com Retrieved August 4, 2009
2. ^Rich, Lloyd L. (1998). 'Protection of Graphic Characters'. The Publishing Law Center. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
3. ^Adler, Kenneth A. (October 1, 1999). 'Using Dramatic Characters in Multimedia Works – Avoiding the Pitfalls'. Thelen LLP. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
4. ^ ^abcFishman (2010), p. 180.
5. ^Fishman (2010), p. 181.
6. ^Hirtle, Peter B. (October 4, 2010). 'Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States'. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
7. ^Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1940–1949), page xii.
8. ^ ^abc'Copyright Notice'. Copyright Registration and Renewal Information Chart and Web Site. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
9. ^Catalog of Copyright Entries: Cumulative Series. Motion Pictures 1912-1939 (51,112 films), published in 1951. L.C. card, 51-60018. (copy)
10. ^'United States Copyright Office Public Catalog'. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
11. ^ ^abPaolo Cherchi Usai (2008). The Griffith Project: Essays on D.W. Griffith. British Film Institute. p. 208. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
12. ^Bob Furmanek (February 6, 2004). '8 Abbott & Costello Films Coming!'. hometheaterforum.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
13. ^John M. Miller, 'Africa Screams, Home Video Reviews', Turner Classic Movies
14. ^ ^abcdefghiPierce (2007), pp. 131-134.
15. ^Sullivan, Monica (1998). VideoHound's independent film guide. Visible Ink Press. pp. 12–13.
16. ^ ^abcdePierce, David (March 29, 2001). Legal Limbo: How American Copyright Law Makes Orphan Films(mp3 in 'file3'). Orphans of the Storm II: Documenting the 20th Century. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
17. ^Erickson, Hal (2012). Military Comedy Films: A Critical Survey and Filmography of Hollywood Releases Since 1918. McFarland. ISBN9780786492671.page 68
18. ^ ^abcSmith, Gary A. (2009). The American International Pictures video guide. McFarland & Company. p. 8.
19. ^Thompson, Nathaniel. 'The Bat'. Tcm.com. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
20. ^Bailey, Jason (February 15, 2017). 'A New Cut and Restoration Reframes Bogart and Huston's Strangest Film'. Flavorwire. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
21. ^ ^{abcdefghijklmnopqrs}Pierce (2007), pp. 140-143.
22. ^Slide, Anthony (2013). Nitrate Won't Wait: A History of Film Preservation in the United States. McFarland. ISBN9781476604572.^{[page needed]}
23. ^ ^abcdefgEyman, Scott (2014). John Wayne. The Life and Legend. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. p. 71. ISBN978-1-4391-9958-9.
24. ^ ^abLennig, Arthur (2003). The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 465.
25. ^ ^abNathaniel Thompson, 'Cult Movies, The Brain that Wouldn't Die', Turner Classic Movies
26. ^ ^abcdefghHogan, David (2011). Three Stooges FAQ: Everything Left to Know about the Eye-Poking, Face-Slapping Head-Thumping Geniuses. Applause Theatre and Cinema Books.
27. ^Coffel, Chris (November 24, 2015). 'HOME VIDEO[Blu-ray Review] 'A Bucket of Blood' is a Bucket of Fun!'. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
28. ^Edgerton, Gary R.; Rollins, Peter C. (2015). Television Histories: Shaping Collective Memory in the Media Age. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN9780813158297.page 274
29. ^Blake, Marc (2013). Writing the Horror Movie. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p. 91.
30. ^ ^abcdPierce (2007), p. 130.
31. ^Online search results for keywords 'Henry Mancini Charade', from US Copyright Office.
32. ^The original story basis for Charade is The Unsuspecting Wife by Peter Stone and Marc Behm, which appeared in the July 1961 issue of Redbook magazine. The copyright to the story was renewed by Stone in 1989 (see source: David Pierce (2007), Note #20, pg. 141).
33. ^ ^abPierce (2007), p. 137.
34. ^Zuckerman, Faye (March 23, 1985). 'Prism Into Public Domain: 24 Film Classics Set for Release'. Billboard (magazine). Retrieved March 10, 2018.
35. ^Marianne Gray (1991). Depardieu. Sinclair-Stevenson, Limited. p. 160. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
36. ^Hal Erickson, 'New DVDs, Peckinpah's Deadly Companions and Major Dundee', New York Times
37. ^M & A Associates v. VCX, 657 F.Supp. 454, conclusions: 27 (United States District Court April 8, 1987) ('Although Arno asked Weisberg for copyright protection of the film in early 1979, Weisberg first became aware of the legal significance of the omission of the copyright notice from the film in January of 1981. Weisberg thus received 'notice' of the defect at that latter date. See M. Kramer Mfg. Co. v. Andrews, 783 F.2d 421, 443 & n. 21 (4th Cir. 1986). Weisberg's failure to take reasonable [657 F.Supp. 463] efforts resulted in the film being irretrievably injected into the public domain 'several months' later.').
38. ^Miller, Jeffrey (2002). Ardor in the Court!: Sex and the Law. ECW Press. p. 152. ISBN1-55022-528-6.
39. ^Herzogenrath, Bernd (2009). The Films of Edgar G. Ulmer. Scarecrow Press. p. 151.
40. ^Researching the Copyright Status of a Work from Copyright Registration and Renewal Information Chart and Web Site
41. ^Codori, Jeff (February 28, 2012). Colleen Moore: A Biography of the Silent Film Star. McFarland. p. 251. ISBN0-786-48899-9. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
42. ^Slide, Anthony (2013). Nitrate Won't Wait: A History of Film Preservation in the United States. McFarland. ISBN9781476604572.^{[page needed]}
43. ^ ^abcdefghPierce (2007), pp. 138-139.
44. ^ ^abPierce (2007), pp. 134-137.
45. ^Hutchinson, Sean (April 6, 2017). 'Fear and Desire: The Movie Stanley Kubrick Didn't Want You to See'. Mental Floss. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
46. ^Ladwig, Samantha (September 5, 2017). '30 Hollywood Classics Streaming for Free in the Public Domain'. Vulture.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018. ... with the first being the 1931 Lewis Milestone–directed The Front Page, which also fell into the public domain.
47. ^ ^abcdefghFishman (2010), pp. 174-180.
48. ^Wilson, John (2005). The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywoods Worst. Hachette Book Group.
49. ^ ^abStim, Richard (2016). Getting Permission: How to License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Off. Nolo. ISBN9781413323139.page 268
50. ^[1]
51. ^Brotherton, Jamie; Okuda, Ted (2013). Dorothy Lee: The Life and Films of the Wheeler and Woolsey Girl. McFarland. ISBN9780786433636.page 152
52. ^Peros, Mike (2016). Dan Duryea: Heel with a Heart. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN9781496809933. The Great Flamarion is among Duryea's more visible efforts because it fell into the public domain when the original copyright lapsed.^{[page needed]}
53. ^John M. Miller, 'Mr. Bug Goes to Town aka Hoppity Goes to Town', Turner Classic Movies
54. ^David Kehr (March 6, 2009). 'Classics From Disney and a Lilliputian Competitor'. New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
55. ^Ladwig, Samantha (September 9, 2017). '30 classic Hollywood movies you can stream for free'. Business Insider. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
56. ^Miska, Brad (January 12, 2017). 'They're Re-remaking 'House on Haunted Hill''. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
57. ^''House on Haunted Hill' screening set in Vacaville'. Daily Republic. October 6, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
58. ^Nathaniel Thompson, 'The Indestructible Man, Cult Movies', Turner Classic Movies
59. ^Hicks, Chris (June 18, 2004). 'Chris Hicks: Kaye movies are hard to find on DVD'. Deseret News. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
60. ^ ^abcdPierce (2007), p. 126.
61. ^Cox, Stephen. It's a Wonderful Life: A Memory Book. Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland House, 2003. 115. Print. ISBN1-58182-337-1. Copyright of short story, The Greatest Gift, expires after 2038, 95 years after publication.
62. ^'Renewal Registrations, p. 1614.'Catalog of Copyright Entries, January–June 1971, U.S. Copyright Office. Retrieved: November 8, 2010.
63. ^Nesi, Ted. 'Why You Can't Watch It's A Wonderful Life on Demand'. WPRI.com. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
64. ^Harris, Aisha (April 11, 2013). 'When Jackie Robinson Played Himself'. Slate (magazine). Retrieved March 10, 2018.
65. ^Deane, Pamela S. (2009). James Edwards: African American Hollywood Icon. McFarland. ISBN9780786458165.page 82
66. ^Kehr, Dave (July 10, 2007). 'New DVDs'. The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
67. ^Prelinger, Rick (2006). The field guide to sponsored films. National Film Preservation Foundation. p. 52. ISBN978-0-9747099-3-2.
68. ^ ^abJonathan Malcolm Lampley (2010). Women in the Horror Films of Vincent Price. McFarland. p. 98.
69. ^Copyright Registration and Renewal Information Chart and Web Site
70. ^Online results from keyword search: 'Last Time I Saw Paris Conrad Salinger' in United States Copyright Office. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
71. ^ ^abcPierce (2007), p. 138.
72. ^Hannan, Brian (2016). Coming Back to a Theater Near You: A History of Hollywood Reissues, 1914-2014. McFarland. ISBN9780786498130.page 272
73. ^ ^abcdePierce (2007), p. 128.
74. ^Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1940-1949), page 222.
75. ^Erickson, Glenn. 'Made for Each Other: Home Video Reviews'. Tcm.com. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
76. ^Kehr, Dave (October 11, 2005). 'New DVD's'. The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
77. ^Wilson, John (2005). The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywoods Worst. Hachette Book Group.
78. ^ ^abTHE BATTLE OVER THE WORST MOVIE EVER playboy.com accessed October 3, 2015
79. ^ ^ab'Court Rules for 'Goodtimes' in McLintock! Case', in Billboard, May 14, 1994,pg. 73 & 82
80. ^Fishman (2010), p. 337.
81. ^Cady, Brian. 'My Dear Secretary (1948): Home Video Reviews'. Tcm.com. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
82. ^Esther Rita Sinofsky (1988). A copyright primer for educational and industrial media producers. Copyright Information Services. p. 29. Retrieved January 20, 2016. But remember the underlying works may still be copyrighted
83. ^'My Man Godfry'. Stanford University Copyright Renewal Database. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
84. ^Night of the Living Dead entered the public domain because the original theatrical distributor, the Walter Reade Organization, neglected to place a copyright indication on the prints. In 1968, United States copyright law required a proper notice for a work to maintain a copyright. See U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 92, Copyright Law of the United States of America, Chapter 4: Copyright Notice, Deposit, and Registration, Omission of notice on certain copies and phonorecords. Image Ten displayed such a notice on the title frames of the film beneath the original title, Night of the Flesh Eaters but the distributor removed the statement when it changed the title. See Boluk, Stephanie; Lenz, Wylie (June 16, 2011). 'Introduction: Generation Z, the Age of Apocalypse'. In Boluk, Stephanie; Lenz, Wylie (eds.). Generation Zombie: Essays on the Living Dead in Modern Culture. Jefferson, North Carolina, US: McFarland & Company. p. 5. ISBN978-0-7864-6140-0. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
85. ^Shales, Tom (May 24, 2003). 'Showtime's 'Our Town': Newman's Own'. The Washington Post. Retrieved May 4, 2019. Sadly, the movie slipped between the cracks and into the public domain, and there now appear to be no decent prints left in existence
86. ^Erickson, Hal (April 18, 2007). 'FILM.COM MOVIE OF THE WEEK: PENNY SERENADE'. MTV News. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
87. ^Lodge, Guy (August 20, 2018). 'Film in the public domain: here be buried treasures'. The Guardian. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
88. ^ ^abGrandinetti, Fred (2004). Popeye: an illustrated cultural history. McFarland & Company. p. 125.
89. ^Coniam, Matthew (2015). The Annotated Marx Brothers: A Filmgoer’s Guide to In-Jokes, Obscure References and Sly Details. McFarland. ISBN9780786497058.page 199
90. ^Neibaur, James L. (2016). The Essential Mickey Rooney. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN9781442260962.page 184
91. ^Herzberg, Bob (2013). Hang 'Em High: Law and Disorder in Western Films and Literature. McFarland. ISBN9781476601243.page 114
92. ^Stanley, John (January 6, 2013). 'DVD review: 'The Red House''. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
93. ^Shaye, Robert (May 22, 2003). 'Graduation 2003'.
94. ^Anderson, Patrick (1981). High in America: the true story behind NORML and the politics of marijuana. The Viking Press. p. 101.
95. ^Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1950-1959), pages 287, 509.
96. ^Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1940-1949), page viii.
97. ^Eyman, Scott (2014). John Wayne. The Life and Legend. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. p. 71. ISBN978-1-4391-9958-9.
98. ^Campbell, Christopher (January 7, 2012). '10 Great Films Set in New Mexico – For the State's Centennial'. IndieWire. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
99. ^https://tedium.co/2017/10/24/public-domain-film-history-copyright
100. ^Wilson, John (2005). The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywoods Worst. Hachette Book Group.
101. ^Filmmakers Newsletter Volume 7, Suncraft International Incorporated, 1973
102. ^Segrave, Kerry. Piracy in the Motion Picture Industry.
103. ^Rapold, Nicolas (February 14, 2014). 'Even Good Films May Go to Purgatory: Old Films Fall Into Public Domain Under Copyright Law'. The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
104. ^Murray, Noel (November 23, 2005). 'Scarlet Street & House By The River'. The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
105. ^'The Screaming Skull'. AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
106. ^Simosko, Vladimir (2000). Artie Shaw: A Musical Biography and Discography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN9780810833975.page 89
107. ^Hicks, Chris (March 8, 2007). 'DVD reviews: Oldies make their DVD debut'. Deseret News. Retrieved June 16, 2013. The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952, color) has injured writer Gregory Peck going over his past to see if his life has meaning, with Ava Gardner and Susan Hayward. This one has been on many public-domain labels, but this is a pristine print and looks gorgeous.
108. ^King, Susan (February 24, 1991). 'How Hollywood Dealt with Great Depression'. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
109. ^Gerald Peary (October 10, 2010). 'He's on the hunt for lost movie treasures'. Boston Globe. Retrieved October 29, 2015. Orson Welles's 'The Stranger is their newest HD release, made feasible because the RKO picture has fallen into public domain.
110. ^American Film, Volume 11, Issues 1-10. American Film Institute. 1985. Retrieved March 10, 2018.page 70
111. ^ ^abRossen, Jake (2008). Superman Vs. Hollywood: How Fiendish Producers, Devious Directors, and Warring Writers Grounded an American Icon. Chicago Review Press.
112. ^Ray, Fred Olen (1991). The New Poverty Row: Independent Filmmakers as Distributors. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 51.
113. ^Stevens, Brad (2003). Monte Hellman: His Life and Films. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 34.
114. ^Arnold, Jeremy. 'Too Late For Tears (1949)'. Tcm.com. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
115. ^Dessem, Matthew (July 19, 2017). 'Lena Dunham Is Joining American Horror Story Season 7'. Slate (magazine). Retrieved April 18, 2018.
116. ^Rhodes, Gary D. (2001). White Zombie: Anatomy of a Horror Film. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 280.
117. ^Ryan Turek (July 6, 2010). 'What Happened to Tobe Hooper's White Zombie?'. shocktillyoudrop.com. Retrieved August 23, 2013.

Bibliography[edit]

• Fishman, Stephen (2010). The Public Domain: How to Find & Use Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More (5th ed.). Nolo (retrieved via Google Books). ISBN1-4133-1205-5. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
• Pierce, David (June 2007). 'Forgotten Faces: Why Some of Our Cinema Heritage Is Part of the Public Domain'. Film History: An International Journal. 19 (2): 125–43. doi:10.2979/FIL.2007.19.2.125. ISSN0892-2160. JSTOR25165419. OCLC15122313.

IMDb (Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television programs, home videos and video games, and internet streams, including cast, production crew and personnel biographies, plot summaries, trivia, and fan reviews and ratings. An additional fan feature, message boards, was abandoned in February 2017. Originally a fan-operated website, the database is owned and operated by IMDb.com, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon.

As of October 2018, IMDb has approximately 5.3 million titles (including episodes) and 9.3 million personalities in its database,^[2] as well as 83 million registered users.

• 2History
• 7Content and format
• 8Ancillary features
  • 8.1User ratings of films

Features[edit]

The movie and talent pages of IMDb are accessible to all internet users, but a registration process is necessary to contribute information to the site.

Most data in the database is provided by volunteer contributors. The site enables registered users to submit new material and edits to existing entries. Users with a proven track record of submitting factual data are given instant approval for additions or corrections to cast, credits, and other demographics of media product and personalities. However, image, name, character name, plot summaries, and title changes are supposedly screened before publication, and usually take between 24 and 72 hours to appear.

All registered users choose their own site name, and most operate anonymously. They have a profile page which shows how long a registered user has been a member, as well as personal movie ratings (should the user decide to display them) and, since 2015, 'badges' are added representing how many contributions a particular registered user has submitted. These badges range from total contributions made to independent categories such as photos, trivia, bios, etc. If a registered user or visitor is in the entertainment industry and has an IMDb page, that user/visitor can add photos to that page by enrolling in IMDbPRO.^[3] There is no single index of contributors, no index on each profile page of the items contributed, and (except for plot synopses and biographies) no identification of contributors to each product's or person's data pages.

Users are also invited to rate any film on a scale of 1 to 10, and the totals are converted into a weighted mean-rating that is displayed beside each title, with online filters employed to deter ballot-stuffing.

In January 2019, IMDb launched a free movie streaming platform called Freedive, an ad-supported service offering Hollywood movie titles and TV shows. Many Freedive titles are licensed from Sony Pictures.^[4]

History[edit]

History before website[edit]

IMDb originated with a Usenet posting by British film fan and computer programmer Col Needham entitled 'Those Eyes', about actresses with beautiful eyes. Others with similar interests soon responded with additions or different lists of their own. Needham subsequently started an 'Actors List', while Dave Knight began a 'Directors List', and Andy Krieg took over 'THE LIST' from Hank Driskill, which would later be renamed the 'Actress List'. Both lists had been restricted to people who were alive and working, but soon retired people were added, so Needham started what was then (but did not remain) a separate 'Dead Actors/Actresses List'. Steve Hammond started collecting and merging character names for both the actors and actresses lists. When these achieved popularity, they were merged back into the lists themselves. The goal of the participants now was to make the lists as inclusive as possible.

By late 1990, the lists included almost 10,000 movies and television series correlated with actors and actresses appearing therein. On October 17, 1990, Needham developed and posted a collection of Unixshell scripts which could be used to search the four lists, and thus the database that would become the IMDb was born.^[5] At the time, it was known as the 'rec.arts.movies movie database'.

On the web[edit]

The database had been expanded to include additional categories of filmmakers and other demographic material as well as trivia, biographies, and plot summaries. The movie ratings had been properly integrated with the list data, and a centralized email interface for querying the database had been created by Alan Jay. Later, in 1993, it moved onto the World Wide Web, (a network in its infancy at that time) under the name of Cardiff Internet Movie Database.^[6] The database resided on the servers of the computer science department of Cardiff University in Wales. Rob Hartill was the original web interface author. In 1994, the email interface was revised to accept the submission of all information, which enabled people to email the specific list maintainer with their updates. However, the structure remained so that information received on a single film was divided among multiple section managers, the sections being defined and determined by categories of film personnel and the individual filmographies contained therein. Over the next few years, the database was run on a network of mirrors across the world with donated bandwidth.^[7]

As an independent company[edit]

In 1996 IMDb was incorporated in the United Kingdom, becoming the Internet Movie Database Ltd. Founder Col. Needham became the primary owner as well as the figurehead. General revenue for site operations was generated through advertising, licensing and partnerships.^[8]

As Amazon.com subsidiary (1998–present)[edit]

In 1998, Jeff Bezos, founder, owner, and CEO of Amazon.com, struck a deal with Needham and other principal shareholders to buy IMDb outright for approximately $55 million^[9] and attach it to Amazon as a subsidiary, private company.^[10] This gave IMDb the ability to pay the shareholders salaries for their work, while Amazon.com would be able to use IMDb as an advertising resource for selling DVDs and videotapes.

IMDb continued to expand its functionality. On January 15, 2002, it added a subscription service known as IMDbPro, aimed at entertainment professionals. IMDbPro was announced and launched at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. It provides a variety of services including film production and box office details, as well as a company directory and the ability of subscribers to add personal information pages with details at variance with pages about them appearing in the database.

As an additional incentive for users, as of 2003, users identified as one of 'the top 100 contributors' of hard data received complimentary free access to IMDbPro for the following calendar year; for 2006 this was increased to the top 150 contributors, and for 2010 to the top 250.^[11] In 2008, IMDb launched their first official foreign language version with the German IMDb.de. Also in 2008, IMDb acquired two other companies: Withoutabox and Box Office Mojo.

The website was originally Perl-based, but IMDb no longer discloses what software it uses for reasons of security.^[12] As of May 2011, the site has been filtered in China for more than one year, although many users address it through proxy server or by VPN.^[13]

IMDbPro[edit]

Actors, crew, and industry executives can post their own resume and upload photos of themselves for a yearly fee. This fee gives them membership in IMDbPro. IMDbPro can be accessed by anyone willing to pay the fee, which is US$19.99 per month, or if paid annually, US$149.99. Membership enables a user to access the rank order of each industry personality, as well as agent contact information for any actor, producer, director etc. that has an IMDb page. Enrolling in IMDbPro for industry personnel, enables those members the ability to upload a head shot to open their page, as well as the ability to upload hundreds of photos to accompany their page. Anyone can register as an IMDb user and contribute to the site as well as view its content, however those users enrolled in IMDbPro have greater access and privileges.^[14]

Television episodes numbers[edit]

On January 26, 2006, 'Full Episode Support' came online, allowing the database to support separate cast and crew listings for each episode of every television series. This increased the number of titles in the database from 485,000 to nearly 755,000.^{[citation needed]}

Characters' filmography[edit]

On October 2, 2007,^{[citation needed]} the characters' filmography was added. Character entries are created from character listings in the main filmography database, and as such do not need any additional verification by IMDb staff. They have already been verified when they are added to the main filmography.

Instant viewing[edit]

On September 15, 2008, a feature was added that enables instant viewing of over 6,000 movies and television shows from CBS, Sony and a number of independent film makers, with direct links from their profiles.^[15] Due to licensing restrictions, this feature is available only to viewers in the United States.^[16]

This feature has since been discontinued. As quoted from IMDb.com video faq's 'You won't be able to view the movie or TV Show on IMDb. The videos on IMDb are Trailers, Interviews, Clips, Featurettes, and other original content that dive deeper into great movies and TV shows.'

Date discontinued: [information needed]

Freedive: On January 10, 2019 free viewing option for US locations was once again added. Freedive is available on the IMDb website and on Amazon Fire TV devices. The difference is that this time the content has embedded ads which can not be skipped.^[17]

Content and format[edit]

Data provided by subjects[edit]

In 2006, IMDb introduced its 'Résumé Subscription Service', where actors and crew can post their own résumé and upload photos of themselves^[18] for a yearly fee.^[19] The base annual charge for including a photo with an account was US$39.95 until 2010, when it was increased to US$54.95. IMDb résumé pages are kept on a sub-page of the regular entry about that person, with a regular entry automatically created for each résumé subscriber who does not already have one.^[20]

As of 2012, Resume Services is now included as part of an IMDbPro subscription, and is no longer offered as a separate subscription service.

Copyright, vandalism and error issues[edit]

All volunteers who contribute content to the database technically retain copyright on their contributions but the compilation of the content becomes the exclusive property of IMDb with the full right to copy, modify, and sublicense it and they are verified before posting.^[21] Credit is not given on specific title or filmography pages to the contributor(s) who have provided information. Conversely, a credited text entry, such as a plot summary, may be corrected for content, grammar, sentence structure, perceived omission or error, by other contributors without having to add their names as co-authors. Due to the time required for processing submitted data or text before it is displayed, IMDb is different from user-contributed projects like Wikipedia, Discogs, or OpenStreetMap in that contributors cannot add, delete, or modify the data or text on impulse, and the manipulation of data is controlled by IMDb technology and salaried staff.^[22]

IMDb has been subject to deliberate additions of false information; in 2012 a spokesperson said: 'We make it easy for users and professionals to update much of our content, which is why we have an 'edit page.' The data that is submitted goes through a series of consistency checks before it goes live. Given the sheer volume of the information, occasional mistakes are inevitable, and, when reported, they are promptly fixed. We always welcome corrections.'^[23]

The Java Movie Database (JMDB)^[24] is reportedly creating an IMDb_Error.log file that lists all the errors found while processing the IMDb plain text files. A Wiki alternative to IMDb is Open Media Database^[25] whose content is also contributed by users but licensed under CC-by and the GFDL. Since 2007, IMDb has been experimenting with wiki-programmed sections for complete film synopses, parental guides, and FAQs about titles as determined by (and answered by) individual contributors.

Data format and access[edit]

IMDb does not provide an API for automated queries. However, most of the data can be downloaded as compressed plain text files and the information can be extracted using the command-line interface tools provided.^[26] There is also a Java-based graphical user interface (GUI) application available that is able to process the compressed plain text files, which allows a search and a display of the information.^[24] This GUI application supports different languages, but the movie related data are in English, as made available by IMDb. A Python package called IMDbPY can also be used to process the compressed plain text files into a number of different SQL databases, enabling easier access to the entire dataset for searching or data mining.^[27]

Film titles[edit]

The IMDb has sites in English as well as versions translated completely or in part into other languages (Danish, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Romanian). The non-English language sites display film titles in the specified language. Originally, IMDb's English language sites displayed titles according to their original country-of-origin language, however, in 2010 IMDb began allowing individual users in the UK and USA to choose primary title display by either the original-language titles, or the US or UK release title (normally, in English).

Ancillary features[edit]

User ratings of films[edit]

As one adjunct to data, the IMDb offers a rating scale that allows users to rate films on a scale of one to ten. It has been alleged that the rating system is flawed, for several reasons.^[28]

IMDb indicates that submitted ratings are filtered and weighted in various ways in order to produce a weighted mean that is displayed for each film, series, and so on. It states that filters are used to avoid ballot stuffing; the method is not described in detail to avoid attempts to circumvent it. In fact, it sometimes produces an extreme difference between the weighted average and the arithmetic mean.

Rankings[edit]

The IMDb Top 250 is a list of the top rated 250 films, based on ratings by the registered users of the website using the methods described. As of 7 February 2019, The Shawshank Redemption is #1 on the list.^[29] The 'Top 250' rating is based on only the ratings of 'regular voters'. The number of votes a registered user would have to make to be considered as a user who votes regularly has been kept secret. IMDb has stated that to maintain the effectiveness of the Top 250 list they 'deliberately do not disclose the criteria used for a person to be counted as a regular voter'.^[30] In addition to other weightings, the Top 250 films are also based on a weighted rating formula referred to in actuarial science as a credibility formula.^[31] This label arises because a statistic is taken to be more credible the greater the number of individual pieces of information; in this case from eligible users who submit ratings. Although the current formula is not disclosed, IMDb originally used the following formula to calculate their weighted rating:^[32][33]

International Movie Script Database

• ${\displaystyle W}$ = weighted rating
• ${\displaystyle R}$ = average for the movie as a number from 1 to 10 (mean) = (Rating)
• ${\displaystyle v}$ = number of votes for the movie = (votes)
• ${\displaystyle m}$ = minimum votes required to be listed in the Top 250 (currently 25,000)
• ${\displaystyle C}$ = the mean vote across the whole report (currently 7.0)

The ${\displaystyle W}$ in this formula is equivalent to a Bayesian posterior mean (see Bayesian statistics).

The IMDb also has a Bottom 100 feature which is assembled through a similar process although only 1500 votes must be received to qualify for the list.^[34]

The Top 250 list comprises a wide range of feature films, including major releases, cult films, independent films, critically acclaimed films, silent films, and non-English language films. Documentaries, short films and TV episodes are not currently included.

Since 2015, there has been a Top 250 list devoted to ranking television shows.^[35]

Message boards[edit]

Beginning in 2001, the Internet Movie Database also maintained message boards for every title (excepting, as of 2013, TV episodes^[36]) and name entry, along with over 140 main boards. This began in 2001. In order to post on the message boards a user needed to 'authenticate' their account via cell phone, credit card, or by having been a recent customer of the parent company Amazon.com. Message boards expanded in recent years. The Soapbox started in 1999 as a general message board meant for debates on any subjects. The Politics board started in 2007 was a message board to discuss politics, news events, and current affairs, as well as history and economics.^{[citation needed]}

By February 20, 2017, all the message boards and their content were permanently removed. According to the website, the decision was made because the boards were 'no longer providing a positive, useful experience for the vast majority of our more than 250 million monthly users worldwide'^[37], and others have mentioned its susceptibility to trolling and disagreeable behavior.^[38][39][40] Col Needham also mentioned in a post some months earlier that the boards received less income from ads, and that their members only made up a very small part of the website's visitors. The boards were costly to run due to the system's age and dated design, which did not make business sense.^[41] The decision to remove the message boards was met with outspoken backlash from some of its users, and sparked an online petition garnering over 8,000 signatures.^[42] In the days leading up to February 20, 2017, both Archive.org^[43] and MovieChat.org^[44] preserved the entire contents of the IMDb message boards using web scraping. Archive.org and MovieChat.org have published IMDb message board archives, which is legal under the fair use doctrine, because it has no effect on IMDb's potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.^[45][46]

Statistics[edit]

As of December 2018, IMDb has the following statistics:^[2]

Litigation[edit]

In 2011, in the case of Hoang v. Amazon.com, IMDb was sued by an anonymous actress for more than US$1,000,000 due to IMDb's revealing her age (40, at the time).^[47] The actress claimed that revealing her age could cause her to lose acting opportunities.^[48] Judge Marsha J. Pechman, a U.S. district judge in Seattle, dismissed the lawsuit, saying the actress had no grounds to proceed with an anonymous complaint. The actress re-filed and so revealed that she was Huong Hoang of Texas, who uses the stage name Junie Hoang.^[49] In 2013, Pechman dismissed all causes of action except for a breach of contract claim against IMDb; a jury then sided with IMDb on that claim.^[50] The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court judgment in March 2015.^[51]

Also in 2011, in the case of United Video Properties Inc., et al. v. Amazon.Com Inc. et al.,^[52] IMDb and Amazon were sued by Rovi Corporation and others for patent infringement over their various program listing offerings.^[53] The patent claims were ultimately construed in a way favorable to IMDb and Rovi / United Video Properties lost the case.^[54] In April 2014, the decision was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals.^[55]

On January 1, 2017, the State of California implemented state bill AB-1687, a SAG-AFTRA-backed anti-ageism statute which requires 'commercial online entertainment employment services' to honor requests by their subscribers for their ages and birthdays to be hidden.^[56] By the beginning of 2017, IMDb had received more than 2,300 requests from individuals to remove their date of birth from the site. Included in this group were 10 Academy Award winners and another 71 nominated for Oscars, Emmys, or Golden Globes.^[57]On February 23, 2017, Judge Vince Girdhari Chhabria issued a stay on the bill pending a further trial, claiming that it possibly violated the First Amendment because it inhibited the public consumption of factual information. He also questioned the intent of the bill, as it was ostensibly meant to target IMDb.^[58]

See also[edit]

• AllMusic – a similar database, but for music
• All Media Network – a commercial database launched by the Rovi Corporation that compiles information from the former services AllMovie and AllMusic
• Internet Movie Cars Database (IMCDb)
• Internet Movie Firearms Database (IMFDb)
• Internet Book Database (IBookDb)
• Internet Broadway Database (IBDb)
• Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDb)
• Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDb)
• Internet Theatre Database (ITDb)

References[edit]

1. ^'Imdb.com Traffic, Demographics and Competitors - Alexa'. Alexa Internet. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
2. ^ ^ab'Press Room'. IMDB.com. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
3. ^'Submission guide for users'. IMDb. Help Center.
4. ^Mehta, Ivan (January 11, 2019). 'Amazon's new IMDb Freedive service streams ad-supported movies and TV shows in the US'. The Next Web. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
5. ^Chmielewski, Dawn C. (January 19, 2013). 'Col Needham created IMDb'. Los Angeles Times.
6. ^'Historical Internet Movie Database Site'. Cardiff School of Computer Science & Informatics. Archived from the original on March 24, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
7. ^'IMDB History'. IMDb.
8. ^'IMDB turned 20 on 17 October 2010'.
9. ^'SEC Info - Amazon Com Inc - '8-K' for 4/27/98 - EX-99.2'. secinfo.com. April 27, 1998. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
10. ^IMDb. 'Internet bookseller Amazon.com announces acquisition of United Kingdom company The Internet Movie Database Ltd' (Press release). PR Newswire Europe. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
11. ^Needham, Col (January 1, 2011). 'Top 250 contributors for 2010'. IMDb. IMD; announcement. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
12. ^'What software are you using to run IMDb?'. IMDb. 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
13. ^Chacksfield, Marc (January 14, 2010). 'China blocks number-one movie site IMDb'. TechRadar. 2012 Future US, Inc.
14. ^'IMDbPro signup'. IMDb.
15. ^Hoffman, Harrison (September 15, 2008). 'IMDb now serves full-length videos'. cnet. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
16. ^Modine, Austin (September 16, 2008). 'IMDb adds full-length streaming movies (Show your US ID card at the door)'. The Register. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
17. ^https://www.geekwire.com/2019/amazons-imdb-launches-freedive-free-movie-tv-streaming-service-ads/
18. ^'Lycos Europe and IMDb sign sales agreement for 9 European markets'. Lycos Europe. press release. July 10, 2006. Archived from the original on October 23, 2006.
19. ^'Can I subscribe only for one month or one year?'. IMDb. Resume FAQ. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
20. ^'Is there any difference between a regular IMDb name page and an IMDb name page created via IMDb Resume?'. IMDb. Resume FAQ. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
21. ^'Copyright and Conditions of Use'. IMDb.
22. ^'The plain text data files'. IMDb. Alternate Interfaces.
23. ^'Which A-list star is hacking IMDb pages?'. The Hollywood Reporter. November 14, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
24. ^ ^ab'Java Movie Database (JMDB)'. Jmdb.de. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
25. ^'Open Media Database'. omdb.org. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
26. ^'Alternate Interfaces'. IMDb. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
27. ^'IMDbPY'. IMDbPY. sourceforge.net. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
28. ^'Why IMDb's Top 250 matters ... and why it doesn't'. Screenrant.com. April 13, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
29. ^'Top 250 movies as voted by our users'. IMDb. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
30. ^'The user votes average on film or show X is 9.4, so it should appear in your Top 250 Movies or TV list, yet it doesn't. Why?'. IMDb.
31. ^Norberg, Ragnar (2006). 'Credibility Theory'. Encyclopedia of Actuarial Science(PDF). doi:10.1002/9780470012505.tac068. ISBN0470846763. Archived from the original(PDF) on May 15, 2004.
32. ^'IMDB's statement on their voting calculation'. imdb.com. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
33. ^'IMDB Vote FAQ'. IMDb.com. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
34. ^'Bottom 100'. IMDb. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
35. ^'Top 250 TV'. IMDb. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
36. ^Each TV episode uses the same message board for the whole series
37. ^'IMDb is closing its message boards'.
38. ^'One of the worst comment sections on the Internet is shutting down'.
39. ^'Should IMDB have preserved its comment boards - flame wars and all?'.
40. ^'Not Even IMDB Is Safe From Trolls'.
41. ^'Can someone on the inside explain to me'. IMDb.com Customer Community. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
42. ^'How some users are trying to save IMDB's message board'. Vice.com. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
43. ^'The Archiveteam IMDb message board archive (raw data)'. Archive.org. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
44. ^'The MovieChat IMDb Message Board Archive (web-based)'. MovieChat.org. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
45. ^'17 U.S. Code § 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use'. Cornell Law School. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
46. ^'Movie & TV Forums: IMDb Message Board Archives: Are They Legal?'. MovieTVForums.com. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
47. ^Bahr, Lindsey (October 18, 2011). 'Lawsuit against IMDb revealing private information'. Insidemovies.ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
48. ^'Acting unions criticise IMDb in age row'. BBC News. BBC. October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
49. ^'Actress sued Amazon for revealing age 40 identified as Huong (Junie) Hoang'. News.sky.com. January 7, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
50. ^'Actress age claim against IMDb rejected'. BBC News. BBC. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
51. ^Gardner, Eriq (March 27, 2015). 'IMDb preserves legal win over revelation of actress' age'. The Hollywood Reporter.
52. ^'Case Docket: United Video Properties Inc., et al v. Amazon.Com Inc. et al.'. RECAP. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
53. ^Masnick, Mike (January 12, 2011). 'Rovi sues Amazon for not licensing its Electronic TV Guide patent'. Techdirt. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
54. ^Mullin, Joe (November 4, 2013). 'Netflix roasts Rovi's 'Interactive TV guide' patents at ITC'. Ars Technica. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
55. ^United Video Properties v. Amazon.com 8 April 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
56. ^'California enacts law requiring IMDb to remove actor ages on request'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
57. ^Bray, Hiawatha (March 23, 2017). 'Internet censorship, Hollywood style'. The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on May 16, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
58. ^'Judge pauses enforcement of IMDb Age Censorship law'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 23, 2017.

External links[edit]

• IMDb – official site