Which American films are actually in the public domain?

Lists of "public domain movies" circulate everywhere and almost never say why. Public Reel goes back to the record: the Copyright Office's own catalog of motion-picture registrations (1912–1945 loaded so far) and its renewal registrations 27–29 years later. Each film gets a dossier showing the catalog entry, the renewal entry or its documented absence, and the rule applied.

48,095 catalog entries with registrations; renewal volumes loaded for 1957–1974, covering films registered 1930–1945.

Examples