Public Domain Film's in the United Kingdom

 

As previously stated, copyright is a constant headache by design. One area of special pain is determining the status of motion pictures. Most nations set copyright as dependent on the year of passing of a handful of the creative types who worked on it. Usually the Director, Screenplay Author (principal if more than one) and the Composer for the soundtrack. 

For the UK according to the Office for Intellectual Property the standard is this;

• Films, 70 years after the death of the director, screenplay author and composer

So we have a framework, but it's a lot more work and potential pitfalls than the old American system, which was set at the year of release. Currently, in 2022 that date is 1926, so all motion pictures released in that year or earlier in the United States are in the public domain, so if we're not sure, we just have to look at its copyright date or if that's missing just check the registration year we think it was released, and we can find out.

For British films and other Berne Convention nations, we have to find out who occupied the director, screenplay author and composer of a film and then track down when they died. In the UK, the public domain date is set at 70 years after death, so for 2022 this means deaths up to 1951 count. So the author George Orwell who passed away in 1950 is in the public domain here, for authors it's a straight forward matter, but for film including some of the oldest and rarest films it's a bit more complicated. Some British film pioneers were surprisingly long-lived.

And while searching "Public domain movies" gives you hundreds of sites and lists for American motion pictures, I haven't been able to find a single one for British films or foreign films for any nation apart from the Soviet Union, which is a topic I'll cover another day. 

So to address that at least a little, I've decided to build my own list. 

 

Title of the film	Year of release	Director	Date of death	Screenplay author	Date of death	Author of dialogue(if different)	Date of death	Composer	Date of death	Other information
The Aerial Anarchists	1911	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent		Lost
The Airship Destroyer	1909	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent
The Miser's Doom	1899	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent
Upside Down; or, the Human Flies	1900	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent
A Railway Collision	1900	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent
The Haunted Curiosity Shop	1901	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent
Artistic Creation	1901	Walter R Booth	1939	Walter R Booth	1939	Silent		Silent
An Over Incubated Baby	1901	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent
Cheese Mites, or Lilliputians in a London Restaurant	1901	Walter R Booth	1939	Walter R Booth	1939	Silent		Silent
Scrooge or Marley's Ghost	1901	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent		https://youtu.be/j4kKIReFk0s
The Magic Sword	1901	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent
Undressing Extraordinary	1901	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent		Also known as the Troubles of a Tired Traveller https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undressing_Extraordinary
The Extraordinary Waiter	1902	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent
An Extraordinary Cab Accident	1903	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent		https://youtu.be/c00r3pHmTVM
Is Spiritualism a Fraud?	1906	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent
The Ariel Submarine	1910	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent
The Waif and the Wizard	1901	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent
The`?` Motorist	1906	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent		https://youtu.be/4vNOJ4P-JWM
Willie's Magic Wand	1907	Walter R Booth	1939	Walter R Booth	1939	Silent		Silent		https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie%27s_Magic_Wand
The Automatic Motorist	1911	Walter R Booth	1938	Walter R Booth	1938	Silent		Silent		https://youtu.be/kAQoiItwBOc
À propos de Nice	1930	Jean Vigo	1934	Jean Vigo	1934	N/A		N/A
Jean Taris, Swimming Champion	1931	Jean Vigo	1934	Jean Vigo	1934	N/A		N/A
Zero for Conduct	1933	Jean Vigo	1934	Jean Vigo	1934	Jean Vigo	1934	Maurice Jaubert	1940	https://youtu.be/G7eP0ufdFPM
L'Atalante	1934	Jean Vigo	1934	Jean Vigo	1934	Jean Vigo	1934	Maurice Jaubert	1940
Little Nemo	1911	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Silent
The Story of a Mosquito	1912	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Silent
Gertie the Dinosaur	1914	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Silent
The Sinking of the Lusitania	1918	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Silent		https://youtu.be/zXbpqr_By1I
Bug Vaudeville	1921	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Silent
The Flying House	1921	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Silent
The Centaurs	1921	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Silent		https://youtu.be/tRGLoUHQKXI
Gertie on Tour	1918-21	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Silent
Flip's Circus	1918-21	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Windsor McCay	1934	Silent
The Great Train Robbery	1903	Edwin S. Porter	1941	Scott Marble	1919	N/A		Silent		https://youtu.be/VjDdPiOxwXY
Dream of a Rarebit Fiend	1906	Edwin S. Porter and Wallace McCutcheon Sr.	1941 (Porter) 1918 (McCutcheon)	Windsor McCay	1934	N/A		Silent		https://youtu.be/SRoHNdBQR60
The Seven Ages	1905	Edwin S. Porter	1941	Edwin S. Porter	1941	N/A		Silent
The Kleptomaniac	1905	Edwin S. Porter	1941	Edwin S. Porter	1941	Edwin S. Porter	1941	Silent
Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King	1901	Edwin S. Porter	1941	Edwin S. Porter	1941	N/A		Silent
The Count of Monte Cristo	1912	Colin Campbell	1928	Colin Campbell	1928	N/A		Silent		Lost
Major Wilson's Last Stand	1899	Frank E.Fillis	1921	Frank E. Fillis	1921	N/A		Silent		Lost?
A Primitive Man's Career to Civilization	1912	Cherry Kearton	1940	N/A		N/A		Silent		Lost?
Scrooge	1913	Leedham Bantock	1928	Leedham Bantock	1928	N/A		Silent		released in 1926 in the US under the title Old Scrooge
Called Back	1914	George Loane Tucker	1921	Comyns Carr	1916	N/A		Silent
She Stoops to Conquer	1914	George Loane Tucker	1921	Bannister Merwin	1921	N/A		Silent
Trilby	1914	Harold M. Shaw	1926	N/A		N/A		Silent
Iron Justice	1915	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
The Brass Bottle	1914	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		N/A		Silent		Lost
The World's Desire	1915	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		N/A		Silent
Auld Lang Syne	1917	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
Democracy	1918	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
Because	1918	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
Sweet and Twenty	1919	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
After Many Days	1919	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
All Men are Liars	1919	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
Lady Noggs	1920	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent		Also known as Lady Noggs; Peeress
A Man's Shadow	1920	Sidney Morgan	1946	Robert Buchanan	1901	N/A		Silent
The Black Sheep	1920	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
Little Dorrit	1920	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
The Woman of the Iron Bracelets	1920	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
The Scarlet Wooing	1920	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
By Berwin Banks	1920	Sidney Morgan	1946	Hugh Croise	1950	N/A		Silent
Moth and Rust	1921	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
The Mayor of Casterbridge	1921	Sidney Morgan	1946	Thomas Hardy	1928	N/A		Silent
The Lilac Sunbonnet	1922	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
Fires of Innocence	1922	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
A Lowland Cinderella	1922	Sidney Morgan	1946	S.R.Crockett	1914	N/A		Silent
The Woman who Obeyed	1923	Sidney Morgan	1946	Alicia Ramsey	1933	N/A		Silent
Miriam Rozella	1924	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
Bulldog Drummond's Third Round	1925	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
A Window in Piccadilly	1928	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
The Thoroughbred	1928	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	N/A		Silent
Her Reputation	1931	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	Sidney Morgan	1946	Silent
Scrooge	1923	Edwin Greenwood	1939	Eliot Stanard	1939	Eliot Stanard	1939	Silent
The Black Spider	1920	William J. Humphrey	1942	Carlton Dawe	1935	N/A		Silent
Thelma	1918	Arthur Rooke and A.E. Colby	1930 (A.E.Colby) 1947 Arthur Rooke	Marie Correlli	1924	N/A		Silent
God's Clay	1919	Arthur Rooke	1947	Arthur Rooke	1947	N/A		Silent
The Garden of Ressurection	1919	Arthur Rooke	1947	Guy Newall	1937	N/A		Silent
The Lure of Crooning Water	1920	Arthur Rooke	1947	Guy Newall	1937	N/A		Silent
The Mirage	1920	Arthur Rooke	1947	Guy Newall	1937	N/A		Silent
The Mirage	1920	Arthur Rooke	1947	Guy Newall	1937	N/A		Silent
Brenda of the Barge	1920	Arthur Rooke	1947	Arthur Rooke	1947	N/A		Silent
The Blue Peter	1928	Arthur Rooke	1947	E. Temple Thurston	1933	N/A		Silent
The Education of Nicky	1921	Arthur Rooke	1947	Arthur Rooke	1947	N/A		Silent
The Sport of Kings	1921	Arthur Rooke	1947	Arthur Rooke	1947	N/A		Silent
A Bachelor's Baby	1922	Arthur Rooke	1947	Lydia Hayward	1945	N/A		Silent
A Sporting Double	1922	Arthur Rooke	1947	Arthur Rooke	1947	N/A		Silent
The Gay Corinthian	1924	Arthur Rooke	1947	Elliot Stannard	1944	N/A		Silent
The Diamond Man	1924	Arthur Rooke	1947	Elliot Stannard	1944	N/A		Silent
Nets of Destiny	1924	Arthur Rooke	1947	Elliot Stannard	1944	N/A		Silent
The Conjure Woman	1926	Oscar Micheaux	1951	Oscar Micheaux	1951	N/A		Silent		Private film
Shanghai During the Japanese Attack on China	1938	Anthony Hastings George	1944	N/A		N/A		Silent