{"id":292882,"date":"2024-03-03T23:38:23","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T04:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/30-books-and-movies-that-entered-the-public-domain-this-year"},"modified":"2024-03-03T23:38:52","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T04:38:52","slug":"30-books-and-movies-that-entered-the-public-domain-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/30-books-and-movies-that-entered-the-public-domain-this-year","title":{"rendered":"30 Books and Films That Entered the Public Area This Yr"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

2024, like every year, brought with it the entry of several thousand creative works into the public domain in the United States.<\/p>\n

The \u201cpublic domain\u201d includes books, movies, music, and more artworks and ideas that are no longer limited to specific users by copyright. This means that anyone can freely share, copy, or sample these works for personal or commercial use without the threat of legal consequences. Several significant works entered the public domain this year, and some have already \u201cinspired\u201d new projects<\/a>. <\/p>\n

1. Steamboat Willie (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Steamboat
Image Credit: Walt Disney Studio.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The most talked about work entering the public domain in 2024 is undoubtedly Steamboat Willie<\/em>, the first public appearance of Mickey Mouse. It took almost no time for filmmaker Steven LaMorte to announce a horror movie featuring a character who looks an awful lot like Mickey but, for legal reasons, will only be called \u201cSteamboat Willie.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n

2. Plane Crazy (Silent Version) (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Plane
Image Credit: Walt Disney Studio.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Steamboat Willie<\/em> was the first public appearance of Mickey, but Plane Crazy<\/em> was the first cartoon made with the character. Plane Crazy<\/em> was held back from release because it was silent and was not publicly exhibited until 1929, so only the silent version is entering the public domain this year, with the sound version to follow in 2025. <\/p>\n

3. Street Angel (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Charles
Image Credit: Fox Film Corporation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A winner at the first-ever Academy Awards, Street Angel<\/em> (along with two other performances from the previous year) won star Janet Gaynor the first-ever Best Actress award.<\/a> The movie follows Gaynor\u2019s character as she struggles to make a living and support her ill mother, whether by escorting or stealing.<\/p>\n

4. Lights of New York (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Helene
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While 1927\u2019s The Jazz Singer<\/em> gets a lot of (deserved) attention as the first \u201ctalkie,\u201d<\/a> meaning a movie where characters\u2019 speech is matched with synced sound, it was the following year\u2019s Lights of New York<\/em> that was the first film to feature its characters speaking throughout the entire movie.<\/a> The Jazz Singer<\/em> may have been the first film to include talking with synced sound. But it only offered a few minutes of speech, primarily relying on title cards for dialogue as silent cinema did. Lights of New York<\/em> was the first film that didn\u2019t need to rely on title cards at all. <\/p>\n

5. The Crowd (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"James
Image Credit: MGM.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

King Vidor remains one of the most celebrated filmmakers of the early 20th century, and some critics cite The Crowd<\/em> as his \u201cmasterpiece.\u201d<\/a> The silent film tells the story of a young couple in New York City, living a life full of obstacles, joys, and tragedies many people experience. The Crowd<\/em> was also nominated for <\/a>but did not win two Academy Awards at the first Oscars ceremony. <\/p>\n

6. The Cameraman (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Buster
Image Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Buster Keaton wasn\u2019t just one of the greatest actors of the 20th century<\/a>; he was also one of the greatest directors. One of Keaton\u2019s last directorial efforts, The Cameraman<\/em>, which sees him play a cameraman willing to go to hilariously dangerous lengths for valuable footage, enters the public domain this year. <\/p>\n

7. The Circus (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Charlie
Image Credit: United Artists.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Charlie Chaplin was also a talented and hilarious actor\/director. Chaplin\u2019s film The Circus<\/em> sees his regular character, the Tramp<\/a>, join a circus but struggle to make audiences laugh, on purpose at least. He does a great job of making people laugh accidentally. <\/p>\n

8. Speedy (1928) <\/h2>\n
\"Harold
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harold Lloyd didn\u2019t do as much directing as Chaplin and Keaton, but he stands as the third great comedian of the silent era. Speedy<\/em> follows Lloyd as the eponymous character who gets into various misadventures with his girlfriend, a greedy streetcar magnate, and Babe Ruth.  <\/p>\n

9. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Ren\u00e9e
Image Credit: Janus Films<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Passion of Joan of Arc<\/em> tells the story of the eponymous Joan\u2019s trial for heresy. Based on historical records of the trial and featuring an iconic performance by Ren\u00e9e Jeanne Falconetti, The Passion of Joan of Arc<\/em> is a striking masterpiece that frequently lands on \u201cgreatest films\u201d<\/a> lists. <\/p>\n

10. The Last Command (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Emil
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Last Command<\/em> follows a middle-aged man who once commanded armies for the Czar in Russia and now makes a living in Hollywood as an extra. As one of the earliest movies about movies, it\u2019s unsurprising that it received the attention of the first Academy Awards and won its star, Emil Jannings, the first Best Actor Oscar<\/a>. <\/p>\n

11. Should Married Men Go Home? (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Oliver
Image Credit: MGM.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Should Married Men Go Home?<\/em> is a comedy short featuring the team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy as they go golfing and end up in a literal mudslinging. The film is notable as the first to market Laurel and Hardy as a team<\/a>. <\/p>\n

12. In Old Arizona (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Warner
Image Credit: Fox Film Corporation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like many other films released in 1928, In Old Arizona<\/em> marked a first. Following Lights of New York<\/em>, which was filmed indoors, In Old Arizona<\/em> offered audiences the first talkie filmed outdoors.<\/a> The outdoors is vital to the film, a western that follows a lawman looking to bring in a bandit with the help of his lover. <\/p>\n

13. The Singing Fool (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Josephine
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After The Jazz Singer<\/em>, movie fans, especially musical fans, were looking for more of the star Al Jolson, and he didn\u2019t wait to deliver. The Singing Fool<\/em> stars Jolson as Al Stone, a singing waiter who gets his big break, leading to melodramatic rises and falls accompanied by several musical numbers. <\/p>\n

14. The Wedding March (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Erich
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Celebrated filmmaker and actor Erich von Stroheim\u2019s The Wedding March<\/em> follows Stroheim\u2019s Prince Nicki, who falls in love with an innkeeper\u2019s daughter but knows he must marry a wealthy woman to save his family from financial troubles. The film has become a classic among silent film fans and was inducted into the Library of Congress in 2003.<\/a> <\/p>\n

15. The Wind (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Lillian
Image Credit: Warner Bros Entertainment Inc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Wind<\/em> was a financial loser upon its release, likely because it was one of the last films with no spoken dialogue, though it featured a synced score. The film has become a classic over the years and has been inducted into the Library of Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n

16. The Man Who Laughs (1928)<\/h2>\n
\"Conrad
Image Credit: Universal Pictures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Man Who Laughs<\/em>, adapted from Victor Hugo\u2019s novel of the same name, centers on the eponymous man with a grin permanently carved into his face. The film is not a horror movie; it is more like a theatrical film full of romance and dramatic irony. Today, it\u2019s best remembered for inspiring the permanent grin on Batman\u2019s<\/a> most famous villain, the Joker.  <\/p>\n

17. Oswald The Lucky Rabbit Cartoons (1928 Releases Only) <\/h2>\n
\"Oswald
Image Credit: Universal Pictures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before Mickey ever appeared in Plane Crazy<\/em> or Steamboat Willie<\/em>, Walt Disney and his creative partner Ub Iwerks created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit<\/em>, who appeared in several cartoons from 1927 to 1938. This year, all the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit<\/em> shorts from 1928 entered the public domain. <\/p>\n

18. Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf<\/h2>\n
\"Orlando:
Image Credit: SOURCE\/WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Virginia Woolf is one of the most celebrated authors of the 21st century for her many contributions to English literature. Unique among them is Orlando: A Biography<\/em>, which follows the titular character, born in the late 16th century as they change from male to female and live for hundreds of years. The book is a landmark work and one of the most fascinating early novels exploring gender.<\/a> <\/p>\n

19. Dark Princess by W.E.B. Du Bois<\/h2>\n
\"W.E.B.
Image Credit: James E. Purdy\/WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another widely celebrated author and thinker, W.E.B. Du Bois, is better known for his non-fiction work than his novels. But among his fiction work, Dark Princess<\/em> is not only one of the best but also Du Bois\u2019s favorite.<\/a> The book follows a young man who leaves America because of the racism he experiences. He falls in love with an Indian princess who introduces him to the rich global history of people of color and the importance of solidarity. <\/p>\n

20. The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie<\/h2>\n
\"The
Image Credit: William Collins and Sons\/WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Mystery of the Blue Train<\/em> is written by perhaps the most famous mystery writer of all time, Agatha Christie<\/a>, and features one of the most famous detectives of all time, Hercule Poirot. The novel follows Poirot as he investigates the mystery of a murdered heiress and her now missing ruby on the eponymous Le Train Bleu. The book hasn\u2019t received the big screen treatment (yet), but it has been adapted into a graphic novel.<\/a> <\/p>\n

21. Lady Chatterley\u2019s Lover by D.H. Lawrence <\/h2>\n
\"Lady
Image Credit: Grove Press Inc.\/WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the most scandalous books of all time, D.H. Lawrence\u2019s final novel, Lady Chatterley\u2019s Lover,<\/i> was banned in several countries and the subject of one of the most important censorship <\/a>court cases in Britain. But the book, which tells the story of a passionate affair between an upper-class woman and a laborer on her husband\u2019s estate, isn\u2019t just scandalous; it\u2019s also beautiful and thematically rich, full of ideas about love, class, and the relationship between mind and body. <\/p>\n

22. Home to Harlem by Claude McKay<\/h2>\n
\"Claude
Image Credit: WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the key literary works of the Harlem Renaissance<\/a>, Claude McKay\u2019s Home to Harlem,<\/em> follows World War I deserter Jake Brown, who makes his way home to Harlem and encounters various characters there. The novel celebrates all the different kinds of people in Harlem while also highlighting the difficulties of being Black and poor in 1920s America. <\/p>\n

23. The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall <\/h2>\n
\"The
Image Credit: Permabooks\/WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Radclyffe Hall\u2019s The Well of Loneliness<\/em> is a big deal. The book is the first widely recognized English language lesbian novel and, as such, unsurprisingly, was the center of significant controversy and was banned for obscenity upon publication in England<\/a>. <\/p>\n

24. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque<\/h2>\n
\"Erich
Image Credit: German Federal Archive\/WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cinematic adaptations of All Quiet on the Western Front<\/em> are likely more famous than the novel they adapt. However, 2022\u2019s adaptation shows that the story continues to resonate as one of the most potent anti-war books ever. While the novel technically entered the public domain this year, it is only the original German version published in 1928; the first English translation appeared the following year and will join the public domain next year. <\/p>\n

25. Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh <\/h2>\n
\"Evelyn
Image Credit: Library of Congress\/WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Evelyn Waugh\u2019s first novel, Decline and Fall<\/em>, is a satire of 1920s English society that uses the setting of wealthy private schools to poke fun at various hypocrisies of the upper classes. The novel is simultaneously silly and cutting in its satire, and it\u2019s been cited as a favorite by English comedian David Mitchell<\/a>.  <\/p>\n

26. The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne <\/h2>\n
\"The
Image Credit: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc.\/WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The House at Pooh Corner<\/em> is the second novel about Winnie the Pooh and the first to include the beloved character Tigger. Like A.A. Milne\u2019s first novel featuring the character, The House at Pooh Corner<\/em> features several stories about the Pooh and the other members of his community getting into mischief and learning lessons. <\/p>\n

27. Millions of Cats by Wanda G\u00e1g<\/h2>\n
\"Millions
Image Credit: Wanda G\u00e1g\/WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wanda G\u00e1g\u2019s Millions of Cats<\/em> is the oldest American picture book still in print, <\/a>with no pause in its printing since its first publishing almost a century ago. It\u2019s perhaps unsurprising that kids and adults have always been interested in buying a sweet book about an old couple looking for a cat to love who finds, that\u2019s right, millions of cats. <\/p>\n

28. Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up by J.M. Barrie<\/h2>\n
\"J.M.
Image Credit: National Media Museum\/WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the play about Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, and the Darling family has been performed since 1904, the playbook for Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up<\/em> was not officially published until 1928 and, as such, will be entering the public domain in 2024. Adding to the strange saga of Peter Pan copyright is that the novel Peter and Wendy<\/em>, initially published in 1911, has been in the public domain <\/a>for decades. <\/p>\n

29. The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur<\/h2>\n
\"Title
Image Credit: United Artists.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps best remembered today as the basis for the Cary Grant<\/a> and Rosalind Russell-starring screwball classic His Girl Friday<\/em>, the original play The Front Page<\/em> enters the public domain in 2024 and is, in fact, quite different from its most famous adaptation. In the play, Hildy (the Russell character in the film) is a man, and the entire story (pardon the pun) plays out in a single location as Hildy discovers the truth about a murder case and its political implications. <\/p>\n

30. The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht<\/h2>\n
\"Bertolt
Image Credit: German Federal Archive\/WikiCommons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of playwright Bertolt Brecht\u2019s most famous plays, The Threepenny Opera,<\/em> is a musical satire that follows a young man who must endure the many attempts of his beloved father to get rid of him. The music for the play includes the song \u201cMack the Knife,\u201d which will enter the public domain along with the play this year. However, both are only entering the public domain in the original German. <\/p>\n


\n
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2024, like every year, brought with it the entry of several thousand creative works into the public domain in the United States. The \u201cpublic domain\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292882\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}