1944?????
The copyright date on the movie credits says 1943!!!
MCMXLIII
And Universal Pictures ought to know, right?
Copyright dates and release dates can oftimes be different.
Or something will be released very late in the year (December) and then go into general circulation in January. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is a great example. Some sources show a release date of 1947 - which is the year most people saw it even though it came out in late 1946.
***Just looked at the beginning introduction by the AMC host - he claims that since Sabu was going into the service, Universal held up the release of the film for a few months knowing that they would have no Sabu product until he got back from the war. Sounds plausible, but AMC host Bob Dorian was legendary for dispensing misinformation