Free on IMDb. In the Public Domain?

i see this great movie is available to view for free through an IMDb link. i find this incredible/mystifying/puzzling. you pick the word.

anyway, i presume the movie's in the public domain. if so, how did such a classic movie slip through the cracks and become available for free. (consider how protective everyone in the business is about rights and fees these days.) does the tale of how IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE fell into the public domain, and then was recaptured into sole ownership apply here?

i'm glad to see that a movie like this is available to many, and i think the laws regarding copyrights (now 95 years; it used to be 28 plus a renewal for another 28) have gone way overboard. (a great impetus for this is the influence of Disney and their drive to protect their rights related to Mickey Mouse, and all their characters that followed, i guess.)

hey, maybe through some devious paperwork i can acquire to rights to Santa Claus. at least that character is still in the public domain.



david lean could create a great movie, the rest catch lightning in a bottle.