MovieChat Forums > The Stranger Discussion > Why is this in the public domain? Doesn'...

Why is this in the public domain? Doesn't RKO own the rights?

posted 16 years ago by dacutekidd
13 replies | jump to latest

I thought RKO Inc., the current holder of all RKO catalogs owns it via Warner in region 1 and Universal in region 2.

Also, if Magnificent Ambersons (the second film in his three-picture deal with RKO) terminated his contract, how come Welles made this film undeer RKO? Was this intentional or they serve as a distributor only to Welle's picture "The Stranger"?

Somebody enlighten me on this.

[–] eastcoastguyz 14 years ago

Where does it say that this movie is in the Public Domain?

[–] paul-133 14 years ago

It is definitely in the public domain (in the US at least); it is available to download for free at the Internet Archive:

http://www.archive.org/details/TheStranger_0

[–] rooprect 14 years ago

While Ambersons and Citizen Kane etc are owned by RKO, The Stranger was owned by the Haig Corporation, and that copyright expired a few years ago.
http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/51985

That still doesn't answer why RKO's copyright is still in force while Haig's expired, though. The whole US copyright law thing is a big mess, and lawyers keep changing all the rules, extending certain copyrights and in some cases, re-copyrighting works that have been in public domain. My guess is that it all comes down to $$$ somehow. If someone can explain how the heck public domain works, I'd like to know.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] lostoverthere 13 years ago

As far as I know, RKO's copyrights have been renewed, by, I believe, Warner Bros/Turner Entertainment. The Haig Corporation did not renew The Stranger's copyright status and thus it expired in 1973.

[–] hammer4 9 years ago

It is confusing. I'm still trying to understand how "It's a Wonderful Life" can be in the public domain and subsequently get copyrighted again.

[–] VIsraWratS 8 years ago

"It's a Wonderful Life", the film itself isn't copyrighted. It is, however, an adaptation of "The Greatest Gift", a short story the studio owns the rights to. The soundtrack is also under copyright. It being an adaptation of a copyrighted work, it may not be aired or distributed without the studio's consent.

[–] hammer4 8 years ago

But for awhile (many years as I recall, in the 80s and 90s) the film was shown without anyone's consent. Typically, during the holiday season it would be broadcast by a half dozen stations or so. At times it would be on two stations at the same time.

[–] JackBluegrass 8 years ago

Usually, films in the public domain made into DVD format often have terrible images and sound.

The DVD from Netflix that I just watched has excellent sound and visuals. This was one of many great RKO productions.

E pluribus unum

[–] melnar1 8 years ago

This was one of many great RKO productions.

Actually, it wasn't. The film was an International Pictures production.

[–] JackBluegrass 8 years ago

I watched this movie on DVD in December of last year. IMDb lists RKO Radio Pictures as the USA distributor for the theatrical release in 1946.

If I remember correctly, the RKO logo appears at the start of the DVD that I watched.

E pluribus unum

[–] EliotTempleton 7 years ago

Actually, it wasn't. The film was an International Pictures production.

Thank you. Only one bright person who knows their film history, in the entire thread. International Pictures, like The Enterprise Studio, was a short-lived boutique production company, which made only a few post-war hand-crafted films. In 1947, it was absorbed by that schlock studio, Universal, and thus the name Universal-International, which lasted for well over a decade.

("The Haig Corporation" was just the name of the LLC that producer Sam Spiegel [credited as S.P. Eagle on The Stranger] created for this one production. There was never an actual studio by that name.)

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KnBq2qPeBgE/maxresdefault.jpg

[–] melnar1 8 years ago

how come Welles made this film undeer RKO?

The film wasn't made by RKO. It was made by International Releasing Corporation, aka International Pictures.

Of course, it's possible that RKO had the distributing rights in certain areas but that doesn't make it an RKO picture.