Public domain in the age of copyright
Public domain movies. All made after 1922, before and during which all movies are PD.
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136 titles
- DirectorCharles BartonStarsBud AbbottLou CostelloClyde BeattyTwo booksellers search for diamonds in Africa, along the way meeting a visually-impaired gunner, a hungry lion, and a tribe of cannibals.
- DirectorBernard VorhausStarsTurhan BeyLynn BariCathy O'DonnellOn the beach one night, Christine Faber, two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf; then meets a tall dark man Alexis, who seems to know all about such things.
- DirectorAlfred ZeislerStarsCary GrantMary BrianPeter GawthorneA bored millionaire wagers his doctor that he can support himself at a working class job for year without touching his inheritance.
- DirectorJames Edward GrantStarsJohn WayneGail RussellHarry CareyQuirt Evans, an all round bad guy, is nursed back to health and sought after by Penelope Worth, a Quaker girl. He eventually finds himself having to choose between his world and the world Penelope lives in.
- DirectorEdward H. GriffithGeorge CukorStarsAnn HardingLeslie HowardMyrna LoyBased on a play by Philip Barry, this sophisticated comedy is about a man trying to justify his love for both his wife and his mistress.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsCharles BoyerHedy LamarrSigrid GurieA wanted jewel thief ensconced in the Casbah meets a beautiful woman who makes him long for an escape.
- DirectorBernard L. KowalskiStarsKen ClarkYvette VickersJan ShepardA backwoods game warden and a local doctor discover that giant leeches are responsible for disappearances and deaths in a local swamp, but the local police don't believe them.
- DirectorHal WalkerStarsDean MartinJerry LewisMike KellinAlvin Corwin is low man on the totem pole, and goes from one mishap to another at an army training camp in World War II.
- DirectorRobert F. McGowanStarsNorman 'Chubby' ChaneyJackie CooperAllen 'Farina' HoskinsWhile on a camping trip, the gang comes across poachers.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartJennifer JonesGina LollobrigidaOn their way to Africa are a group of rogues who hope to get rich there, and a seemingly innocent British couple. They meet and things happen...
- DirectorHarry BeaumontStarsJohn BarrymoreMary AstorWillard LouisGeorge Bryan Brummel, a British military officer, loves Lady Margery, the betrothed of Lord Alvanley. Despite her own desperate love for Brummel, she submits to family pressure and marries Lord Alvanley. Brummel, broken-hearted, embarks upon a life of revelry. He befriends the Prince of Wales and leaves the army, becoming subsequently the best-known rake and decider of fashion in Europe. As his affairs flourish, so does his disdain for his benefactor, the Prince. Eventually Brummel falls into disfavor, and it is only Lady Margery who has any chance of helping him.
- DirectorHerbert BrenonStarsFrank McCormickRalph ForbesLester VailAn American joins the French Foreign Legion in order to rescue a boyhood friend.
- DirectorMelville W. BrownStarsMary AstorRobert AmesRicardo CortezMary Linden is the secretary who is the unheralded power behind successful executive James Duneen. He takes her for granted until rival Wales tries to take her away from him.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsLon McCallisterPeggy Ann GarnerPreston Foster1933. A city boy arrives in his late mother's birthplace to discover the locals have been pestered by drought, old fights and a cougar. He turns out to be pivotal in all of these.
- DirectorFelix E. FeistStarsKirk DouglasEve MillerPatrice WymoreA Quaker colony tries to save the giant sequoias from a timber baron.
- DirectorEdward LudwigStarsMickey RooneyThomas MitchellMichael O'SheaA brash young midget car race driver lives in the shadow of his famous father, a drunken womanizer, who was killed in an accident years earlier.
- DirectorKing VidorStarsDolores Del RíoJoel McCreaJohn HallidayA native girl falls for a visitor to her island, but she's chosen to be sacrificed to the volcano god.
- DirectorFrank LloydStarsJames CagneySylvia SidneyPorter HallA dedicated American reporter in 1930s Japan is determined to expose that government's plan for world domination.
- DirectorWallace FoxStarsBela LugosiJohn ArcherWanda McKayKindly soup kitchen operator and professor of criminology Bela Lugosi uses his soup kitchen as a front for a criminal gang who commit a series of daring robberies and murders.
- DirectorJoseph GreenStarsJason EversVirginia LeithAnthony La PennaA doctor experimenting with transplant techniques keeps his girlfriend's head alive when she is decapitated in a car crash, then goes hunting for a new body.
- DirectorEdward BerndsStarsMoe HowardLarry FineShemp HowardTo inherit a fortune, Shemp must get married by 6 o'clock that very day, but finding a willing bride proves a challenge.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsShirley TempleGuy KibbeeSlim SummervilleA little girl named Star lives with the lighthouse keeper who rescued her when her parents drowned. A truant officer decides she should go to boarding school, but she's rescued by relatives.
- DirectorHerk HarveyStarsCandace HilligossFrances FeistSidney BergerAfter a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.
- DirectorKurt NeumannStarsAnne BaxterSteve CochranLyle BettgerAn American carnival in Germany sets the scene for sin, sex and melodrama.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsCary GrantAudrey HepburnWalter MatthauRomance and suspense ensue in Paris as a woman is pursued by several men who want a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. Whom can she trust?
- DirectorMelville W. BrownStarsFreeman F. GosdenCharles J. CorrellSue CarolTypical Amos 'n Andy storyline has the boys trying to make a go of their "open-air" taxi business while they get caught up in a society hassle, involving driving musicians to a fancy party. All the regular characters are here (or mentioned), including the famous Mystic Knights of the Sea. The only film appearance of radio's long-running characters.
- DirectorIrving PichelStarsCharles CoburnJoan BennettWilliam EytheIn 1940, Colonel Will Seaborn Effingham (Charles Coburn), a retired Army officer, returns to his home town of Fredericksville, Georgia, and is disturbed at the lack of civic pride. He writes a letter to the editor in the local newspaper and attacks those who would do away with with traditions, especially those moving to tear down the old city hall and those who wish to rename Confederate Square after a local politician.
- DirectorChristy CabanneStarsBessie LoveNed SparksHugh TrevorFor the last four years Margaret Holt has been helping her brother, assistant D.A. Victor Holt, to try to bring down the dope dealing Schemer Marko gang. Margaret kills Marko (aka 'James Morton') when he discovers she's found evidence to use against him. Looking for someplace to hide out, she flees to a local house for disadvantaged women. Her secret is discovered by gossip columnist John Howell and crotchety old mystery writer Winthrop Clavering, who concoct a plan to try to clear Margaret of the crime and, at the same time, capture the Marko gang, who have since kidnapped Victor and are now hot on Margaret's trail as well.
- DirectorBernard VorhausStarsJean HersholtDorothy LovettRobert BaldwinA doctor fights an epidemic that breaks out in the poor section of town and tries to get the rest of the town to help out.
- DirectorJohn CromwellA. Edward SutherlandStarsHal SkellyNancy CarrollDorothy RevierWhen a vaudeville comic and a pretty young dancer have little luck in their separate careers, they decide to combine their acts; to save money on the road, they get married.
- DirectorGeorge B. SeitzStarsLouis WolheimJean ArthurRobert ArmstrongThe tough boss of a railroad yard befriends a young hobo, and unwittingly places in jeopardy his relationship with the woman he loves.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsJoan FontaineJohn LundMona FreemanWhen an imaginative girl has fantasies that her mother is having an affair, her visions almost ruin her parents domestic life. Based on the play "Alice Sit By The Fire" by James M. Barrie.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsMaureen O'HaraBrian KeithSteve CochranAn ex-army officer accidentally kills a woman's son and tries to make up for it by escorting the funeral procession through dangerous Indian territory.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsJane PowellRalph BellamyConstance MooreYoung Sherry Williams dreams of having a singing career, and she idolizes her older sister Josephine, who has gone to New York to perform on the stage. When Sherry is distraught just before performing at her school, a visiting Broadway producer encourages her by telling her positive things about her sister. Soon afterwards, Sherry decides to make a surprise trip to New York to visit Josephine - but what she finds there is not at all what she expected.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsWilliam CampbellLuana AndersBart PattonA scheming widow hatches a bold plan to acquire her late husband's inheritance, unaware that she is being targeted by an ax murderer who lurks in the family's estate.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsTom NealAnn SavageClaudia DrakeThe life of Al Roberts, a pianist in a New York nightclub, turns into a nightmare when he decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to visit his girlfriend.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsBela LugosiSuzanne KaarenDave O'BrienA mad scientist develops an aftershave lotion that causes his gigantic bats to kill anyone who wears it.
- DirectorJack WhiteStarsMoe HowardLarry FineCurly HowardThe stooges are witnesses at a trial where their friend, a dancer at a nightclub where they are musicians, is accused of murder. The stooges manage to disrupt the proceedings but save the day when they discover the real murderer's identity.
- DirectorTim WhelanStarsMerle OberonLaurence OlivierBinnie BarnesDivorce lawyer Everard Logan thinks the woman who spent the night in his hotel room is the erring wife of his new client.
- DirectorLuther ReedStarsBebe DanielsEverett MarshallBert WheelerIn antebellum New Orleans, two men vie for the affections of a beautiful young girl during Mardi Gras.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsEdmond O'BrienPamela BrittonLuther AdlerFrank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsSpencer TracyJoan BennettElizabeth TaylorShortly after coming to terms with his daughter's marriage, a father faces the prospect of becoming a grandfather.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsGary CooperHelen HayesAdolphe MenjouAn American ambulance driver and an English nurse fall in love in Italy during World War I.
- StarsJimmy DolittleFrancis H. GriswoldReed HadleyDocumentary detailing the activities of American fighter escort pilots during bombing raids over Germany.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsCharles BoyerWilliam DemarestLyle BettgerFather Fulton prepares to abandon his vocation despite pleas from Father Arnoux. Then a series of seemingly miracles occur including to the young Terri. Fulton has his doubts and wonders about the role of Dr. Morrell.
- DirectorClyde BruckmanBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonMarion MackGlen CavenderAfter being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines.
- DirectorEdward D. Wood Jr.StarsEdward D. Wood Jr.Bela LugosiLyle TalbotA psychiatrist tells the stories of a transvestite (Glen or Glenda) and a pseudohermaphrodite (Alan or Anne).
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsRobert RyanTina LouiseAldo RayIn the 1950s, a poor Georgia cotton farmer and his sons search for the gold presumably buried on the farm by their great-grandfather, but problems related to poverty, infidelity, unemployment, and booze threaten to destroy their family.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMack SwainTom MurrayA prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune, and is smitten with a girl he sees in a dance hall.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsThe Ritz BrothersJimmy RitzHarry RitzWhen a wealthy man is threatened by a killer known as The Gorilla, he hires the Ritz Brothers to investigate. A real escaped gorilla shows up at the mansion just as the investigators arrive.
- DirectorRobert PiroshStarsVan JohnsonLane NakanoGeorge MikiThe story of Japanese-American soldiers who fought in Europe during World War II.
- DirectorDave FleischerWillard BowskyOrestes CalpiniStarsJessica DragonetteLanny RossPinto ColvigA doctor washes ashore on an island inhabited by little people.
- DirectorPaul SloaneStarsBert WheelerRobert WoolseyDorothy LeeThe stage stars Wheeler and Woolsey play two soldiers who go absent without leave in Paris, during World War I.
- DirectorRaymond EvansStarsLee D. VickersAn informational film produced to encourage farmers to grow hemp for the war effort during WW2. The film details the many industrial uses of hemp, including cloth and cordage, as well as a detailed history of the plant's use.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsCary GrantRosalind RussellRalph BellamyA newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsBert WheelerRobert WoolseyDorothy LeeTwo fast-talking insurance salesmen meet Mary, who is running away from her wealthy mother, and they agree to help her run a hotel that she owns. When they find out that the hotel is run down and nearly abandoned, they launch a phony PR campaign that presents the hotel as a resort favored by the rich. Their advertising succeeds too well, and many complications soon arise.
- DirectorWallace WorsleyStarsLon ChaneyPatsy Ruth MillerNorman KerryIn 15th-century Paris, the brother of the archdeacon plots with the gypsy king to foment a peasant revolt. Meanwhile, a freakish hunchback falls in love with a gypsy dancer.
- DirectorJack PollexfenStarsLon Chaney Jr.Max ShowalterMarian CarrCharles "The Butcher" Benton, a brutal death row inmate gets double-crossed by his crooked lawyer. He gets his chance for revenge when, after he's been executed, a bizarre experiment brings him back to life and more deadly than ever.
- DirectorRoy PomeroyStarsBetty CompsonRalph ForbesMontagu LoveDuring World War 1, German spies will stop at nothing to spy on the allied war plans stored at Gibraltar.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.Images only
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsClara Kimball YoungJoel McCreaDorothy MackaillDaughter of a wealthy family decides to marry a poor working man.
- DirectorGeorge B. SeitzStarsJon HallLynn BariDana AndrewsIndian fighter, trapper and frontier scout Kit Carson leads a wagon train of settlers from Fort Bridger, along the Oregon Trail through Shoshone territory, to California which plans to secede from Mexico.
- DirectorGeorge ArchainbaudStarsBetty CompsonJohn DarrowGilbert EmeryFather hires a woman to lure his son away from a gold digger.
- DirectorVictor SjöströmStarsVilma BánkyEdward G. RobinsonRobert AmesMiddle-aged Napa Valley grape-grower Tony posts a marriage proposal to San Francisco waitress Lena, enclosing a photo of his handsome younger brother Buck. When she gets there, she overlooks his duplicity and marries him. Then she falls in love with Buck.
- DirectorRobert CarlisleStarsWilliam BoyettHarold AgeeMrs. Harold AgeeOn the day young Alan receives his driver's license, Officer Hal Jackson visits the Dixon farm to sternly lecture the family on the dangers of carelessness at railroad crossings.
- DirectorUbaldo RagonaSidney SalkowStarsVincent PriceFranca BettoiaEmma DanieliWhen a disease turns all of humanity into the living dead, the last man on earth becomes a reluctant vampire hunter.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsElizabeth TaylorVan JohnsonWalter PidgeonAn American journalist returns to Paris - a city that gave him true love and deep grief.
- DirectorLowell ShermanStarsBebe DanielsKenneth ThomsonLowell ShermanA woman of low morals who runs a gambling operation in her house takes pride in destroying the men she ensnares in her net. One of these men's wives (played by Bebe Daniels) will not let her get away with it. She poses as a single girl to get hired by the woman as her secretary and then proceeds to singlehandedly take her operation apart.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsIrene DunneKen MurrayLouise FazendaFilm version of the 1928 Rodgers and Hart Broadway musical "Present Arms" concerning Chick Evans, a Marine private in Honolulu who falls for society girl Delphine Witherspoon and schemes how to to win her .His first plan involves impersonating an officer to get invited to a society party. However, when his Marine buddies decide to crash the party as well, his real rank is revealed, which has the opposite of the desired effect on Delphine. Despondent, he bares his soul to mutual friend Edna, who arranges to have the two meet on Delphine's yacht at sea. However, this meeting goes terribly wrong as well, and a desperate Chick convinces the yacht's captain to fake a shipwreck to give him time to win Delphine over. Unfortunately, a real storm arises and the ship is actually wrecked, coming to rest on a desert island. While on the island, Chick's persistence pays off, and he gets the girl; then on their return to Honolulu, he is hailed as a hero and promoted to captain.Lost film
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsAdolphe MenjouAndrea LeedsGeorge MurphyFrom a "letter of introduction" aging actor John learns that he has a grown daughter, aspiring actress Katherine. They keep their secret, but he agrees to star with her in a play to further her career on Broadway.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsWilliam PowellIrene DunneElizabeth TaylorA straitlaced turn-of-the-century father presides over a family of boys and the mother who really rules the roost.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsKay FrancisJack OakieGeorge BancroftJo March and her husband Professor Bhaer operate the Plumfield School for poor boys. When Dan, a tough street kid, comes to the school, he wins Jo's heart despite his hard edge, and she defends him when he is falsely accused of theft. Dan's foster father, Major Burdle, is a swindler in cahoots with another crook called Willie the Fox. When the Plumfield School becomes in danger of foreclosure, the two con men cook up a scheme to save the home.
- DirectorWalter LangWilliam A. SeiterStarsShirley TempleRichard GreeneAnita LouiseA little girl is left by her father in an exclusive seminary for girls, when her father fights in the Second Boer War. Later, when he is presumed dead she is forced to become a servant.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsJonathan HazeJackie JosephMel WellesA clumsy young man working at an impoverished flower shop discovers that the strange plant he has been nurturing has an insatiable appetite for blood, forcing him to kill to feed it.
- DirectorRussell MackStarsEdward Everett HortonEsther RalstonLaura La PlanteA lonely husband whose wife has been away hires a lookalike impersonator to fill his place and fool his mother-in-law while he plays around with a pretty coquette. Confusion prevails when his wife returns that evening.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsIrene DunneCharles BoyerMaria OuspenskayaA French playboy and an American former nightclub singer fall in love aboard a ship.
- DirectorWillis GoldbeckStarsMickey RooneyLewis StoneSara HadenAndy Hardy goes to college after returning from World War II. He is in love with Kay Wilson this time.
- DirectorJules WhiteStarsMoe HowardLarry FineShemp HowardSet in a desert land where the stooges run a restaurant, the boys set out to recover the stolen Rootin Tootin diamond after they learn from the thieves that the Emir of Shmo has absconded with the contraband jewel. They journey to the stronghold of Shmo where they disguise as Santa Clauses and scare the ruler into giving them the diamond.
- DirectorDwain EsperStarsBill WoodsHorace B. CarpenterTed EdwardsA former vaudevillian gifted at impersonation assists a mad scientist in reanimating corpses and soon goes mad himself.
- DirectorBurgess MeredithIrving AllenCharles LaughtonStarsCharles LaughtonFranchot ToneBurgess MeredithFrench police inspector Maigret investigates the murder of a rich Paris widow and ends up chasing the killer up the Eiffel Tower's girders.
- DirectorGeorge More O'FerrallStarsTerence MorganMartita HuntBernard RookSir Charles Hare, a young Irish baronet, gambles his all on one of his horses at Ascot. But the horse is 'pulled', and Sir Charles is forced to sell his Irish estate. His aunt, however, has some surprises in store for him.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraPatrick WayneWealthy rancher G. W. McLintock uses his power and influence in the territory to keep the peace between farmers, ranchers, land-grabbers, Indians and corrupt government officials.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsGary CooperBarbara StanwyckEdward ArnoldA penniless drifter is recruited by an ambitious columnist to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.
- DirectorJohn Francis DillonStarsHelen TwelvetreesLilyan TashmanRobert AmesMillie's life begins to crumble when she finds out her husband is having an affair.
- DirectorDon HartmanStarsLana TurnerEzio PinzaMarjorie MainA beautiful romance between a singer and a persistent prince
- DirectorCharles MartinStarsLaraine DayKirk DouglasKeenan WynnA romance novelist appoints a would-be writer as his secretary. Although she is initially dismayed by his work ethic and playboy attitude, they begin to fall in love.
- DirectorElliott NugentStarsBob HopeDorothy LamourPeter LorreShortly before his execution on the death row in San Quentin, amateur sleuth and baby photographer Ronnie Jackson tells reporters how he got there.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsCarole LombardFredric MarchCharles WinningerAn eccentric woman learns she is not dying of radium poisoning as earlier assumed, but when she meets a reporter looking for a story, she feigns sickness again for her own profit.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsBette DavisLeslie HowardFrances DeeA young man finds himself attracted to a cold, unfeeling waitress who might ultimately destroy them both.
- DirectorHoward HughesHoward HawksStarsJack BuetelThomas MitchellJane RussellWestern legends Pat Garrett, Doc Holliday and Billy the Kid are played against each other over the law and the attentions of vivacious country vixen Rio McDonald.
- DirectorHarold F. KressStarsPalPaul KellyBruce CowlingAn intrepid dog comes to the rescue when a boy's life is put at risk by the greed inflamed by a gold strike.
- DirectorLowell ShermanStarsLowell ShermanMarian NixonHugh TrevorA thug robs a young engaged couple of their last few dollars. When the thug's gang boss hears of the robbery, he gives them back their money and takes them under his wing. The thug, resentful of the couple, plans to organize a mutiny against the gang's boss, but when he is killed in a botched robbery, the police focus their attention on the young couple.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsCary GrantIrene DunneBeulah BondiA couple's big dreams give way to a life full of unexpected sadness and unexpected joy.
- DirectorRupert JulianLon ChaneyErnst LaemmleStarsLon ChaneyMary PhilbinNorman KerryA mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.
- DirectorDave FleischerWillard BowskyStarsJack MercerMae QuestelLou FleischerThe legendary sailors Popeye and Sindbad do battle to see which one is the greatest.
- DirectorTim WhelanStarsRandolph ScottForrest TuckerMala PowersA special agent from Chicago is sent out west to bring in the notorious Reno brothers.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsJoan CrawfordWalter HustonFred HowardA prostitute newly arrived in the South Pacific finds herself at odds with a stern missionary determined to save her soul.
- DirectorLouis J. GasnierStarsDorothy ShortKenneth CraigLillian MilesCautionary tale that features a fictionalized take on marijuana use. A trio of drug dealers lead innocent teenagers to become addicted to "reefer" cigarettes by holding wild parties with jazz music.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsIrene DunneFred AstaireGinger RogersAn American jazzman and his buddy woo a Russian princess and a fake countess in Paris.