Every year older movies and books that were written decades ago get released into the public domain. That means as an artist you can use the source material for your own creative endeavors without having to get permission to do so. You don’t have to pay any $$money to anyone or pay any licensing fees. It is part of the public domain and is yours to use for whatever your little heart wants to use it for.

As of 2025 all books, movies and art from the 1920s are in the public domain. 2026 marks entries from 1930 and sound recordings from 1925. There is somehow a 95-year window for movies, books, and art and a 100 year window for sound recordings. But before getting the gist on what newer materials are the sandbox for your creativity, here is a selection of what you can use, redistribute and just enjoy from

The 1920’s

Descriptions Below Are Taken from the Creative Commons Source Wikipedia.

Under the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 works made in 1923 or afterwards that were still protected by copyright in 1998 would not enter the public domain until January 1, 2019, or later.

This includes the years

Before the 1920’s

That includes

Literature

The first publication of Mark Twain‘s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) in the United States for the first time.

Public Domain Literature Before The 19th Century |
Catholic Bard’s Guide to Public Domain Literature
The Write People In 1889
1928 Is Public Domain In 2024 |
1929 Is Public Domain In 2025
1930 Is Public Domain In 2026

I decided to break up the article because it was a little long and messy
. So the list of books in the 1920’s can be found here.

1920’s Public Domain Days – Books
| A List Of Public Domain Books From 1920 – 1930

Film

The oldest surviving film Roundhay Garden Scene (1888)

Actors On Stage, Screen And Radio Alive In 1889

Art

The Starry Night (1889) by Vincent van Gogh

Picture These Artists In 1889

Music

“Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay” w.m. Henry J. Sayers

The Sound Of Music In 1889

In this first section I’m going to focus on
Public Domain Films before the 1920’s.

This is just a sampling of the many interesting and fascinating films structured and crafted by the early pioneers of cinema.

In 1895

Auguste and Louis Lumière’s first presentation of a projected celluloid film moving picture, the 46-second Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory which is the first real motion picture ever made.

The first science fiction film, Georges Méliès‘s A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans La Lune) (1902).

One of the greatest and most influential Westerns of all time The Great Train Robbery (1903).

Life and Passion of the Christ (1903) (Vie et Passion du Christ), directed by Lucien Nonguet and Ferdinand Zecca – (France)

The world’s first feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906)

Mr. Flip (1909) the first film to feature someone being hit in the face with a pie directed by Gilbert M. ‘Broncho Billy’ Anderson and starring Ben Turpin.

In Old California (1910) It was the first film shot in Hollywood, California. It was directed by D. W. Griffith.

The Broken Oath (1910) starring the first “the first true movie star” Florence Lawrence.

David Copperfield (1911) the oldest known film adaptation of the novel.

The Voyage of the Bourrichon Family (1912) pioneer film maker Georges Méliès‘s last film.

Traffic in Souls (1913) an early example of the narrative style in American films that was longer than most American films of the era.

The Perils of Pauline (1914) is an early example of the damsel in distress in film. It is the prime example of what scholar Ben Singer has called the “serial-queen melodrama“.

Charlie Chaplin‘s first film, Making a Living (1914), is released.

Tess of the Storm Country (1914) makes Mary Pickford an icon in the US and a celebrity around the world.

D.W Griffith‘s The Birth of a Nation (1915) premieres at Clune’s Auditorium Los Angeles and breaks both box office and film length records (running at a total length of over three hours). It has been called “the most controversial film ever made in the United States”, as well as “the most reprehensibly racist film in Hollywood history”.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, (1916) -Directed by Stuart Paton for Universal Pictures, starring Curtis Benton and Alan Holubar (as Capt. Nemo), based on the novel by Jules Verne

Snow White (1916)

Release in the United States of the short The Butcher Boy (1917) the first of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle‘s series of films with the Comique Film Corporation, and Buster Keaton‘s film debut.

The first Tarzan film ever made and is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ original 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes (1918) directed by Scott Sidney for First National Pictures, starring Elmo Lincoln and Enid Markey.

The Master Mystery (1919) (serial), starring Harry Houdini.

The 1920’s

1920

The Prince and the Pauper (From Austria) directed by Alexander Korda.

The Golem: How He Came into the World (Der Golem, Wie Er in die Welt Kam), directed by and starring Paul Wegener based on the old Jewish folktale, photographed by Karl Freund

Willy Reilly and his Colleen Bawn, (From Ireland) directed by John MacDonagh, featuring Brian Magowan and Frances Alexander, based on the 1855 novel Willy Reilly and his dear Colleen Bawn by William Carleton

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, directed by J. Charles Haydon, starring Sheldon Lewis
The Flapper, directed by Alan Crosland, starring Olive Thomas
Huckleberry Finn, directed by William Desmond Taylor, starring Lewis Sargent

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

The Last of the Mohicans (1920)

The Last of the Mohicans (1920 German film)
featuring Bela Lugosi

1921

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (lost), directed by Emmett J. Flynn
The Haunted Castle (Schloß Vogelöd), directed by F. W. Murnau, based on the novel by Rudolf Stratz – (Germany)
Humor Risk (unreleased), directed by Dick Smith, starring the Marx Brothers
The Adventures of Tarzan, 15-part serial directed by Robert F. Hill and Scott Sidney, starring Elmo Lincoln

1922

The Headless Horseman, directed by Edward D. Venturini, starring Will Rogers, based of the 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Nanook of the North, a documentary directed by Robert J. Flaherty
Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror), directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck, based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker without authorization – (Germany)

Max Schreck in a promotional still for the film

Films and books released in 1923 became public domain in 2019.

2019 was the first year since 1998 in which the majority of media from a previous year entered the public domain after the expiration of its copyright term. 2019 is also the first year in this annual process, where 1923 works become public domain that year, then 1924 works in 2020, and so on forward.

The Covered Wagon, directed by James Cruze, starring J. Warren Kerrigan and Lois Wilson
The Extra Girl, directed by F. Richard Jones, starring Mabel Normand

Films and books released in 1924 became public domain in 2020.

Captain January directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Baby Peggy and Hobart Bosworth
Dante’s Inferno, directed by Henry Otto
Greed, directed by Erich von Stroheim, starring Gibson Gowland and ZaSu Pitts
The Last Laugh (Der Letzte Mann), directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Emil Jannings – (Germany)
Peter Pan, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Betty Bronson and Ernest Torrence

Quo Vadis, directed by Gabriellino D’Annunzio and Georg Jacoby, starring Emil Jannings – (Italy)
The Sea Hawk, directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Milton Sills
Wild Oranges, directed by King Vidor

Films and books released in 1925 became public domain in 2021.

2025 A Look Behind And Ahead- 700th Post
| A Look At Events In 1925 And Some Coming Up In 2025- 700th Post

The Battleship Potemkin (Bronyenosyets Potyomkin), directed by Sergei Eisenstein – (U.S.S.R.)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, directed by Fred Niblo, starring Ramón Novarro, May McAvoy and Francis X. Bushman
The Big Parade, directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert and Renée Adorée
A Kiss For Cinderella, directed by Herbert Brenon, starring Esther Ralston
The Lost World, directed by Harry O. Hoyt, starring Bessie Love, Lewis Stone and Wallace Beery, based on the 1912 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle

Les Misérables, directed by Henri Fescourt – (France)
Old Clothes, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Jackie Coogan and Joan Crawford
Too Many Kisses, directed by Paul Sloane, starring Richard Dix and William Powell
Tumbleweeds, directed by King Baggot, starring William S. Hart

Films and books released in 1926 became public domain in 2022.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed, (1926) It is the oldest surviving animated feature film.
Faust (1926)
The Great K & A Train Robbery (1926) directed by Lewis Seiler, starring Tom Mix
Kid Boots, directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Eddie Cantor and Clara Bow

The Last Days of Pompeii (1926)
Up in Mabel’s Room (1926) starring Marie Prevost and Harrison Ford.

Films and books released in 1927 became public domain in 2023.

Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927)
It (1927) starring Clara Bow.

Napoléon (1927)
Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927)

Films and books released in 1928 became public domain in 2023.

1928 Is Public Domain In 2024 |
A List Of Some Notable Public Domain Material You Can Use For Your Own Projects

Films and books released in 1929 became public domain in 2025.

1929 Is Public Domain In 2025 |
A List Of Some Notable Public Domain Material Being Made In Available In 2029

First Marx Brothers Movie

Films and books released in 1930 became public domain in 2026.

First Three Stooges Movie

I have only selected a small amount of New Public Domain stuff

For more recommendations and other interesting stuff click on the links below.

Public Domain Day 2023 is Coming: Here’s What to Know | Copyright Lately

Public Domain Day 2024 is Coming: Here’s What to Know | Copyright Lately

Public Domain Day 2025 is Coming: Here’s What to Know | Copyright Lately

Movies
1st Academy Awards

Wings (1928)-Outstanding Picture @ 1st Academy Awards

7th Heaven (1927) Outstanding Picture Nominee @ 1st Academy Awards

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) Best Unique and Artistic Picture
@ 1st Academy Awards

1st Talking Picture

The Jazz Singer (1927)
Special Award To Warner Bros. for producing The Jazz Singer,
the pioneer outstanding talking picture, which has revolutionized the industry.

Classic Directors

Cecil B. DeMille

(August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959)

Cecil B. DeMille made 70 features. 52 of his features are silent films. The first 24 of his silent films were made in the first three years of his career (1913–1916). Eight of his films were “epics” with five of those classified as “Biblical”. Six of DeMille’s films—The Arab, The Wild Goose Chase, The Dream Girl, The Devil-Stone, We Can’t Have Everything, and The Squaw Man (1918)—were destroyed by nitrate decomposition, and are considered lost. The Ten Commandments is broadcast every Saturday at Passover in the United States on the ABC Television Network

The Squaw Man (1914) was an American silent Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar C. Apfel, and starring Dustin Farnum. It was DeMille’s directorial debut and the first feature-length film to be shot in what is now Hollywood.

Why Change Your Wife? (1920)

The Affairs of Anatol (1921)

Saturday Night (1922)

The Ten Commandments (1923)

Triumph (1924)

The Road to Yesterday (1925)

The Volga Boatman (1926)

The King of Kings (1927)

The Godless Girl (1928)

Dynamite (1929) was DeMille’s first full-length sound film (a silent version was also released simultaneously), and casting the right actors (with adequate voices) proved a difficult process.

Madam Satan (1930)

Walt Disney

(December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966)

He was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, he holds the record for most Academy Awards earned (22) and nominations (59) by an individual. With Ub Iwerks, he developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928. He made the first animated feature film produced in the United States and the first cel animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film). He created a media empire that is still alive and active today.

In 1921, Walt Disney was contracted by Milton Feld to animate twelve cartoons, which he called Newman’s Laugh-O-Grams.

Laugh-O-Gram Studio
11 Shorts From 1921 – 1923

Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney founded Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in Los Angeles in 1923 and got their start producing a series of silent Alice Comedies short films featuring a live-action child actress in an animated world.

57 Alice Comedies
# 1 –Alice’s Wonderland– October 16, 1923

# 57 -Alice in the Big League -August 22, 1927

In 1927 he created

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (1927) 9 Cartoons

He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1938. Twenty-seven animated Oswald shorts were produced at the Walt Disney Studio. After Universal took control of Oswald’s character in 1928, Disney created a new character similar in appearance to Oswald as a replacement: Mickey Mouse, who went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world.

November 18, 1928

Disney‘s Steamboat Willie premieres, marking the official introduction of Mickey Mouse. This animated short is the first film to include a soundtrack completely created in post production, including sound effects, music and dialogue.

Mickey Mouse in The Gallopin’ Gaucho -December 30

1929 – 13 Mickey Mouse Cartoons

1929 – 5 Silly Symphony Cartoons including The Skeleton Dance

1930 – 9 Mickey Mouse Cartoons

1930 – 10 Silly Symphony Cartoons

John Ford

(February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973)

The Tornado (1917) LOST

He was an American film director whose career spanned from 1913 to 1971.
During this time he directed more than 130 films; however, nearly all of his silent films are lost.

He received six Academy Awards including a record four wins for Best Director for The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), and The Quiet Man (1952).

Ford is renowned for his Westerns, such as Stagecoach (1939), My Darling Clementine (1946), Fort Apache (1948), The Searchers (1956), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962); though he worked in many other genres, including comedies, period dramas, and documentaries. He made frequent use of location shooting and wide shots, in which his characters were framed against a vast, harsh, and rugged natural terrain. He is credited with launching the careers of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars during the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s, including John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Maureen O’Hara and James Stewart.

First Film –Cameo Kirby (1923)

The Iron Horse (1924)

It was Ford’s first major film, in part because the hastily planned production went over budget, as Fox was making a hurried response to the success of another studio’s western. In 2011, this film was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Kentucky Pride (1925)

The Shamrock Handicap (1926)

3 Bad Men (1926)

Upstream (1927)

Mother Machree (1928)

Riley the Cop (1928)

Napoleon’s Barber (1928) Lost

Strong Boy(1929)
The Black Watch (1929)
Salute (1929)
Men Without Women (1930)
Born Reckless (1930)
Up the River (1930)
With Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart (both in their film debuts)
Seas Beneath (1930)

D. W. Griffith

(January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948)

First Film –The Adventures of Dollie (1908)

Griffith has six films preserved on the United States National Film Registry deemed as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”: Lady Helen’s Escapade, A Corner in Wheat (both 1909), The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), The Birth of a Nation (1915), The Birth of a Nation (1916) and Broken Blossoms (1919).

Together with Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, Griffith founded the studio United Artists in 1919 with the goal of enabling actors and directors to make films on their own terms, as opposed to the terms of commercial studios.

The Idol Dancer (1920)
Remodeling Her Husband (1920) (director disputed)
The Love Flower (1920)
Way Down East (1920)

Dream Street (1921)
Orphans of the Storm (1921)

One Exciting Night (1922)
Mammy’s Boy (1922) (never completed, remade as His Darker Self by another director in 1924)
The White Rose (1923)
America (1924)
Isn’t Life Wonderful (1924)
Sally of the Sawdust (1925)

That Royle Girl (1925)
The Sorrows of Satan (1926)
Topsy and Eva (1927)(co-director, uncredited)
Drums of Love (1928)
The Battle of the Sexes (1928)
Lady of the Pavements (1929)
Abraham Lincoln (1930) (first Griffith sound film)
The Struggle (1931)(last film)

Alfred Hitchcock

(August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980)

The master of thrillers

The Pleasure Garden (1925)
His feature film directorial debut.

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

The Ring (1927)
Downhill (1927)
The Farmer’s Wife (1928)
Easy Virtue (1928)
Champagne (1928)
The Manxman (1929)

Sound films

Blackmail (1929)

An Elastic Affair (short) (1930) (lost)
Juno and the Paycock (1930)
Murder! (1930)
Elstree Calling (1930)

Howard Hawks

(May 30, 1896 – December 26, 1977)

He was an American film director who made 40 films between 1926 and 1970. He is responsible for classic films in genres ranging from film noir, screwball comedy, crime, science fiction and Western.

The Road to Glory (1926)
His First Film Now Lost

The Cradle Snatchers (1927)

Paid to Love (1927)

A Girl in Every Port (1928)

Fazil (1928)

Trent’s Last Case (1928)

Sound films

The Air Circus (1928)

The Dawn Patrol (1930)

His Girl Friday (1940)
Copyright not renewed.

Fritz Lang

(December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976)

He was an Austrian film director, producer and screenwriter. In Lang’s early career he worked primarily as a screenwriter, finishing film scripts in four to five days. Lang directed major German films of the silent and early sound eras.

1st Film – Halbblut (1919)

The Wandering Image (1920)

Destiny (1921)

Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler – Part 1: The Great Gambler (1922)
Followed By Part 2

Die Nibelungen – Part 1: Siegfried (1924)
Followed By Part 2

Metropolis (1927)

Spies (1928)

Woman in the Moon (1929)

Classic Director and Comedy Legend

Frank Capra and Harry Langdon

Frank Capra (May 5, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s and 1940s. Capra directed a total of 36 feature-length films (34 of which are known to survive) and 16 documentary films during his lifetime. His movies It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and It Happened One Night are often cited among the greatest films ever made. Between 1927 – 1929 he made 12 films including…

Fultah Fisher’s Boarding House (1922)
First Film directed by Frank Capra.

For the Love of Mike (1927) LOST
That Certain Thing (1928)
So This Is Love? (1928)
The Matinee Idol (1928)

The Way of the Strong (1928)
Say It with Sables (1928) LOST
Submarine (1928)
The Power of the Press (1928)

Sound Films

The Younger Generation (1929) partially silent
The Donovan Affair (1929)lost soundtrack
Flight (1929)

Ladies of Leisure (1930)
Rain or Shine (1930)

Meet John Doe (1941)
Copyright not renewed

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

While the film images are public domain, under rulings of Stewart v. Abend, the film text (script) is based on the copyrighted short story “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern. Republic also purchased the exclusive rights to the film’s copyrighted music to further shore up its rights.

Henry “Harry” Philmore Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.

Partial Filmography

Smile Please (Short 1924)
starring Harry Langdon in his 2nd Movie

Boobs in the Wood (1925)
starring Harry Langdon

The Strong Man,(1926)
directed by Frank Capra and starring Harry Langdon

Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926)
starring Harry Langdon and Joan Crawford

Long Pants (1927)
Directed Frank Capra and starring Harry Langdon

His First Flame (1927) Harry Langdon

Three’s a Crowd (1927) Harry Langdon

Fiddlesticks (1927, Short) Harry Langdon

Heart Trouble (1928, director) as Harry Van Housen

Harry Langdon’s first sound films

Hotter Than Hot (1929) produced by the Hal Roach studios.
Sky Boy (1929) produced by the Hal Roach studios.
A Soldier’s Plaything (1930) First sound feature film

Comedy Legends

Chaplin

(April 16, 1889 – December 25, 1977)

1st Movie – Making a Living (1914)

Chaplin appeared in 36 films for Keystone Studios, all produced by Mack Sennett.

Some Highlights Before the 1920’s

Chaplin wrote, directed, and starred in 15 films for the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company

The Tramp (1915)

Chaplin wrote, produced, directed, and starred in 12 films for the Mutual Film Corporation, which formed Lone Star Studios solely for Chaplin’s films.

The Rink (1916)

Easy Street (1917)

The Immigrant (1917)

The Adventurer (1917)

Chaplin wrote, produced, directed, and starred in 9 films for his own production company between 1918 and 1923. These films were distributed by First National.

A Dog’s Life (1918)

Shoulder Arms (1918)

A Day’s Pleasure (1919)

1920’s

The Kid (1921)

The Idle Class (1921)

Pay Day (1922)

The Pilgrim (1923)

Chaplin began releasing his films through United Artists in 1923. From this point on all of his films were of feature length. He produced, directed, and wrote these eight films and starred in all but the first. Beginning with City Lights Chaplin wrote the musical scores for his films as well.

A Woman of Paris (1923)
Director Only

The Gold Rush (1925)

The Circus (1928) Special Academy Award
for acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus.

Buster Keaton

He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression that earned him the nickname “The Great Stone Face”. Critic Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton’s “extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929” when he “worked without interruption” as having made him “the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies”

First Film – The Butcher Boy (1917)
with Roscoe Arbuckle

Some Highlights Before the 1920’s

The Bell Boy (1918)
with Roscoe Arbuckle

The Hayseed (1919)
with Roscoe Arbuckle

1920’s

One Week (1920)

The Saphead (1920)
Neighbors (1920)
The Scarecrow (1920)
Hard Luck (1921)
The High Sign (1921)
The Playhouse (1921)
The Haunted House (1921)
The Boat (1921)
The Paleface (1922)

Cops (1922)

My Wife’s Relations (1922)
The Blacksmith (1922)
The Frozen North (1922)
The Electric House (1922)
Day Dreams (1922)

Seeing Stars (1922) It is notable for a scene shared by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Seeing Stars was one of just two times the great silent comedians appeared together onscreen; 30 years later, Limelight (1952) was the second occasion.

The Balloonatic (1923)
Love Nest (1923)
Three Ages (1923)
Our Hospitality (1923)
Sherlock Jr. (1924)

The Navigator (1924)
Seven Chances (1925)
Go West (1925)

Battling Butler (1926)
The General (1926)
College (1927)
Steamboat Bill, Jr.(1928)
The Cameraman (1929)

Spite Marriage (1929)
Free and Easy (1930) It was Keaton’s first leading role in a talking motion picture.
Estrellados (1930)
Doughboys (1930)

Laurel and Hardy

Before Abbott and Costello there was Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). They are one of the most successful comedy teams of all time. Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to “talkies“. From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy’s pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as “The Cuckoo Song”, “Ku-Ku”, or “The Dance of the Cuckoos” (by Hollywood composer T. Marvin Hatley) was heard over their films’ opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats.

Partial Filmography

Outwitting Dad (1914) Oliver Hardy’s First Film

Nuts in May (1917) Stan Laurel’s First Film

Married to Order (1920)
Featuring Oliver Hardy and Charley Chase.

The Lucky Dog (1921)

Although they appear in scenes together, Laurel and Hardy play independently. Laurel is the star as the hero of the film and Hardy plays the main villain opposite him.

The Bakery (1921)
Featuring Oliver Hardy that was directed by Larry Semon

Mud and Sand (1922)
starring Stan Laurel.

Golf (1922)
Starring Larry Semon and featuring Oliver Hardy.

The Pest (1922)
starring Stan Laurel.

The Sawmill (1922)
Starring Larry Semon and featuring Oliver Hardy.

Oranges and Lemons (1923)
Starring Stan Laurel

Kid Speed (1924)
directed by Larry Semon and featuring Oliver Hardy.

Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1925)
Starring Stan Laurel

Wizard of Oz (1925)
With Oliver Hardy and Larry Semon

Madame Mystery (1926)
starring Theda Bara, Oliver Hardy, and James Finlayson,
Directed by Richard Wallace and Stan Laurel, co-written by Laurel, and produced by Hal Roach. Footage from this film was reused in the Hal Roach two-reeler 45 Minutes From Hollywood (released December 26, 1926).

From 1927 – 1929 they appeared in 44 films. Some highlights from 1927 include

Do Detectives Think? (1927)
First film in which the duo appear in their standard costumes

Putting Pants on Philip (1927)
Their first “official” film together as a team.

The Battle of the Century (1927)

The film is famous for its use of more than 3,000 cream pies (although the Guinness Book of Records claims that as many as 10,000 may have been used) in the film’s climactic pie fight. For many years only three minutes from the film’s second reel, containing the pie fight, was thought to have survived, as the footage had been included in Robert Youngson‘s 1950s film documentaries. However, the complete reel was rediscovered in 2015. It was released to the public on DVD and Blu-ray disc on June 16, 2020, as part of the Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations compilation of remastered films. Also in 2020, The Battle of the Century was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Two Tars (1928)

Big Business (1929)

Unaccustomed As We Are (1929) First sound film as well as the first all talkie short film by Hal Roach.

Brats (1930)

Max Linder

First Movie First Night Out (Short 1905)

Some Highlights Before the 1920’s

Max Learns to Skate (Short 1907) Linder’s first appearance as “Max” was in The Skater’s Debut in 1907. Lake Daumesnil in Paris had frozen over and director Louis Gasnier filmed Linder in his new attire, with Linder improvising the rest. In the film, “Max” falls about and does a rendition of “the windmill routine” by spinning his cane around, predating Charlie Chaplin‘s version in The Rink by nine years.

Max Takes Tonics (1911)
The Romance of Max (1912)
Max and His Mother-in-Law (1914)
Max Wants a Divorce (1917)
Max and His Taxi (1917)

1920’s

Seven Years Bad Luck (1921)
Be My Wife (1921)

The Three Must-Get-Theres (1922)
Au Secours! (1924)
The King of the Circus (1925)
The Porter from Maxim’s (1927, screenplay)

Harold Lloyd

One of the most influential film comedians of the silent era, Lloyd made nearly 200 comedy films, both silent and talkies, from 1914 to 1947. His bespectacled “glasses character” was a resourceful, ambitious go-getter who matched the zeitgeist of the 1920s-era United States.

1st Film The Old Monk’s Tale (1913)

Some Highlights Before the 1920’s

Miss Fatty’s Seaside Lovers (1915) with Roscoe Arbuckle

A Submarine Pirate (1915) with Syd Chaplin

Giving Them Fits (1915) Lonesome Luke # 6 It was the first film to team up Lloyd with Snub Pollard and Bebe Daniels.

Luke’s Movie Muddle (1916) Lonesome Luke # 44

Over the Fence (1917) The film is notable as the debut of Lloyd’s “Glasses” or “Boy” character.

Fireman Save My Child (1918)

Bumping into Broadway (1919) This film is notable as Lloyd’s first two-reeler featuring his “glasses” character.
From this point onward, all of Lloyd’s films exist in the archives.

1920’s

Haunted Spooks (1920) The film began shooting on August 9, 1919 and halted on the 23rd of that month due to an accident. Lloyd was posing for publicity photos, and a prop bomb exploded in his hand. He lost two fingers, his face was badly burned and he was temporarily blinded. In subsequent films, he wore a prosthetic glove fitted with artificial fingers.

A Sailor-Made Man (1921)
Grandma’s Boy (1922)
Dr. Jack (1922)

Safety Last! (1923) It includes one of the most famous images from the silent-film era: Lloyd clutching the hands of a large clock as he dangles from the outside of a skyscraper above moving traffic. The film was highly successful and critically hailed, and it cemented Lloyd’s status as a major figure in early motion pictures. It is still popular at revivals, and it is viewed today as one of the great film comedies.

Why Worry? (1923)
Girl Shy (1924)
Hot Water (1924)

The Freshman (1925) In 1990, The Freshman was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” added in the second year of voting and one of the first 50 films to receive the honor.

For Heaven’s Sake, (1926) It was one of Lloyd’s most successful films and the 12th-highest-grossing film of the silent era, earning $2,600,000.

The Kid Brother (1927)This is considered by critics and fans to be one of Lloyd’s best films, integrating elements of comedy, romance, drama, and character development.

Speedy (1928)

Welcome Danger (1929) Lloyd had already completed Welcome Danger as a silent feature when his distributor, Paramount Pictures, was heavily promoting talking pictures. Lloyd decided to remake Welcome Danger with sound, going so far as to recast some of the supporting roles with stage-trained actors familiar with dialogue.

Feet First (1930)

Our Gang

Our Gang # 1 One Terrible Day (1922)

Our Gang # 14 Dogs of War! (1923) With Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston.

Our Gang #27 Jubilo, Jr. With Will Rogers and Charley Chase

Our Gang #39 Ask Grandma (1925)

Our Gang #52 Shivering Spooks (1926)

Our Gang #57 Seeing the World (1927) with Stan Laurel

Our Gang #64 Yale vs. Harvard (1927) LOST First of the The Roach/MGM silents

Our Gang # 72 The Smile Wins (1928) – It is the final Our Gang short released through Pathé Exchange.

Our Gang # 74 Barnum & Ringling, Inc. (1928) With Oliver Hardy

Our Gang # 86 Small Talk (1929) First sound film; release dates of first five sound shorts overlap with those of final three silents shorts

Our Gang # 100 Pups Is Pups (1930) Selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Various 20’s Slapstick Comedians

This is but just a sample of at least one of their many films

The Round-Up (1920) starring Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and featuring Wallace Beery.
The Pickaninny (1921) Sunshine Sammy Morrison
The Old Sea Dog (1922) Snub Pollard
It’s a Gift (1923) Snub Pollard
Yukon Jake (1924) Ben Turpin

Big Moments from Little Pictures (1924) Will Rogers
The Movies (1925) starring Lloyd Hamilton and directed by Roscoe Arbuckle
The Crackerjack (1925) tarring Johnny Hines
Circus Today (1926) Billy Bevan, Andy Clyde, Madeline Hurlock
Movieland (1926) Lupino Lane
Heavy Love (1926) Ton of Fun
Mighty Like a Moose (1926) Charley Chase

The Doll with Millions (1928) A Russian film by Sergei Komarov starring Igor Ilyinsky.
My Grandmother (1929) A Russian film directed by Konstantine Mikaberidze.

Leading Men

Barrymore

Fighting Blood (1911) Lionel Barrymore’s first film.

An American Citizen (1914) John Barrymore’s first film.

The Nightingale (1914) LOST Ethel Barrymore ‘s first film.

The Copperhead (1920) Lionel Barrymore

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, directed by John S. Robertson, starring John Barrymore

Sherlock Holmes (1922) starring John Barrymore

The Sea Beast (1926) starring John Barrymore

Don Juan (1926) starring John Barrymore

It is the first feature-length film to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-disc sound system with a synchronized musical score and sound effects, though it has no spoken dialogue.

The Beloved Rogue (1927) starring John Barrymore

The Show (1927) with Lionel Barrymore

Tempest (1928) starring John Barrymore

The Mysterious Island (1929) with Lionel Barrymore

Moby Dick (1930) starring John Barrymore

Lon Chaney

1st Movie Poor Jake’s Demise (1913)

Nomads of the North (1920)

The Ace of Hearts (1921)

Flesh and Blood (1922)

Oliver Twist (1922)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

He Who Gets Slapped (1924)

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Tell It to the Marines (1926)

The Unknown (1927)

Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)

Where East Is East (1929)

The Unholy Three (1930) (Sound Remake) This film is notable for the fact that it was Chaney’s last film, as well as his only talkie. Chaney died from throat cancer one month after the film’s release.

Douglas Fairbanks

1st Movie The Lamb (1915)

Some Highlights Before the 1920’s

The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916)

When the Clouds Roll by (1919)

The Knickerbocker Buckaroo (1919) Lost

1920’s

The Mollycoddle (1920)

The Mark of Zorro (1920)

The Nut (1921)

The Three Musketeers (1921)

Robin Hood (1922)

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925)

The Black Pirate, (1926)

The Gaucho (1927)

Show People (1928) As Himself

The Iron Mask (1929)

The Taming of the Shrew (1929)

Reaching for the Moon (1930)

Rudolph Valentino

1st Film My Official Wife (1914) Lost

An Adventuress (1920)

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

The Sheik (1921)

Blood and Sand (1922)

Monsieur Beaucaire (1924)

The Eagle (1925)

The Son of the Sheik (1926)

Animals

Rin Tin Tin

The Man from Hell’s River (1922)

Where the North Begins (1923)

The Lighthouse by the Sea (1924)

The Clash of the Wolves (1925)

The Night Cry (1926)

Jaws of Steel (1927)

A Race for Life (1928)

The Show of Shows (1929)

The Lone Defender (1930)

Leading Ladies

Greta Garbo

The Saga of Gosta Berling (1924)
Garbo’s first leading part in a feature-length film; Swedish, dir. Mauritz Stiller.

The Joyless Street (1925)

Flesh and the Devil (1926)
The first of seven Garbo films directed by Clarence Brown, and first of four movies with co-star John Gilbert

Love (1927) ‘Adapted from the novel Anna Karenina by Tolstoy

The Mysterious Lady (1928)

A Woman of Affairs (1928)
The first of seven Garbo films with actor Lewis Stone, who, with the exception of Wild Orchids, played secondary roles.

Wild Orchids (1929)

The Kiss (1929) Garbo’s, and MGM’s, last silent picture

Anna Christie (1930) Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress
Romance (1930) Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress
Anna Christie (1930) MGM’s German version of Anna Christie was also released in 1930

Mary Pickford

1st Movie Two Memories (1909) Directed by D. W. Griffith

Some Highlights Before the 1920’s

Ramona (1910) directed by D. W. Griffith,

Cinderella (1914)

Madame Butterfly (1915)

Poor Little Peppina (1916)

The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917)

A Romance of the Redwoods (1917)

The Little American (1917)

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917)

A Little Princess (1917)

Stella Maris (1918)

Daddy-Long-Legs (1919)

1920’s

Pollyanna (1920)

Suds (1920)

Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921)

Tess of the Storm Country (1922)

Rosita (1923)

Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (1924)

Little Annie Rooney (1925)

Sparrows (1926)

My Best Girl (1927)

Coquette (1929) Best Actress
@ 1st Academy Awards

Cartoon Stars

240 Krazy Kat cartoons made from February 18, 1916 – January 26, 1940 with most being released in the 20’s.

The Great Cheese Robbery*marks the first Krazy film produced by Bray after the International Film Service (IFS) ended its run in making films in the series on January 16, 1920.

Mutt and Jeff (1916 — 1923, 1925 — 1926)

Art

The Soul of the Soulless City (1920)
C. R. W. Nevinson

Three Musicians (two versions) (1921)
Pablo Picasso

The House Seen from the Rose Garden (1922)
Claude Monet

Blue Room (1923) – Suzanne Valadon

(Barcelona) La chambre bleue – Suzanne Valadon

Starry Night, 1922–1924 –Edvard Munch

Young Woman at a Window (1925)- Salvador Dali

The Love Song (1926) Norman Rockwell

Automat (1927) Edward Hopper

Irish Free State Bacon (1928) –Seán Keating

The Bus –(1929) –Frida Kahlo

1930 – American Gothic – Grant Wood

Music

Trying to determine the public domain status of music can present another trap for the unwary. As I’ve explained before, every piece of recorded music is comprised of two different copyrights. There’s a copyright in the underlying composition, which protects a song’s lyrics and musical arrangement. There’s also a separate copyright in a particular sound recording of that composition as performed by a recording artist. When you listen to music on the radio or a streaming service, you’re technically hearing both the composition and the sound recording of the composition.

The distinction between compositions and recordings is important to remember because these two types of copyrighted works won’t enter the public domain at the same time.

Sound recordings first published in 1928 are protected for an additional five years, so they won’t fall into the public domain until 2029 (95 years + additional 5 years = 100 years total). But don’t fret: sound recordings first published in 1923 will enter the public domain on January 1, 2024, as they pass the 100-year mark. Public Domain Day 2024 is Coming: Here’s What to Know | Copyright Lately

Published Music

1920

Blue Jeans w. Harry D. Kerr, m. Lou Traveller
“Crazy Blues” w.m. Percy Bradford
“I’ll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time” w. Neville Fleason m. Albert Von Tilzer

“The Japanese Sandman” w. Raymond B. Egan m. Richard A. Whiting
“Jellybean” by Jimmie Dupre, Sam Rosen, and Joe Verges

1921

“I’m Just Wild About Harry” w.m. Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake
“Ma! He’s Making Eyes at Me” w. Sidney Clare m. Con Conrad
“Down Yonder” w.m. L. Wolfe Gilbert

“Ain’t We Got Fun?” w.m. Richard A. Whiting, Raymond Egan & Gus Kahn

1922

“Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo’ Bye!)” w.m. Dan Russo, Ted Fio Rito, Gus Kahn & Ernie Erdman

“Trees” w. Joyce Kilmer m. Oscar Rasbach
“My Word You Do Look Queer” w.m. R. P. Weston & Bert Lee
“My Buddy” w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson

1923

“Nobles of the Mystic Shrine” John Philip Sousa

“Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” w.m. Jimmy Cox
“Mexicali Rose” w. Helen Stone m. Jack B. Tenney
“King Porter Stomp” m. Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton

1924

“Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)” w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager
“Does The Spearmint Lose Its Flavour On The Bedpost Over Night” w. Billy Rose & Marty Bloom m. Ernest Breuer
“Drinking Song (Drink! Drink! Drink!)” w. Dorothy Donnelly m. Sigmund Romberg
“It Had To Be You” w. Gus Kahn m. Isham Jones
“Rhapsody in Blue” m. George Gershwin

“Tea for Two” w. Irving Caesar m. Vincent Youmans

1925

“Cecilia” w. Herman Ruby m. Dave Dreyer
“Dinah” w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Harry Akst
“A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You” w. Billy Rose & Al Dubin m. Joseph Meyer
“Ukulele Lady” w. Gus Kahn m. Richard Whiting

1926

“Baby Face” w. Benny Davis m. Harry Akst
“Blue Skies” w&m Irving Berlin from Broadway musical “Betsy,” published 1926. Written to commemorate the birth of Berlin’s first born, Mary Ellin Barrett