Welcome to Public Domain Theater, your home for the wonderful world of films that have (in the United States, at least) fallen into the public domain, and are free for everyone to see!

Normally, here on Public Domain Theater, I try to present you with high quality motion pictures. Films that were well-written, well-made, and well-acted, but that, through one circumstance or another, fell through the cracks of copyright registration.

That is not the case this month. Make no mistake, Mesa of Lost Women is a steaming pile of crap. But it’s the best sort of crap. Yes, when it comes to so-bad-it’s-good entertainment, there’s nothing quite like a 1950’s monster movie.

You’ve got the performances, by turns either too stiff or too over-the-top. You’ve got the story that makes absolutely no sense, and was clearly the product of re-shoots trying to change the whole plot of the picture. You’ve got the attempts at eroticism that are more outré than anything else. And, of course, you’ve got the monster, played by a puppet at turns ridiculous and adorable.

Perhaps the best way to describe the appeal of the movie: for decades, rumors have persisted that Ed Wood (of Plan 9 from Outer Space fame) was involved in the production of this film, despite zero evidence to support the claim, solely because people couldn’t believe anyone else could create this particular brand of low-budget disaster.

But is so-bad-it’s-good not your jam? No worries! You can still enjoy some so-good-it’s-actually-good filmmaking with our animated short: “Foney Fables”, a Merrie Melodies cartoon that takes their love of mocking fairy tales, and jabs it with a giant needle full of adrenaline. A classic, hilarious, and oft-overlooked gem in the Warner Bros. catalog.

So whether you’re up for some cartoon fairy tale characters or silly looking giant spider puppets (and, really, who isn’t?), Public Domain Theater has you covered!

Opening Cartoon:

Feature Presentation: