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!

Happy New Year, everyone!

And this is the biggie, the one lots of folks have been waiting for. Everything from the year 1928 has now entered the public domain, including the debut of cartoon sensation Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie!

Some backstory:

It used to be copyrights in the U.S. lasted between 28 and 56 years (depending on whether the copyright was renewed). But in the 1970’s, Congress extended the length of copyright to a solid 75 years, and then in the 1990’s, they did it again, increasing it to 95 years.

This outraged lot of folks. Partially at the flagrant corporate lobbying behind the legislation, partially at the idea that Congress would just keep extending the length of copyright terms by twenty years once every twenty years, keeping stuff under copyright in perpetuity without technically violating the Constitutional clause that requires limited copyright terms.

Now, a lot of corporations were behind lobbying for extended copyright terms, not just Disney, and Disney’s motives for doing so extended far beyond protecting a singular cartoon. But in the popular discourse (among people who care about such things) Disney’s Steamboat Willie became a symbol representing corporate attempts to subvert the public domain. A common refrain was that Disney would never let go of their copyright on Mickey Mouse, and would always manipulate Congress to ensure Steamboat Willie stayed out of the public domain.

So the fact that this specific cartoon has now had its copyright lapse has become a big symbolic victory for everyone who champions the public domain … as well as a victory for all the folks who immediately rushed out Steamboat Willie webcomics, video games, and horror movies.

All that baggage kind of overshadows the cartoon itself, which is a perfectly cromulent early cartoon, and is notable not only for introducing Mickey, but for being one of the first cartoons made with synchronized sound. So maybe, amid cheering that an icon of corporate power has been toppled, we can take a moment to just enjoy the cartoon on its own merits?

And if that’s not your speed, we have another picture to back it up. When looking at feature films from 1928 to pair with Steamboat Willie, how could I pick anything else but the Buster Keaton flick Steamboat Bill, Jr.? (I wonder if anyone at the time remarked that it was weird getting two movies based on the 1910 song “Steamboat Bill” in the same year?)

It’s fun picture with a lot of the slapstick comedy you expect from Keaton, and in its closing act goes frickin’ all out with the stunt work and set pieces, creating a riot of hilarious gags and impressive visuals that must be seen to be believed.

So whether you want to celebrate a victory for public domain rights, or just enjoy some slapsticky goodness, Public Domain Theater has got what you need.

Opening Cartoon:

Feature Presentation: