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!

This month we have the little-known gem Seven Footprints to Satan. A silent film (well, sorta – originally there were some speaking parts, but none of the surviving prints have those intact), it’s a comedy/thriller hybrid where a young couple is abducted to a mansion run by an utterly deranged criminal conspiracy. With the house full of bizarre characters, outlandish traps and secret passages, and all of it seemingly designed to drive our heroes batty … I’m not sure if the best comparison is the Village from The Prisoner, or The Addams Family house if Gomez and Morticia hosted a wild swingers’ weekend.

I found it an absolute blast, full of one bizarre incident after another. And since I can’t very well let the feature film outdo the opening cartoon in gonzo entertainment, we’re pairing it with the Merrie Melodies short “A Corny Concerto”. You’ve got Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, and a host of others doing a spoof of Fantasia, and with no dialogue to slow down the slapstick, this thing goes wild.

So if you want to have a dementedly good time, check out these loony movies from the public domain!

Opening Cartoon:

Feature Presentation: