a propos the Lord Dunsany thing - I just wait for 2027 no big thing, the big thing for me is when I think I know something is public domain spend some time to start on it and realize no wait - maybe it isn't. For example I was sure Dunsany was public, I saw he was I started and then I happened to come across a notice that it might not be. I was surprised - I thought he died in the 1940s.
In the context of reusing parts of movies it is difficult to figure out if it is in PD or not because the +70 years applies to major creators - is that director, producer, major actor?
I have a great use for Beat The Devil - that's in public domain in U.S because copyright not renewed - but not sure if that is really the case in European countries. Everything I do to research suggests it is - but... it's too much of a mess to realistically be absolutely certain. Probably is because surely the copyright must have been owned by United Artists so 70 years from 2023 at worst - maybe... but I mean John Huston died in 1987, in some places it was released in 1955 - so if 70 years from public release that's 2025? If 70 years from Huston's death forget about it.
I recently watched Beat the Devil. I thought it was pretty dreadful. I had no idea it had a cult following and I can't imagine why. The film really runs out of steam about halfway through and most of the actors seemed to be going through the motions. It is certainly not among the Huston films that I would recommend. Watch The Maltese Falcon or The Misfits first.
That said, Ebert put it on his "Great Movies" list:
It's also possibly interesting for having had a 28-year old Truman Capote as screen writer. Except that I really think Capote wasn't a good fit for Hollywood. Breakfast at Tiffany's did not translate well to screen.
On the other hand, Roman Holiday is among my favorite films. It's the quintessential romcom.
For a terrific and unusual red-scare inspired film, let me recommend Johny Guitar. Now that's a film that deserves a cult following.
Very neat. I queried for a line I remembered as "a story Englishmen tell when they're down in the mouth", and it corrected this "Englishmen tell it [etc.]", identifying the movie as Beat the Devil.
Hacker Cinema
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a propos the Lord Dunsany thing - I just wait for 2027 no big thing, the big thing for me is when I think I know something is public domain spend some time to start on it and realize no wait - maybe it isn't. For example I was sure Dunsany was public, I saw he was I started and then I happened to come across a notice that it might not be. I was surprised - I thought he died in the 1940s.
In the context of reusing parts of movies it is difficult to figure out if it is in PD or not because the +70 years applies to major creators - is that director, producer, major actor?
I have a great use for Beat The Devil - that's in public domain in U.S because copyright not renewed - but not sure if that is really the case in European countries. Everything I do to research suggests it is - but... it's too much of a mess to realistically be absolutely certain. Probably is because surely the copyright must have been owned by United Artists so 70 years from 2023 at worst - maybe... but I mean John Huston died in 1987, in some places it was released in 1955 - so if 70 years from public release that's 2025? If 70 years from Huston's death forget about it.
I recently watched Beat the Devil. I thought it was pretty dreadful. I had no idea it had a cult following and I can't imagine why. The film really runs out of steam about halfway through and most of the actors seemed to be going through the motions. It is certainly not among the Huston films that I would recommend. Watch The Maltese Falcon or The Misfits first.
That said, Ebert put it on his "Great Movies" list:
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-beat-the-devil-1954
It's also possibly interesting for having had a 28-year old Truman Capote as screen writer. Except that I really think Capote wasn't a good fit for Hollywood. Breakfast at Tiffany's did not translate well to screen.
On the other hand, Roman Holiday is among my favorite films. It's the quintessential romcom.
For a terrific and unusual red-scare inspired film, let me recommend Johny Guitar. Now that's a film that deserves a cult following.
Very neat. I queried for a line I remembered as "a story Englishmen tell when they're down in the mouth", and it corrected this "Englishmen tell it [etc.]", identifying the movie as Beat the Devil.