Public Domain Films and Songs

"Rockin' Robin" (originally released as "Rock-In Robin" on the Class Records 45 single) is a song written by Leon René under the pseudonym Jimmie Thomas, and recorded by American singer Bobby Day in 1958. It was Day's biggest hit single, becoming a number two hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent one week at the top of the R&B sales chart "Rockin' Robin" is in the public domain, as the owners never renewed the copyright

West of the Divide is a 1934 American Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury for Monogram, and starring John Wayne, Yakima Canutt and Gabby Hayes. The film had a copyright notice upon release, but it was not renewed

Let's do it : Cole Porter.( Midnight in Paris ) "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" (also known as "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" or simply "Let's Do It") is a popular song written in 1928 by Cole Porter. It was introduced in Porter's first Broadway success, the musical Paris (1928) by French chanteuse Irène Bordoni for whom Porter had written the musical as a starring vehicle

"Down Hearted Blues" by Bessie Smith Down Hearted Blues" is a blues song composed by musician Lovie Austin, with lyrics by American jazz singer Alberta Hunter. The first line sets the theme for the song: "Gee but it's hard to love someone when that someone don't love you." Hunter sang it during her engagement at the Dreamland Cafe, in Chicago, where she performed with Joe "King" Oliver's band Blues singer Bessie Smith recorded the song with piano accompaniment by Clarence Williams. It was released as her first single (backed with "Gulf Coast Blues") and 780,000 copies were sold in the first six months

Alabama Jubilee 1915 - George L. Cobb, Jack Yellen

Everybody Loves My Baby is a well-known jazz song written by Jack Palmer and composed by Spencer Williams in 1924. This jazz hit is still popular to this day for its fantastic, uplifting beat. The song became public domain in 2019

Alice Blue Gown by Edith Day 1922 Charted at #1 in 1920. Lovely song from the 1919 musical "Irene" which starred beautiful Edith Day in the title role. Recorded on February 2, 1920. Released in April 1920

Nanook of the North (1922) by Robert J. Flaherty Nanook of the North is a 1922 American silent film that combines elements of documentary and docudrama/docufiction, at a time when the concept of separating films into documentary and drama did not yet exist.[citation needed][1] In the tradition of what would later be called salvage ethnography,[citation needed] the film follows the struggles of the Inuk man named Nanook and his family in the Canadian Arctic. It is written and directed by Robert J. Flaherty, who also served as cinematographer, editor, and producer. In 1989, Nanook of the North was among the first group of 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"

Till We Meet Again" is an American popular song. The music was written by Richard A. Whiting, the lyrics by Raymond B. Egan in 1918. Written during the Great War, the song tells of the parting of a soldier and his sweetheart In 1919, it was the number 1 song of the year as recorded by Henry Burr and Albert Campbell

Widely known and covered American traditional song of disputed origins initially recorded by Clarence Ashley & Gwin Foster in 1933 as "Rising Sun Blues". The song most always opens with some variation of "There is a house in New Orleans they call the Rising Sun..." Throughout the years it's been arranged by multiple artists, and since it's in the public domain has been registered by scores of performers as their own work, but so many of the versions have floating lyrics and musical components it wouldn't be well-served to selectively credit adaptations of the same name. The song is most famously known by The Animals' 1964 recording, which is now the standard

The Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film with elements of film noir directed by Otto Preminger, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren. Starring Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold Stang and Darren McGavin. It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Sinatra for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Joseph C. Wright and Darrell Silvera for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White and Elmer Bernstein for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. Sinatra was also nominated for best actor awards by the BAFTAs and The New York Film Critics. The film is in the public domain, and in 2020 was added into the National Film Registry

The song was written by Perry Bradford and it was recorded on August 10, 1920, by Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds. Entered the public domain on Jan 1, 2022

I Want to Go Back to Michigan is a song by Irving Berlin composed in 1914. Covered by the Andrew Sisters in 1947

California, Here I Come" is a song interpolated in the Broadway musical Bombo, starring Al Jolson. The song was written by Bud DeSylva, Joseph Meyer, and Jolson. Jolson recorded the song on January 17, 1924, with Isham Jones' Orchestra, in Brunswick Records' Chicago studio. It is often called the unofficial state song of California. In 2020, it entered the public domain.

Harry Macdonough - Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder (1905)

Aba Daba Honeymoon" is a popular song written and published by Arthur Fields and Walter Donovan in 1914, known through its chorus, "Aba daba daba daba daba daba dab, Said the chimpie to the monk; Baba daba daba daba daba daba dab, Said the monkey to the chimp." It was first performed by Ruth Roye, and first recorded in 1914 by the comic duo team of Collins & Harlan. public domain on January 1, 2022

Wives Under Suspicion is a 1938 American crime film based on a 1932 Ladislas Fodor play that was previously adapted into the film, The Kiss Before the Mirror. This version was directed by James Whale and stars Warren William, Gail Patrick, Ralph Morgan, and Constance Moore. It released by Universal Pictures. In 1966, the film entered the public domain in the United States because the claimants did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.[3]

Abraham Lincoln (1930) Colorized | Walter Huston, Una Merkel | Full Movie Abraham Lincoln, also released under the title D. W. Griffith's "Abraham Lincoln", is a 1930 pre-Code American biographical film about Abraham Lincoln directed by D. W. Griffith. It stars Walter Huston as Lincoln and Una Merkel, in her second speaking role, as Ann Rutledge. The script was co-written by Stephen Vincent Benét, author of the Civil War prose poem John Brown's Body (1928), and Gerrit Lloyd. This was the first of only two sound films made by Griffith. The film entered the public domain in 1958 when the initial copyright expired. The copyright holders did not elect to extend it for a second 28-year term

The Silent version of the 1928 Mickey Mouse short plane crazy Has entered the public domain as of January 1st 2024

Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney Entered public Domain Jan 1, 2024