A Million Screenplay Ideas from the Public Domain
January 1st, 2019 – a day dubbed “Public Domain Day” by originators Wallace McLean, a public domain activist, and Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig – saw the release of over 50,000 titles from 1923 that are now available in the public domain. In fact, due to the Sony Bono Copyright Act, any work made prior to 1924 is now irrevocably in the public domain. These works include films from Charlie Chaplin and Cecille B. DeMille, books from Aldous Huxley and Robert Frost and music from legends such as Louis Armstrong.
Following Public Domain Day, other well-known institutions including The Cleveland Museum of Art, The New York Public Library, and The Folger Shakespeare Library followed suit and have also released thousands upon thousands of works into the public domain. Meaning, for screenwriters, there’s now an endless supply of material to inspire a great screenplay, or as the Atlantic notes, even the next Great American Novel. And it doesn’t end here: Every first of the year hereafter will see another release of existing works published 95 years prior into the Public Domain.
The list featured at the end of this post doesn’t end at films and literature: As we noted in a previous article, tens of thousands of works have also been released from some of the most well-known institutions in the world. Highlighted in the hugely-resourceful website, ‘The Public Domain Review’, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The New York Public Library, The Getty, The Folger Shakespeare Library, also offer thousands of works that have recently been absolved of any copyright protections.
In the hands of the right storyteller, an existing Intellectual Property (IP) can be worth millions of dollars, and right now, the existing IP is seemingly king.
Writing a screenplay based off an existing IP – whether it’s a NY-Times Best Seller, a graphic novel, or even an ancient poem – mitigates the potential risks an investor has to take when financing a film. It offers studios and producers the chance to test out an emerging screenwriter’s storytelling abilities while knowing there’s a built-in audience who will resonate with the story.
2019 has already seen a massive injection of existing IPs into the public domain – meaning they can be built upon or recreated for educational and commercial purposes – so, for writers yearning for the inspiration for their next great undertaking, now is the time to take note. Also note that adapting an existing IP isn’t a practice exclusive to new writers: Some of Hollywood’s most critically acclaimed and well-respected filmmakers constantly look to existing IPs for inspiration. The Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? is based on Homer’s Illiad; Guillermo del Toro frequently references works from artists such as Francisco de Goya while Sofia Coppola pays homage to the paintings of John Kacere throughout Lost in Translation.
The possibilities are endless, and the stories are clearly worth telling.
Read More: 101 Public Domain Story Prompts!
Happy researching!
As of January 1st, 2019, here’s what’s now available from film and literature:
Films:
Abysmal Brute, Hobart Henley
The Acquittal, Clarence Brown
Adam and Eva, Robert G. Vignola
Adam's Rib, Cecil B. DeMille
The Age of Desire, Frank Borzage
Alias the Night Wind, Joseph Franz
Alice Adams, Rowland V. Lee
All the Brothers Were Valiant, Irvin Willat
Anna Christie, John Griffith Wray
April Showers, Tom Forman
The Acquittal, Clarence Brown
Around the World in Eighteen Days, B. Reeves Eason, Robert F. Hill
Ashes of Vengeance, Frank Lloyd
Backbone, Edward Sloman
The Bad Man, Edwin Carewe
Bag and Baggage, Finis Fox
The Barefoot Boy, David Kirkland
Bavu, Stuart Paton
Bell Boy 13, William A. Seiter
Big Brother, Allan Dwan
Big Dan, William A. Wellman
The Bishop of the Ozarks, Finis Fox
The Bolted Door, William Worthington
Boston Blackie, Scott R. Dunlap
Boy of Mine, William Beaudine
Black Oxen, Frank Lloyd
Blinky, Edward Sedgwick
Blow Your Own Horn, James W. Horne
Bluebeard's 8th Wife, Sam Wood
Brass, Sidney Franklin
The Brass Bottle, Maurice Tourneur
Brass Commandments, Lynn Reynolds
Breaking Into Society, Hunt Stromberg
Bright Lights of Broadway. Webster Campbell
The Bright Shawl, John S. Robertson
The Broad Road, Edmund Mortimer
Broadway Broke, J. Searle Dawley
Broadway Gold, Edward Dillon
Broken Hearts of Broadway, Irving Cummings
The Broken Wing, Tom Forman
Mothers-in-Law, Louis J. Gasnier
Bucking the Barrier, Colin Campbell
Burning Words, Stuart Paton
The Buster, Colin Campbell
The Call of the Canyon, Victor Fleming
The Call of the Wild, Fred Jackman
Cameo Kirby, John Ford
Can a Woman Love Twice?, James W. Horne
Canyon of the Fools, Val Paul
A Chapter in Her Life, Lois Weber
Chastity, Victor Schertzinger
The Cheat. George Fitzmaurice
Children of Dust. Frank Borzage
Children of Jazz, Jerome Storm
The Christian, Maurice Tourneur
Circus Days. Eddie Cline
The Clean-Up, William Parke
The Common Law, George Archainbaud
Cordelia the Magnificent, George Archainbaud
The Country Kid, William Beaudine
The Courtship of Miles Standish, Frederic Sullivan
The Covered Wagon, James Cruze
Crashin' Thru, Val Paul
The Cricket on the Hearth, Lorimer Johnston
Crinoline and Romance, Harry Beaumont
Crooked Alley, Robert F. Hill
Crossed Wires, King Baggot
Cupid's Fireman, William A. Wellman
The Custard Cup, Herbert Brenon
Daddy, E. Mason Hopper
The Dancer of the Nile, William P. S. Earle
The Dangerous Age, John M. Stahl
The Dangerous Maid, Victor Heerman
The Daring Years, Kenneth Webb
Dark Secrets, Victor Fleming
The Darling of New York, King Baggot
Daughters of the Rich, Louis J. Gasnier
The Day of Faith, Tod Browning
Daytime Wives, Emile Chautard
Dead Game, Edward Sedgwick
Defying Destiny, Louis Chaudet
Desert Driven, Val Paul
Desire, Rowland V. Lee
The Destroying Angel, W. S. Van Dyke
Divorce, Chester Bennett
Does It Pay?, Charles Horan
Dollar Devils, Victor Schertzinger
Don Quickshot of the Rio Grande, George Marshall
Don't Call It Love, William C. de Mille
Don't Marry for Money, Clarence Brown
Double Dealing, Henry Lehrman
Drifting, Tod Browning
Driven, Charles Brabin
Drums of Fate, Charles Maigne
The Drums of Jeopardy, Edward Dillon
Dulcy, Sidney Franklin
The Eagle's Feather, Edward Sloman
East Side - West Side, Irving Cummings
The Eleventh Hour, Bernard J. Durning
Enemies of Women, Alan Crosland
The Eternal City, George Fitzmaurice
The Eternal Struggle, Reginald Barker
The Eternal Three, Marshall Neilan
Eyes of the Forest, Lambert Hillyer
The Exciters, Maurice S. Campbell
The Exiles, Edmund Mortimer
The Extra Girl, F. Richard Jones
The Face on the Bar-Room Floor, John Ford
The Fair Cheat, Burton L. King
The Famous Mrs. Fair, Fred Niblo
Fashion Row, Robert Z. Leonard
Fashionable Fakers, William Worthington
The Fighting Blade, John S. Robertson
The First Degree, Edward Sedgwick
The Flame of Life, Hobart Henley
Flaming Youth, John Francis Dillon
The Flying Dutchman, Lloyd B. Carleton
The Fog, Paul Powell
Fog Bound, Irvin Willat
Fools and Riches, Herbert Blaché
The Footlight Ranger, Scott R. Dunlap
Forgive and Forget, Howard M. Mitchell
The Fourth Musketeer, William K. Howard
The French Doll, Robert Z. Leonard
A Friendly Husband, John G. Blystone
Fury, Henry King
Garrison's Finish, Arthur Rosson
Gentle Julia, Rowland V. Lee
The Gentleman from America, Edward Sedgwick
A Gentleman of Leisure, Joseph Henabery
The Ghost Patrol, Nat Ross
Gimme, Rupert Hughes
The Girl I Loved, Joe De Grasse
The Glimpses of the Moon, Allan Dwan
Going Up, Lloyd Ingraham
The Girl of the Golden West, Edwin Carewe
The Girl Who Came Back, Tom Forman
The Gold Diggers, Harry Beaumont
Goodbye Girls, Jerome Storm
Gossip, King Baggot
The Go-Getter, Edward H. Griffith
The Grail, Colin Campbell
The Gunfighter, Lynn Reynolds
The Governor's Lady, Harry Millarde
The Green Goddess, Sidney Olcott
Grumpy, William C. de Mille
Haldane of the Secret Service, Harry Houdini
The Handy Man, Robert P. Kerr
Hearts Aflame, Reginald Barker
The Heart Raider, Wesley Ruggles
Held to Answer, Harold M. Shaw
Hell's Hole, Emmett J. Flynn
Her Accidental Husband, Dallas M. Fitzgerald
Her Fatal Millions, William Beaudine
Her Reputation, John Griffith Wray
Her Temporary Husband, John McDermott
The Hero, Louis J. Gasnier
His Children's Children, Sam Wood
His Mystery Girl, Robert F. Hill
Hollywood, James Cruze
Homeward Bound, Ralph Ince
Hoodman Blind, John Ford
Human Wreckage, John Griffith Wray
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Wallace Worsley
The Huntress, John Francis Dillon,Lynn Reynolds
If Winter Comes, Harry Millarde
In Search of a Thrill, Oscar Apfel
In the Palace of the King, Emmett J. Flynn
Innocence, Edward J. Le Saint
The Isle of Lost Ships, Maurice Tourneur
Itching Palms, James W. Horne
Java Head, George Melford
Jazzmania, Robert Z. Leonard
Jealous Husbands, Maurice Tourneur
Kentucky Days, David Selman
Kindled Courage, William Worthington
The Last Hour, Edward Sloman
The Last Moment, J. Parker Read Jr.
Law of the Lawless, Victor Fleming
Lawful Larceny, Allan Dwan
The Leavenworth Case, Charles Giblyn
Legally Dead, William Parke
The Leopardess, Henry Kolker
Let's Go, William K. Howard
Lights Out, Alfred Santell
The Light That Failed, George Melford
Little Church Around the Corner, William A. Seiter
The Little Girl Next Door, W. S. Van Dyke
Little Johnny Jones, Arthur Rosson
Little Old New York, Sidney Olcott
The Lone Star Ranger, Lambert Hillyer
The Lonely Road, Victor Schertzinger
Long Live the King, Victor Schertzinger
Look Your Best, Rupert Hughes
Lost and Found on a South Sea Island, Raoul Walsh
Lovebound, Henry Otto
The Love Brand, Stuart Paton
The Love Letter, King Baggot
The Love Piker, E. Mason Hopper
The Love Pirate, Richard Thomas
Loyal Lives, Charles Giblyn
Lucretia Lombard, Jack Conway
Madness of Youth, Jerome Storm
The Mailman, Emory Johnson
Main Street, Harry Beaumont
The Man Between, Finis Fox
The Man from Brodney’s, David Smith
The Man Life Passed By, Victor Schertzinger
The Man Next Door, Victor Schertzinger
A Man of Action, James W. Horne
The Man Who Won, William A. Wellman
Man's Size, Howard M. Mitchell
The Marriage Maker, William C. de Mille
The Marriage Market, Edward LeSaint
Mary of the Movies, John McDermott
Masters of Men, David Smith
Maytime, Louis J. Gasnier
McGuire of the Mounted, Richard Stanton
The Meanest Man in the World, Edward F. Cline
Men in the Raw, George Marshall
Merry-Go-Round, Erich von Stroheim
The Midnight Alarm, David Smith
The Midnight Guest, George Archainbaud
Mighty Lak' a Rose, Edwin Carewe
Mile-a-Minute Romeo, Lambert Hillyer
A Million to Burn, William Parke
The Miracle Baby, Val Paul
The Miracle Makers, W. S. Van Dyke
Modern Marriage, Victor Heerman
Modern Matrimony, Lawrence C. Windom
Money, Money, Money, Tom Forman
Mr. Billings Spends His Dime, Wesley Ruggles
The Mysterious Witness, Seymour Zeliff
The Nth Commandment, Frank Borzage
The Near Lady, Herbert Blaché
The Ne'er Do-Well, Alfred E. Green
The Net, J. Gordon Edwards
No Mother to Guide Her, Charles Horan
Nobody's Bride, Herbert Blaché
Nobody's Money, Wallace Worsley
A Noise in Newboro, Harry Beaumont
North of Hudson Bay, John Ford
An Old Sweetheart of Mine, Harry Garson
On the Banks of the Wabash, J. Stuart Blackton
One Stolen Night, Robert Ensminger
Only 38, William C. de Mille
Other Men's Daughters, Ben F. Wilson
Our Hospitality, John G. Blystone, Buster Keaton
Out of Luck, Edward Sedgwick
Penrod and Sam, William Beaudine
The Pilgrim, Charles Chaplin
Pioneer Trails, David Smith
Playing It Wild, William Duncan
Pleasure Mad, Reginald Barker
Poor Men's Wives, Louis J. Gasnier
Potash and Perlmutter, Clarence G. Badger
The Printer's Devil, William Beaudine
The Prisoner, Jack Conway
Prodigal Daughters, Sam Wood
Pure Grit, Nat Ross
Puritan Passions, Frank Tuttle
The Purple Highway, Rufus Steele
Quicksands, Jack Conway
Racing Hearts, Paul Powell
The Ragged Edge, F. Harmon Weight
Railroaded, Edmund Mortimer
The Ramblin' Kid, Edward Sedgwick
Red Lights, Clarence G. Badger
The Red Warning, Robert N. Bradbury
Refuge, Victor Schertzinger
The Remittance Woman, Wesley Ruggles
The Rendezvous, Marshall Neilan
Reno, Rupert Hughes
Richard the Lion-Hearted, Chester Withey
Romance Land, Edward Sedgwick
Rosita, Ernst Lubitsch
Rouged Lips, Harold M. Shaw
Ruggles of Red Gap, James Cruze
Rupert of Hentzau, Victor Heerman
The Rustle of Silk, Herbert Brenon
Safety Last!, Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Salomy Jane, George Melford
The Satin Girl, Arthur Rosson
Sawdust, Jack Conway
Scaramouche, Rex Ingram
The Scarlet Car, Stuart Paton
The Scarlet Lily, Victor Schertzinger
Scars of Jealousy, Lambert Hillyer
Second Fiddle, Frank Tuttle
Second Hand Love, William A. Wellman
The Self-Made Wife, John Francis Dillon
Shadows of the North, Robert F. Hill
The Shepherd King, J. Gordon Edwards
The Shock, Lambert Hillyer
Shootin' for Love, Edward Sedgwick
The Shriek of Araby, F. Richard Jones
The Silent Command, J. Gordon Edwards
The Silent Partner, Charles Maigne
Single Handed, Edward Sedgwick
Sinner or Saint, Lawrence C. Windom
Six Cylinder Love, Elmer Clifton
Six Days, Charles Brabin
The Six-Fifty, Nat Ross
Sixty Cents an Hour, Joseph Henabery
Skid Proof, Scott R. Dunlap
Slander the Woman, Allen Holubar
Slave of Desire, George D. Baker
Slippy McGee, Wesley Ruggles
The Snow Bride, Henry Kolker
Snowdrift, Scott R. Dunlap
The Social Code, Oscar Apfel
Soft Boiled, John G. Blystone
The Song of Love, Chester M. Franklin
Soul of the Beast, John Griffith Wray
Souls for Sale, Rupert Hughes
South Sea Love, David Selman
The Spanish Dancer, Herbert Brenon
The Spoilers, Lambert Hillyer
St. Elmo, Jerome Storm
The Steadfast Heart, Sheridan Hall
Stephen Steps Out, Joseph Henabery
Stepping Fast, Joseph Franz
Stormswept, Robert Thornby
Strangers of the Night, Fred Niblo
The Sunshine Trail, James W. Horne
Suzanna, F. Richard Jones
Tea: With a Kick!, Erle C. Kenton
The Temple of Venus, Henry Otto
Temporary Marriage, Lambert Hillyer
Temptation, Edward LeSaint
The Ten Commandments, Cecil B. DeMille
Three Ages, Buster Keaton
Three Jumps Ahead, John Ford
Three O'Clock in the Morning, Kenneth S. Webb
Three Who Paid, Colin Campbell
Three Wise Fools, King Vidor
The Thrill Chaser, Edward Sedgwick
Thundergate, Joseph De Grasse
Thundering Dawn, Harry Garson
The Tie That Binds, Joseph Levering
Tiger Rose, Sidney Franklin
The Tiger's Claw, Joseph Henabery
Times Have Changed, James Flood
To the Ladies, James Cruze
To the Last Man, Victor Fleming
Toilers of the Sea, Roy William Neill
The Town Scandal, King Baggot
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, Charles Maigne
Trifling with Honor, Harry A. Pollard
Trilby, James Young
Trimmed in Scarlet, Jack Conway
The Truth About Wives, Lawrence C. Windom
Truxton King, Jerome Storm
Twenty-One, John S. Robertson
Under the Red Robe, Alan Crosland
The Unknown Purple, Roland West
Unseeing Eyes, Edward H. Griffith
The Untameable, Herbert Blaché
Vanity Fair, Hugo Ballin
The Victor, Edward Laemmle
The Virginian, Tom Forman
The Voice from the Minaret, Frank Lloyd
Wandering Daughters, James Young
The Wanters, John M. Stahl
The West~Bound Limited, Emory Johnson
West of the Water Tower, Rollin S. Sturgeon
What a Wife Learned, John Griffith Wray
What Wives Want, Jack Conway
When Odds Are Even, James Flood
Where Is This West?, George Marshall
Where the North Begins, Chester M. Franklin
Where the Pavement Ends, Rex Ingram
While Paris Sleeps, Maurice Tourneur
The White Flower, Julia Crawford Ivers
The White Rose, D. W. Griffith
The White Sister, Henry King
White Tiger, Tod Browning
Why Worry?, Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Wife in Name Only, George Terwilliger
A Wife's Romance, Thomas N. Heffron
Wild Bill Hickok, Clifford Smith
The Wild Party, Herbert Blaché
Within the Law, Frank Lloyd
The Woman in Chains, William P. Burt
The Woman of Bronze, King Vidor
A Woman of Paris, Charles Chaplin
Woman-Proof, Alfred E. Green
The Woman with Four Faces, Herbert Brenon
The World's Applause, William C. DeMille
Yesterday's Wife, Edward LeSaint
You Can't Fool Your Wife, George Melford
Your Friend and Mine, Clarence G. Badger
Zaza, Allan Dwan
Literature (Author first)
Sherwood Anderson – Many Marriages
Gertrude Atherton – Black Oxen
Arnold Bennett – Riceyman Steps
Maxwell Bodenheim – Blackguard
Elizabeth Bowen – Encounters (short stories)
Thomas Alexander Boyd – Through the Wheat
Max Brand – Seven Trails
John Buchan – Midwinter
Hall Caine – The Woman of Knockaloe
Willa Cather – A Lost Lady
Alphonse de Chateaubriant – La Brière (Passion and Peat)
Agatha Christie – The Murder on the Links
Jean Cocteau – Thomas l'imposteur (Thomas the Imposter)
Colette – Green Wheat (Le Blé en herbe)
Joseph Conrad – The Rover
Marie Corelli – Love and the Philosopher
Susan Ertz – Madame Claire
Hans Fallada – Anton und Gerda
Jeffery Farnol – Sir John Dering
Lion Feuchtwanger – Die häßliche Herzogin (The Ugly Duchess)
J. S. Fletcher – The Charing Cross Mystery
Zona Gale – Faint Perfume
Garet Garrett – Cinder Buggy
Philip Gibbs – The Middle of the Road[8]
Kahlil Gibran – The Prophet
Jaroslav Hašek – The Good Soldier Švejk (Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za světové války)
Ernest Hemingway – Three Stories and Ten Poems
Hermann Hesse – Demian (first English-language edition)
Georgette Heyer – The Great Roxhythe, Instead of the Thorn, The Transformation of Philip Jettan
Winifred Holtby – Anderby Wold
Aldous Huxley – Antic Hay
Ernst Jünger – Sturm, D. H. Lawrence, Kangaroo
The Fox, The Captain's Doll, The Ladybird: Three Novellas
Maurice Leblanc – Les Huit Coups de l'horloge (The Eight Strokes of the Clock)
David Lindsay – Sphinx
Agnes Mure Mackenzie – Without Conditions
Katherine Mansfield – The Doves' Nest and Other Stories (short stories, published posthumously)
Stratis Myrivilis – Η ζωή εν τάφω (I zoí en tafo, Life in the Tomb; serialization)
Zofia Nałkowska – Romans Teresy Hennert (The Romance of Teresa Hennert)
Liam O'Flaherty – Thy Neighbour's Wife
Frank L. Packard – The Four Stragglers
Marcel Proust – The Prisoner (La Prisonnière, vol. 5 of In Search of Lost Time)
Raymond Radiguet – Le Diable au corps (The Devil in the Flesh)
William MacLeod Raine – Iron Heart
Maurice Renard – New Bodies for Old (first English language edition of Le Docteur Lerne – Sous-Dieu (1908))
Joseph Roth – Das Spinnennetz (The Spider's Web)
Rafael Sabatini – Fortune's Fool
Dorothy L. Sayers – Whose Body?
James Stephens – Deirdre
Gene Stratton-Porter – The White Flag
Italo Svevo – La Coscienza di Zeno
Alexei Tolstoy – Aelita (Аэлита)
Jean Toomer – Cane
Sigrid Undset – The Bridal Wreath (English translation of Kransen by Charles Archer)
Jules Verne The Castaways of the Flag, The Lighthouse at the End of the World
E. C. Vivian – Fields of Sleep
Edgar Wallace – Bones of the River, The Books of Bart, Captains of Souls, Chick (short stories), The Clue of the New Pin, The Green Archer, The Missing Million
H. G. Wells – Men Like Gods
Edith Wharton – A Son at the Front
Margaret Widdemer – Graven Image
William Carlos Williams – The Great American Novel
Margaret Wilson – The Able McLaughlins
P. G. Wodehouse – The Inimitable Jeeves, Leave It to Psmith
Virginia Woolf – "Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street"
Anzia Yezierska – Salome of the Tenements
Children and young people
Cicely Mary Barker – Flower Fairies of the Spring (first in the Flower Fairies series of at least ten books)
Vitaly Bianki – Whose Nose is Better? (Чей нос лучше?)
Edgar Rice Burroughs – Tarzan and the Golden Lion
Charles Boardman Hawes – The Dark Frigate
Hugh Lofting – Doctor Dolittle's Post Office (third in the Doctor Dolittle series of 13 books)
Lucy Maud Montgomery – Emily of New Moon (first in the Emily series of three books)
Felix Salten – Bambi. Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde (Bambi, a Life in the Woods)
Ruth Plumly Thompson – The Cowardly Lion of Oz (17th in the Oz series overall and the third written by her)
Hugh Walpole – Jeremy and Hamlet (second in the Jeremy series of three books )
Tom Swift and his Flying Boat (26th in the original series)
Drama
Bertolt Brecht – In the Jungle of Cities
Gerald du Maurier – The Dancers
Garnet Holme (adapted from Helen Hunt Jackson) – The Ramona Pageant
Georg Kaiser – Side by Side (Nebeneinander)
Seán O'Casey – The Shadow of a Gunman
Elmer Rice – The Adding Machine
Arnold Ridley – The Ghost Train
Jules Romains – Knock (Knock, ou le Triomphe de la médecine)
George Bernard Shaw – Saint Joan
Marie Stopes – Our Ostriches
Ernst Toller – Hinkemann
Sergei Tretyakov – Do You Hear, Moscow? (Слышишь, Москва?!), Earth in Turmoil
Sutton Vane – Outward Bound
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, The Crazy Locomotive (Szalona lokomotywa), Janulka, Daughter of Fizdejko (Janulka, córka Fizdejki), The Madman and the Nun (Wariat i zakonnica)
Poetry
Louise Bogan – Body of This Death: Poems
E. E. Cummings – Tulips and Chimneys
Robert Frost – New Hampshire (including "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening")
Pablo Neruda – Crepusculario
Sukumar Ray – Abol Tabol
Wallace Stevens – Harmonium
David Vogel – Lifney Hasha'ar Ha'afel (Before the Dark Gate)
William Carlos Williams – Go Go, Spring and All
Non-fiction
Vladimir Arsenyev – Dersu Uzala
Godfrey Benson, 1st Baron Charnwood – Theodore Roosevelt
Algernon Blackwood – Episodes Before Thirty
J. B. Bury – A History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian
E. K. Chambers – The Elizabethan Stage
Winston Churchill – The World Crisis (volumes 1 & 2 specifically)
Le Corbusier – Vers une architecture (Toward an Architecture)
Sigmund Freud – The Ego and the Id
Khalil Gibran – The Prophet
Robert Henri – The Art Spirit
Rudyard Kipling – The Irish Guards in the Great War
Arthur Moeller van den Bruck – Das Dritte Reich
Mihai Ralea – L'Idée de la révolution dans les doctrines socialistes
Mary Roberts Rinehart – The Out Trail
Max Weber – Wirtschaftsgeschichte
Rose Wilder Lane – The Peaks of Shala
Discover 20 more properties from the public domain that you can adapt for free with this free guide.
Other popular websites that list tons of works that exist in the public domain:
https://archive.org/details/last20 - the Sonny Bono Memorial Collection website;
https://lifehacker.com/these-1923-copyrighted-works-enter-the-public-domain-in-1825241296 - lists selects pulled from works released since January 1st, 2019;
https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/31/18162933/public-domain-day-2019-the-pilgrim-jacobs-room-charleston-copyright-expiration - explains the Copyright Term Extension act while also listing works in the public domain;
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/public-domain - lists hundreds of books in the public domain;
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/public-domain-movies-sites/ - offers ways to download and/or view films in the public domain;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_in_the_public_domain_in_the_United_States - lists and categorizes films existing in the public domain by title, director, stars, genre and studio.
Andrew Schwartz is a marketing professional and script reader working in the entertainment industry. He has written and read for outlets such as The Blcklst, BlueCat Screenplay, Final Draft and more. Find him on Twitter at @writingshorts or his Instagram page dedicated to The Sopranos, @sopranosgram.
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