Free Movies in the Public Domain

The Scarlet Letter

Posted by under Free Movies

The Scarlet Letter
Majestic Pictures Corporation
1 hr 9 min 35 sec - Nov 25, 2006

"At the end of the 17th century a impetuous woman of noble birth but poor arrives in Boston when it was just a village rather than a city. As she is married to an old doctor she tries to change her life." Directed by Robert G. Vignola, written by Leonard Fields, based on the classic of novel of Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1934. Film in public domain available at Public Domain Torrents.

PS.: watch the silent version directed by Victor Sjöström, with Lilian Gish. That one is sublime.

The Last of the Mohicans

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The Last of the Mohicans
Maurice Tourneur
1 hr 11 min 6 sec - Nov 23, 2006

"Adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper novel about the American frontier during the French and Indian War." Directed by Maurice Tourneur and Clarence Brown, 1920. Film in public domain available at Archive.org

Steamboat Bill, Jr.

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Steamboat Bill, Jr.
Joseph M. Schenck
1 hr 9 min 7 sec - Nov 19, 2006

"Steamboat Bill, Jr. is the story of a naive, college-educated dandy who must prove himself to his working-class father, a hot-headed riverboat captain, while courting the daughter of his father’s rival, who threatens to put Steamboat Bill, Sr. and his paddle-wheeler out of business." Directed Charles Reisner and Buster Keaton, 1928. Film in public domain. This is the 441MB version: get the 3.1GB of it at Archive.org

One Week

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One Week
Metro Picture Corporation
22 min 16 sec - Nov 18, 2006

"Buster and Sybil exit a chapel as newly-weds. Among the gifts is a portable house you easily put together in one week." Directed and written by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, 1920. This film is in public domain and available at Archive.org

Convict 13

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Convict 13
Metro Picture Corporation
20 min 19 sec - Nov 16, 2006

"Buster is playing golf with Sybil when he gets knocked out. An escaped prisoner changes clothes with him. Buster goes to prison and learns that he is to be hanged. He changes clothes with a guard just as prisoner Roberts attacks all the guards." Written and directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, 1920. This film is in public domain and available at Archive.org

The Balloonatic

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The Balloonatic
Buster Keaton Productions
22 min 30 sec - Nov 16, 2006

"Buster and Phyllis endure a number of outdoor adventures trying to prove to each other their survival skills. The balloon which lands Buster in the wilderness proves useful later on as their canoe is about go over a waterfall." Directed and written by Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline, 1923. This film is in public domain and available at Archive.org

My Wife’s Relations

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My Wife’s Relations
Buster Keaton Productions
22 min 6 sec - Nov 16, 2006

"When a large Irish woman falsely accuses Buster of breaking a window he is hauled before a Polish judge who speaks no English and assumes they are there to be married. She takes her new husband home to meet her four gorilla-like brothers." Directed and written by Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline, 1922. This film is in public domain and available at Archive.org

The Play House

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The Play House
First National Attracktion
20 min 8 sec - Nov 15, 2006

"The opening scene, a dream sequence prior to the vaudeville routines which follow, is what makes this film famous. In it Keaton plays everyone in a theatre simultaneously (through multiple exposures).
He is the band leader, all its members, the dancers on the stage and everyone in the audience." Directed and written by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, 1921. This film is in public domain and available at Archive.org

Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari

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Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari
Decla-Film-Ges. Holz & Co.
51 min 1 sec - Nov 15, 2006

Also known as "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and "Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari". "A man named Francis relates a story about his best friend Alan and his fiancée Jane. Alan takes him to a fair where they meet Dr. Caligari, who exhibits a somnambulist, Cesare, that can predict the future." This classic German Expressionist film is a masterpiece of silent and horror cinema. Directed by Robert Wiene, produced by Rudolf Meinert and Erich Pommer, 1920. This film is in Public Domain and available at Archive.org

The Electric House

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The Electric House
Buster Keaton Productions
20 min 32 sec - Nov 15, 2006

"The Electric House starts with Buster’s graduation ceremony as the first of his comic misfortunes, including a mix-up of diplomas so Buster receives a diploma in electrical engineering. This leads to a job opportunity: electrifying the family house of the girl he’s sweet on. A great chance, so Buster studies hard and soon installs a useful and impressive set of electric appliances." Directed and written by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, 1922. This film is in public domain and available at Archive.org

The Boat

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The Boat
First National Attraction
26 min 47 sec - Nov 14, 2006

"Buster’s handmade boat, The Damfino, is finished and is, of course, too large to get through the basement door. When he drives off with it in tow, the side of his house, then the whole thing, collapses. At the harbor he rides the boat out only to have it sink beneath him. The rest is a series of adventures he and his family have with the restored boat." Directed and written by Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline, 1921. This film is in public domain and available at Archive.org

Fighting Caravans (1931)

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Fighting Caravans (1931)
Paramount Pictures
1 hr 20 min 26 sec - Nov 14, 2006

A western adventure based upon a Zane Grey novel and set on a freight wagon train heading for California from Missouri in the 1860’s. It stars Gary Cooper.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

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The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Carl Laemmle & Irving Thalberg
1 hr 40 min 43 sec - Nov 13, 2006

"Clopin bought Esmeralda from the gypsies when she was young. Dancing in the square at the festival, Esmeralda is spotted by Jehan, the evil brother of the good archdeacon Claude Frollo. When he sets Quasimodo out to kidnap Esmeralda, Phoebus, Captain of the Guards, rescues her and captures Quasimodo. The courts sentence Quasimodo to be flogged, and the only one who will give him water while he is tied in the square is Esmeralda. After Clopin forces Esmeralda to leave Phoebus at the ball, she sends a note to Phoebus to meet her at Notre-Dame. In the garden, Phoebus is stabbed in the back by Jehan. Esmeralda is accused of stabbing Phoebus, convicted by the courts and sentenced to hang. When Esmeralda again rejects Jehan, he tells her that Phoebus is dead, even though it is not true. Clopin, Phoebus and Quasimodo all try different ways to save Esmeralda." This film is in public domain and available to download at Public Domain Torrents. Based on Victor Hugo’s novel "Notre Dame de Paris", directed by Wallace Worsley, 1923.

Santa Fe Trail (1940)

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Santa Fe Trail (1940)
Warner Brothers
1 hr 49 min 29 sec - Nov 13, 2006

A fictionalized account of "Bleeding Kansas," John Brown, the raid on Harper’s Ferry, and the early careers of American Civil War commanders. It stars Errol Flynn as J.E.B. Stuart, Ronald Reagan as George Custer, and Olivia De Havilland as their lady fair. Raymond Massey portrays John Brown. In the public domain.

The Paleface

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The Paleface
Buster Keaton Productions
21 min 6 sec - Nov 13, 2006

"Evil oil barons have given the Indians one day to vacate their land. The Indian chief tells his braves to kill the first white man they see. Buster shows up chasing a butterfly. Later he keeps moving the stake to which he is tied and at which he is to be burned. He becomes one of the tribe and helps them with their fight." This film is in public domain and available at Archive.org. Directed, written and starred by Buster Keaton, 1922.

Speak Easily

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Speak Easily
Buster Keaton
1 hr 20 min 58 sec - Nov 13, 2006

"Naive, bookish Professor Post (of Potts College) inherits a huge amount of money and decides that now he can afford to go out and enjoy life. He falls for a dancer in a bad stage show, and with his new money decides to buy the show and take it to Broadway." Directed by Edward Sedgwick, produced and starred by Buster Keaton, 1932. This film is in public domain and available at Archive.org

Sherlock Jr.

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Sherlock Jr.
Buster Keaton & Joseph M. Schenck
44 min 0 sec - Nov 13, 2006

"A projectionist and a sheik are rivals for a girl. The sheik steals her father’s watch and Sherlock is blamed. Back at his projectionist’s job he dreams himself and everyone else in his life into the movie which is playing. He is now Sherlock Holmes looking for some stolen pearls." Directed by Buster Keaton, 1924. This film is in public domain and available at Archive.org

San ta Fe Trail (1940)

Posted by under Free Movies

San ta Fe Trail (1940)
Warner Brothers
1 hr 49 min 29 sec - Nov 13, 2006

A fictionalized account of "Bleeding Kansas," John Brown, the raid on Harper’s Ferry, and the early careers of American Civil War commanders. It stars Errol Flynn as J.E.B. Stuart, Ronald Reagan as George Custer, and Olivia De Havilland as their lady fair. Raymond Massey portrays John Brown. In the public domain.

Daniel Boone (1936)

Posted by under Free Movies

Daniel Boone (1936)
RKO Radio Pictures
1 hr 14 min 37 sec - Nov 12, 2006

A filmization of an segment of the life of the legendary frontiersman, Daniel Boone. Specifically it presents an account of his first settlement in Kentucky. Starring George O’Brien.

Mutiny (1952)

Posted by under Free Movies

Mutiny (1952)
King Brothers Productions and United Artists
1 hr 16 min 41 sec - Nov 11, 2006

This is a seafaring tale set during the War of 1812 and starring Mark Stevens, Patrick Knowles and Angela Landsbury. Directed by Edward Dmytryk and Produced by the King Brothers. This film is in the public domain.