Is The Divorcee (1930) public domain?

Country of origin: US · Last verified: 2026-09-07 · Researched by 1930 MGM pre-Code drama directed by Robert Z. Leonard; Norma Shearer won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Copyright renewed 9 Aug 1957 (R197584, Loew's Inc.); 95-year term expired 31 Dec 2025; public domain as of 1 Jan 2026.

Film print: Clear — this verdict covers the film print only, not the layers below.

⚠️ Planning to upload or monetize? A public-domain film print does not clear the music score, story, or restorations — and the score is the single most common cause of YouTube Content ID claims. Check every layer, not just the print.
Pre-1972 sound recordings can be protected under US state law and the Music Modernization Act until 2067 or later — the print being public domain does not free the recorded music.

Watching: Watching via the linked archival copies is generally the lowest-risk activity.

Reusing / monetizing: Strong public-domain case across print, score and story — reuse and monetization carry the lowest risk profile.

📄 Download the print-layer research packet (Markdown) — citations you can attach to a dispute. Not legal advice; print layer only.

Rights, layer by layer

A film is not one copyright — it is several. Each layer below can be free or protected independently. This is why one-click “public domain” answers are wrong so often.

Film print (photoplay)	Clear	cce_renewal_entry CCE entry: 'THE DIVORCEE, a photoplay in nine reels by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp. (C) 23Apr30; L1244. Loew's Incorporated (PWH); 9Aug57; R197584.' Copyright was renewed, confirming the full 95-year statutory term applied (1930 + 95 = term ending 31 Dec 2025). — Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Parts 12-13: Motion Pictures Jan-Dec 1957, Vol. 11, No. 1-2 — Library of Congress Copyright Office term_expiry 95-year copyright term for a US work published in 1930 expired 31 Dec 2025. The Divorcee is explicitly named among 1930 works entering the public domain on 1 Jan 2026. — Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain, Public Domain Day 2026
Music score	Clear	term_expiry The Divorcee is an early sound film ('talkie') released in 1930. The recorded musical score and dialogue track are integral to the film production and were covered under the same copyright registration L1244 and renewal R197584 — no score was separately published or registered. The film's 95-year term expired 31 Dec 2025, placing the soundtrack in the public domain as of 1 Jan 2026 alongside the print. — Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain, Public Domain Day 2026
Underlying story / screenplay	Clear	term_expiry The film is an adaptation of 'Ex-Wife' (1929) by Ursula Parrott, published in the US. Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, US works published in 1929 carry a 95-year maximum term, which expired 31 Dec 2024; the source novel entered the public domain on 1 Jan 2025, well before the film's own PD date of 1 Jan 2026. New trade editions by Faber (2023) and McNally Editions reflect practical public-domain treatment of the source. — US Copyright Office Circular 15a: Duration of Copyright
Character trademarks	Unclear	No primary evidence on file — treated as unverified.
Restorations / re-releases	Unclear	research_note Warner Home Video released The Divorcee on DVD in March 2008 as part of 'Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2' (paired with A Free Soul, 1931); a Blu-ray edition is also listed on Amazon (ASIN B0033PQUP8). Neither release has been confirmed as a specialty restoration by Criterion, Kino, Flicker Alley, MoMA, or Photoplay. Both were rights-holder releases made while the film was still under copyright. No independent post-PD restoration has been identified. Research the Blu-ray label and transfer notes before treating any studio disc as a free source. — Wikipedia: The Divorcee

Automatic rule notes

Published 1930: US copyright term (95 years) has expired for works published through 1930 — the film print is public domain in the US by term expiry, regardless of country of origin.

Watch it free (archival copies)

The Divorcee (1930) — Internet Archive streaming copy (Norma Shearer, Chester Morris, Robert Montgomery) · fair

Background

The Divorcee is a 1930 MGM sound film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced under Irving Thalberg's supervision. Norma Shearer — who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role — plays Jerry, a Manhattan socialite whose marriage to Ted (Chester Morris) collapses after mutual infidelity, after which she pursues an independent but ultimately isolating life. MGM acquired rights to Ursula Parrott's scandalous 1929 novel Ex-Wife, published anonymously to deflect controversy over its frank treatment of divorce and female sexual autonomy, and turned it into a prestige pre-Code picture that pushed against the conventions of screen morality before the Hays Code took hold.

For creators, the print and recorded soundtrack are now public domain: the original copyright (L1244, registered 23 Apr 1930 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp.) was renewed by Loew's Inc. on 9 Aug 1957 (R197584) and ran the full 95-year statutory term, expiring 31 Dec 2025. The one practical trap is the studio disc: Warner Home Video released the film in March 2008 as part of 'Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2,' and a Blu-ray (ASIN B0033PQUP8) also exists. Even though the underlying film is free, any creative restoration work embedded in those transfers may carry its own copyright independent of the film's. Draw from a public-domain source — such as the Archive.org upload — rather than ripping a studio-pressed disc.

Common questions

Is the recorded soundtrack also in the public domain?

Yes. The Divorcee is an early sound film and its musical score and dialogue track were covered under the same copyright registration (L1244) and renewal (R197584) as the print — no score was separately published or registered. The full 95-year term expired 31 Dec 2025, placing the soundtrack in the public domain alongside the visual elements.

Can I use footage from the Warner DVD or Blu-ray edition?

Not freely. The underlying film print is public domain, but the specific transfer or remaster on the Warner Home Video DVD (2008, 'Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2') or the Blu-ray (ASIN B0033PQUP8) may incorporate sufficient creative restoration work to carry an independent copyright covering that particular version. Use a copy sourced from a confirmed public-domain source such as the Archive.org upload at archive.org/details/the-divorcee_1930 rather than capturing from a studio-pressed disc.