Motion pictures, 1940-1949 : $b Catalog of copyright entries

Motion Pictures

1940–1949

CATALOG OF COPYRIGHT ENTRIES

Cumulative Series

Motion Pictures

1940–1949

1953

COPYRIGHT OFFICE ☆ THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

L. C. card, 53–60032

For sale by the Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress, Washington 25, D. C. Price $10

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Table of Contents

Page

Motion Pictures, 1940–1949 1

Index 503

Series List 585

Preface✦

Motion Pictures, 1940–1949, is a cumulative catalog listing works registered in the Copyright Office in Classes L and M from January 1, 1940, through December 31, 1949. It continues the series of cumulative catalogs which began in 1951 with Motion Pictures, 1912–1939. A third volume, Motion Pictures, 1894–1912, is also being published (though not as a part of the series); it lists works copyrighted prior to 1912 and identified as motion pictures by Howard Lamarr Walls. These three volumes, together with the current issues of the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Parts 12–13, Motion Pictures and Filmstrips, comprise an unbroken record of the copyright registration of motion pictures and, also, an extensive although not complete record of motion picture production in the United States through the entire history of the industry.

The information given in the entries for the period 1940–1946 was obtained from the record books of the Copyright Office, the original applications for the registration of the copyright claims, and the descriptive material deposited with the applications and films at the time of registration. For the period 1947–1949, the information was transcribed (with slight changes in the order of the material, for the sake of consistency) from card copy previously used in the preparation of the semiannual issues of the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Parts 12–13, Motion Pictures. Beginning with July 1, 1949, the title of Parts 12–13 was changed to Motion Pictures and Filmstrips and filmstrips registered in Class J were listed. These filmstrips, however, have been omitted from the cumulative catalog. The card copy was compared with the record books and the file of original applications to make certain that all works registered during the period were recorded in the catalog. At the same time any errors in the names of the claimants or the dates of publication found in the card copy were corrected.

Each entry contains information which describes the film and identifies the copyright claimant, the date of the beginning of the copyright term, and the copyright registration number. The descriptive portion of the entries varies considerably in fullness depending on the information available in the sources used.

The entries for unpublished works contain the date or dates of deposit in the Copyright Office of the title, description, and required prints. The entries for published works contain date of publication as given in the application for registration. Deposit of published copies has in every case been made.

In each entry the name of the claimant is that given in the application. Information relating to renewal copyrights or to subsequent changes of ownership recorded in the Copyright Office can be ascertained upon request and upon payment to the Register of Copyrights of the fee specified in the law for the conduct of a search of the records. In addition, information relating to renewal copyrights can be secured by referring to the issue of the Catalog of Copyright Entries covering renewal registrations for the particular class of work during the renewal period.

The publication of the Catalog of Copyright Entries is authorized by sections 210 and 211 of Title 17 of the United States Code. Section 210 provides in part: “The current catalog of copyright entries and the index volumes herein provided for shall be admitted in any court as prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein as regards any copyright registration.”

The purpose of the cumulative catalogs is threefold: 1) to meet the administrative needs of the Copyright Office; 2) to provide compact index volumes to the legal profession, publishers, authors, and others interested in copyright; and 3) to make available, for other research uses, the information on record in the Copyright Office, much of which is not available elsewhere.

A description (including price and instructions for ordering) of each part of the present Third Series of the Catalog of Copyright Entries and of other publications of the Copyright Office is provided at the back of this volume.

The Copyright Office welcomes inquiries, suggestions, and comments on the content and organization of the Catalog. Such communications should be addressed to the Chief of the Cataloging Division, Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington 25, D. C.

Copyright Registrations of Motion Pictures

January 1, 1940–December 31, 1949

Class L, Motion-picture photoplays 7,122 Class M, Motion pictures other than photoplays 11,645 —————— Total 18,767

Class M contains many animated cartoons and newsreels as well as nontheatrical films. The letter P following the class symbol in an entry indicates that the film was registered as a published work; the letter U, an unpublished work.

How To Use This Catalog

This catalog consists of three parts: Motion Pictures, 1940–1949, which is a list of main entries under title; an Index of names; and a Series List. Each part is arranged alphabetically.

Motion Pictures, 1940–1949

The items which constitute each entry in this section are given below in the order in which they appear. The title, name of the claimant, copyright date, and registration number are always given; other items are included if applicable to the motion picture and available.

1. Title. Main title, followed by subtitle, translated title, and alternate title. Cross-references are made for alternate and translated titles. When motion pictures are based on the lives of real persons or when such persons are mentioned in the titles in connection with specific episodes in their lives, such as musical performances or athletic events, their names are included in the Index.

2. Production statement. The name of the producing company, i.e., the company responsible for the existence of the picture, follows the title. In some instances two companies or organizations are concerned with the production of a film, one with the physical production, i.e., photographing, editing, sound recording, etc., the other with planning, distributing, and sponsoring the motion picture. In such case the company concerned with physical production is named first, followed by the preposition for and the name of the other company. The name of a foreign producing company is followed by the name of the city or country in which it is located. When the name of a person or organization is given in the records of the Copyright Office preceded by the phrase presented by, the name, together with the phrase, follows the date (see item 3 below).

3. Date. For published works, the year date of copyright (see item 10 below) preceded by a lower case c, (e.g., c1941) follows the production statement. If a production date different from the copyright year date is given in the records, this information follows the copyright date. For unpublished works, no date is given in this position in the entry.

4. Physical description. A full physical description contains information relating to 1) the length of the film, given in running time, footage, number of reels or frames; 2) color or black and white versions; 3) sound or silent versions; 4) width of the film. Few of the entries in this catalog for the period prior to 1946 contain full physical descriptions because information on these points was not included in the records of the Copyright Office.

5. Notes. Certain information which helps to identify the motion picture more exactly is given in the form of notes:

a. The title of the series to which a motion picture belongs is given immediately following the physical description.

b. Phrases further identifying persons or organizations connected with the production of a motion picture, such as Warner Bros.-First National picture, Frank Capra production, etc., are given in a note following the series note.

c. Information relating to other titles by which the motion picture is known, to other versions, to related material to be used in connection with the showing of the motion picture, or to the source material on which the motion picture is based, is given in the order named.

6. Summary. A brief statement describing or characterizing the motion picture is included whenever it has been printed previously in an issue of the Catalog of Copyright Entries.

7. Credits. This paragraph contains, when available, the names of persons associated with the production of the film in the capacity of producers, directors, writers, narrators, commentators, creators of animation, composers, music directors and other persons responsible for the music, photographers or cameramen for travelogs and other pictures of similar type, and film editors. In a few instances other credits have been included. In the case of each person, a term indicative of the contribution precedes the name. For films in color, the name of the process is given, if available, at the end of the credits statement.