How come this isn't in the public domain?
what the title says.
shareThe long answer would involve looking at the details of Copyright law, for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_in_the_public_domain_in_the _United_States. The short answer is that this film was made after the premier of the first Mickey Mouse cartoon Steamboat Willie in 1928. Disney Corp. will do whatever it takes to keep the mouse out of public domain and other works get swept up as collateral damage.
shareAlso, it's good enough to be a self-sustaining, relatively immortal film that can live on its own. So, copyright is protected by those entities that know royalties/license fees will continue to roll in [albeit very slowly] for the foreseeable future. The added bonus which seals the deal is that it won best picture (while almost never a sign of actual merit, it will always be listed as canon, which augments the last thing I'll say...) and it will forever be listed in serious discussions/lists of greatest war films, anti-war films, early sound films, etc. All of these things mean that general curiosity to see this film will never die, and therefore the property is worthy of investment.
"Rampart: Squad 51."