British Films
- For the first time: the complete copyright history of the Master of Suspense’s British films
- They’ve been fully protected in the UK and many other countries since they first premièred
- Protection was extended worldwide, including America, decades ago but most fans remain unaware
- Pirates and bootleggers exploit widespread ignorance and their cheap rip-offs outsell legit releases
Note: this is part of an ongoing series of 150-odd Hitchcock articles; any dead links are to those not yet published. Subscribe to the email list to be notified when new ones appear.
Part 1: British law, 2: United States law, 3: British films, 4: US movies
Historian Nick Cooper continues clearing up the widespread confusion concerning the legal status of early works from the Master of Suspense.

Poster by Matthew Brazier, 2012
Different release years are often cited for some of Hitchcock’s silents; the later one is salient here, as that’s the official UK public release and copyright date. Each film’s historical copyright holders are listed here; for more details see their individual entries in the Alfred Hitchcock Collectors’ Guide.
Abbreviations
- cd: co-director
- cm: co-music
- cw: co-writer
- d: director
- m: music
- w: writer
- CFD – Carlton Film Distributors, Limited – now ITV Global
- UGC UK – now StudioCanal
Contents
- Always Tell Your Wife (1923) – lost short
- The Pleasure Garden (1925/27)
- The Mountain Eagle (1926/27) – lost
- The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1926/27)
- Downhill (1927)
- Easy Virtue (1927/28)
- The Ring (1927)
- The Farmer’s Wife (1928)
- Champagne (1928)
- The Manxman (1929)
- Blackmail (1929)
- Juno and the Paycock (1930)
- An Elastic Affair (1930) – lost short
- Elstree Calling (1930)
- Murder! (1930)
- The Skin Game (1931)
- Mary (1931)
- Rich and Strange (1931)
- Number Seventeen (1932)
- Waltzes from Vienna (1934)
- The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
- The 39 Steps (1935)
- Secret Agent (1936)
- Sabotage (1936)
- Young and Innocent (1937)
- The Lady Vanishes (1938)
- Jamaica Inn (1939)
- Bon Voyage and Aventure Malgache (1944) – shorts
- Related articles
Always Tell Your Wife (1923) – lost short
Seymour Hicks (cw/cd. 1871-1949), Hugh Croise (cw/cd. 1877-1950), Alfred Hitchcock (cd. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1999 (Hicks’ death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 1998; copyright created
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2018
The Pleasure Garden (1925/26)
Eliot Stannard (w. 1888-1944), “Oliver Sandys” (Marguerite Florence Laura Jarvis – novel 1866-1964), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1994 (Stannard’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2001; copyright created
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2021
Owners: ITV Global
Note that though the film was completed in 1925, it was not publicly shown until 1926, which is therefore the copyright date.
The Mountain Eagle (1926) – lost
Max Ferner (cw. 1881-1940), Eliot Stannard (cw. 1888-1944), Charles Lapworth (story 1878-1951), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1990 (Ferner’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2001; copyright created
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2021
Owners: ITV Global
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1926)
Eliot Stannard w. 1888-1944), Marie Belloc Lowndes (novel 1868-1947), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1994 (Stannard’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2002; copyright created (NIE Carlton 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2022
Owners: ITV Global
Note that though the film was completed in 1926, it was not publicly shown until 1927, which is therefore the copyright date.
Downhill (1927)
Eliot Stannard w. 1888-1944), Ivor Novello (play 1893-1951), Constance Collier (play 1878-1955), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1994 (Stannard’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2002; copyright created (NIE Carlton 30/01/98)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2022
Owners: ITV Global
Easy Virtue (1927/28)
Eliot Stannard (w. 1888-1944), Noël Coward (play 1899-1973), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1994 (Stannard’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2003; copyright created (NIE Carlton 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2023
Owners: ITV Global
The Ring (1927)
Alfred Hitchcock (w/d. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2002; copyright created (NIE Carlton 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2022
Owners: StudioCanal
Some sources state Alma Reville (1899-1982) worked on the script. If recognised for the purpose of calculating the terms, it would increase them by two years.
The Farmer’s Wife (1928)
Eliot Stannard (cw. 1888-1944), Eden Phillpotts (cw. 1862-1960), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1994 (Stannard’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
Note: Leslie Arliss (1901-1987) worked on the script but was uncredited, and thus may be discounted. If not, it would add seven years to the terms between the 1956 and 1989 Acts/1995 SI.
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2003; copyright created
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2023
Owners: StudioCanal
Champagne (1928)
Eliot Stannard (cw. 1888-1944), Walter C. Mycroft (story 1890-1959), Alfred Hitchcock (cw/d. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1994 (Stannard’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2003; copyright created (NIE UGC Carlton 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2023
Owners: StudioCanal
The Manxman (1929)
Hall Caine (novel 1853-1931), Eliot Stannard (w. 1888-1944), Alfred Hitchcock (cw/d. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1981 (Caine’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2004; copyright created (NIE UGC 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2024
Owners: StudioCanal
Blackmail (1929)
Hubert Bath (m. arr. 1883-1945), Reg Conelly (m. 1895/1898-1963), James Campbell (m. 1903-1967), Benn W Levy (cw. 1900-1973), Alfred Hitchcock (cw/d. 1899-1980), Charles Bennett (play 1899-1995)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2023 (Levy’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2065 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
Note: Britain’s first talkie, it was made and released in both silent and sound versions. The latter features a song by Bill Mayerl (1902-1959), which does not affect any of the above terms.
US
- 1909 Act – Registered 21/12/1930 [7708]; expired end of 1958
- Not renewed; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2005; copyright restored (NIE UGC 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2025
Owners: StudioCanal
Juno and the Paycock (1930)
Seán O’Casey (play 1880-1964), Alfred Hitchcock (cw/d. 1899-1980), Alma Reville (cw. 1899-1982)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2014 (O’Casey’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2052 (Reville’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2005; copyright created (NIE UGC 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2025
Owners: StudioCanal
An Elastic Affair (1930) – lost short
Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2005; copyright created
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2025
Elstree Calling (1930)
Adrian Brunel (cw/cd. 1892-1958), Val Valentine (cw. 1895-1971), Alfred Hitchcock (cd. 1899-1980)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2008 (Brunel’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2050 (Hitchcock’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not Registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2005; copyright created (NIE UGC 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2025
Note: Despite various sources claiming otherwise, there’s no actual evidence of any other directors being called in to help complete the picture. See Hitchcock Lost and Found: The Forgotten Films (2015) by Charles Barr (1999), pp 88-97.
Owners: StudioCanal
Murder! (1930)
Helen Simpson (play 1897–1940), Walter C Mycroft (cw 1890-1959), Clemence Dane (play 1888-1965), Alfred Hitchcock (cw/d. 1899-1980), Alma Reville (cw. 1899-1982)
UK
1911 Act – Expires end of 1990 (Simpson’s death plus 50 years)
1956 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
1988 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
1995 SI – Expires end of 2052 (Reville’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Registered 24/10/1930 [7157]; expired end 1958
- Not renewed; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2005; copyright restored (NIE UGC 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2025
Owners: StudioCanal
The Skin Game (1931)
John Galsworthy (play 1867–1933), Alfred Hitchcock (cw/d. 1899-1980), Alma Reville (cw. 1899-1982)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1983 (Galsworthy’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2052 (Reville’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Registered 05/05/1931 [3999]; expired end 1959
- Not renewed; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2006; copyright restored (NIE UGC 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2026
Owners: StudioCanal
Mary (1931)
Helen Simpson (play 1897–1940), Herbert Juttke (cw. 1897–1952), Georg C. Klaren (cw. 1900–1962), Clemence Dane (play 1888-1965), Alfred Hitchcock (cw/d. 1899-1980), Alma Reville (cw. 1899-1982)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1990 (Simpson’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2052 (Reville’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not Registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2006; copyright created
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2026
Rich and Strange (1931)
Dale Collins (1897–1956), Val Valentine (cw. 1895-1971), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980), Alma Reville (cw. 1899-1982)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2006 (Collins’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2052 (Reville’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not Registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2006; copyright created (NIE UGC 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2026
Owners: StudioCanal
Number Seventeen (1932)
Joseph Jefferson Farjeon (play 1883-1955), Alfred Hitchcock (cw/d. 1899-1980), Alma Reville (cw. 1899-1982), Rodney Ackland (cw. 1908-1991)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2005 (Farjeon’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2041 (Ackland’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2041 (Ackland’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2061 (Ackland’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not Registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2007; copyright created (NIE UGC 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2027
Owners: StudioCanal
Waltzes from Vienna (1934)
Hubert Bath (cm. 1883-1945), Louis Levy (cm. 1894-1957), Guy Bolton (cw. 1884-1979), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980), Alma Reville (cw. 1899-1982)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2029 (Bolton’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2032 (Reville’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2052 (Reville’s death plus 70 years)
Note: Based on a stage musical with libretto by Alfred Maria Willner (1859-1929), Heinz Reichart (1877–1940), and Ernst Marischka (1893-1963), and with musical arrangements of Strauss (father and son) by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957), and Julius Bittner (1874–1939). This does not affect the above terms, except in as much as Reichart and/or Marischka may have been counted under the 1911 Act.
US
- 1909 Act – Not Registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2009; copyright created
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2029
Owners: ITV Global
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Edwin Greenwood (cw. 1895–1939), D B Wyndham-Lewis (cw. 1891-1969), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980), A R Rawlinson (1894–1984), Charles Bennett (cw. 1899-1995)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1995 (Bennett’s death)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2065 (Bennett’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Registered 09/12/1934 [3670]; expired end 1962
- Not renewed; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2010; copyright restored (NIE Carlton 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2030
Note that though the first London trade screening was on 9 December 1934, the film was not publicly shown until 4 February 1935, which is therefore the copyright date.
The 39 Steps (1935)
John Buchan (novel 1875-1940), John Hay (cw. 1876-1952), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980), Charles Bennett (cw. 1899-1995)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1995 (Bennett’s death)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2065 (Bennett’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Registered 06/06/1935 [5613]; expired end 1963
- Not renewed; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2010; copyright restored (NIE Carlton 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2030
Secret Agent (1936)
John Hay (cw. 1876-1952), W. Somerset Maugham (stories 1874-1965), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980), Alma Reville (cw. 1899-1982), Charles Bennett (cw. 1899-1995)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2002 (Hays’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2065 (Bennett’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Registered 11/05/1936 [6559]; expired end 1964
- Not renewed; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2011; copyright restored (NIE Carlton 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2031
Sabotage (1936)
Joseph Conrad (novel 1857-1924), Anthony Armstrong (1897–1972), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980), Charles Bennett (w. 1899-1995)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2065 (Bennett’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Registered as The Woman Alone 02/12/1936 [2551]; expired end 1964
- Not renewed; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2012; copyright restored (NIE Carlton 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2032
Note that though the film was completed in 1936, it was not publicly shown until 1937, which is therefore the copyright date.
Young and Innocent (1937)
Edwin Greenwood (cw. 1895–1939), Josephine Tey (novel 1896–1952), Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980), Charles Bennett (cw. 1899-1995)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 1995 (Bennett’s death)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2045 (Bennett’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2065 (Bennett’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not Registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2012; copyright created (NIE Carlton 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2032
Some sources state Alma Reville also worked on the script, but it does not affect any of the above terms.
The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Poster by Esther Goh, 2015
Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980), Alma Reville (cw. 1899-1982), Sidney Gilliat (cw. 1908-1994), Frank Launder (cw. 1906-1997)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2047 (Launder’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2047 (Launder’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2067 (Launder’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not Registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2013; copyright created (NIE Carlton 22/08/97)
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2033
Jamaica Inn (1939)
Alfred Hitchcock (d. 1899-1980), Alma Reville (cw. 1899-1982), J B Priestley (cw. 1894–1984), Daphne du Maurier (novel 1907-1989), Sidney Gilliat (cw. 1908-1994), Joan Harrison (cw. 1907-1994)
UK
- 1911 Act – Expires end of 2030 (Hitchcock’s death plus 50 years)
- 1956 Act – Expires end of 2044 (Harrison’s death plus 50 years)
- 1988 Act – Expires end of 2044 (Harrison’s death plus 50 years)
- 1995 SI – Expires end of 2064 (Harrison’s death plus 70 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Registered 02/09/1939 [7277]; expired end 1967
- Not renewed; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2014; copyright restored
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2034
Bon Voyage and Aventure Malgache (1944) – shorts
UK
- 1911 Act – Perpetual (Crown Copyright – unpublished)
- 1956 Act – Perpetual (Crown Copyright – unpublished)
- 1988 Act/1995 SI – Expires end of 2044 (Crown Copyright – publication plus 50 years)
US
- 1909 Act – Not registered; public domain
- URA Act – Expires end of 2069, copyright created
- CTE Act – Expires end of 2089
Both films were released on VHS by Milestone Films in the US and Connoisseur/BFI in the UK in 1994, and were screened on BBC2 in September 1994. These mark their first official date of publication.

Hitchcock on the set of Sabotage by Al Hirschfeld (original)
Part 1: British law, 2: United States law, 3: British films, 4: US movies
Related articles
This is part of a unique, in-depth series of 150-odd Hitchcock articles.