Public domain explanation

• Publicity images were usually not copyrighted, as stated by film industry experts:

• "Publicity photos (star headshots) have traditionally not been copyrighted. Since they are disseminated to the public, they are generally considered public domain, and therefore clearance by the studio that produced them is not necessary." — Eve Light Honthaner, The Complete Film Production Handbook, (Focal Press, 2001 p. 211.)
• "According to the old copyright act, such production stills were not automatically copyrighted as part of the film and required separate copyrights as photographic stills ... Most studios have never bothered to copyright these stills because they were happy to see them pass into the public domain, to be used by as many people in as many publications as possible." — Gerald Mast, Film Study and the Copyright Law (1989) p. 87

• If any copyright was secured for this image, under the terms of the 1909 Copyright Act (which was law until 1978) that copyright would have had to be renewed in the 28th year following registration. Copyright renewal records for artwork in 1976 find no trace of this image: [1] [2].