Don,
 
Thanks for the update and the caution re "apparently" public domain films.
Certainly in the case of the Pierce book, I did note his own cautions that the
info he provided isn't definitive, and I'd assume the same holds true for the
Film Superlist. But I didn't know about the Republic Home Video move in regard
to It's a Wonderful Life... though I assume that's based on one of those
complications related to "underlying works" that Pierce speaks of.  And thanks
for the tip on the Film Comment articles; I intend to look them up.
 
Jeff Clark
James Madison Univ.