At Universal Studios, silent films were burned whenever fuel was needed for a fire scene. Yet they still control the rights.

A Call for Public Access

Kevin Brownlow, an Englishman who is the leading historian of the silent era, believes that all silent films should have long ago entered the public domain.

"These films are your history," he said. "Quite apart from their value as entertainment, they present an image of America that isn't just a period confection. It's the real thing. This is the way people lived, the way they looked, and it's absolutely priceless. To think it's being allowed to rot is a cultural crime."

Still, Brownlow doesn't think overturning the Bono Act will usher in a golden age of rediscovery.

For one thing, there's the problem of music.

Many hobbyists who would want to reissue a treasured silent film couldn't afford the full orchestral treatment it would demand. But at least the law's removal would greatly ease the way for documentary makers.

"We have to pay the studios absurd amounts, up to $10,000 a minute, to excerpt films they've forgotten they own," Brownlow said.

The historian immediately thought of one silent film he'd like to reissue if the Bono Act were struck down, but he was silent on what it is.

"I'd better not mention the title. I have the only print of it," Brownlow said. "The studio holds the rights, and they don't want to do it themselves. So many minor works are hidden because of copyright."

Agee, too, has a few films he'd like to bring back, including "The Winning of Barbara Worth," the last of the silent epic westerns that marked Gary Cooper's debut.

"There are so many silent movies that are in people's basements," Agee said. "They can't show them and don't know who owns them."

As for his Laurel and Hardy films, Agee acknowledged that Roach could face competition, but he's confident that his studio's clean, crisp versions would win out.

Besides, he said, "Anything I lose, I could make up by putting out other films.... Even if I lost everything, I'd still be opposed to this law."