What was the first movie to feature an altered studio/production logo?
January 7, 2009 6:21 PM Subscribe
What was the first movie where the studio allowed the filmmakers to alter the production logo that is displayed before the movie proper? For example, Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow let their logos go green for The Matrix.
I have it in my brain the woman's head in the Columbia Pictures logo was missing in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). I couldn't find any confirmation.
Piggyback question: am I nuts for thinking that?
posted by marxchivist at 6:39 PM on January 7, 2009
Piggyback question: am I nuts for thinking that?
posted by marxchivist at 6:39 PM on January 7, 2009
Earliest I can remember is in Edward Scissorhands, where the Fox logo is covered in snow.
posted by Paragon at 6:52 PM on January 7, 2009
posted by Paragon at 6:52 PM on January 7, 2009
follow up, i hit post too fast.
trivia from cannonball run (1981)
The short sequence in the beginning of the film which involves two animated cars wrecking the 20th Century Fox logo was created by Hal Needham, who did a similar one for another studio when releasing Smokey and the Bandit (1977). At first, Fox didn't appreciate the notion of wrecking their logo, but soon found it would be appealing to audiences if it were left in.
posted by edmcbride at 6:57 PM on January 7, 2009
trivia from cannonball run (1981)
The short sequence in the beginning of the film which involves two animated cars wrecking the 20th Century Fox logo was created by Hal Needham, who did a similar one for another studio when releasing Smokey and the Bandit (1977). At first, Fox didn't appreciate the notion of wrecking their logo, but soon found it would be appealing to audiences if it were left in.
posted by edmcbride at 6:57 PM on January 7, 2009
Not technically a movie. I remember those Tom and Jerry cartoons from the 60's would change the MGM lion with Tom.
posted by cazoo at 6:58 PM on January 7, 2009
posted by cazoo at 6:58 PM on January 7, 2009
Do cartoons count? I remember Tom replacing the MGM lion in the intro, and the wikipedia site (8th bullet point) seems to refer to this variation. That was in the 60s.
UGH, sniped by cazoo!
posted by parkerjackson at 6:58 PM on January 7, 2009
UGH, sniped by cazoo!
posted by parkerjackson at 6:58 PM on January 7, 2009
Also not a movie - but at least not a cartoon - the meowing kitty at the end of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
posted by Joe Beese at 7:05 PM on January 7, 2009
posted by Joe Beese at 7:05 PM on January 7, 2009
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Paramount logo of a mountain does a dissolve into a real mountain. Probably the first time I'd ever seen it.
And not the first use, and the movie itself was a real stinker, but I was blown away by the opening of Waterworld, in which the Universal globe changes, gradually showing the flooding of global warming, then the camera zooms down down down to Kevin Coster's boat. Fantastic shot.
posted by zardoz at 7:19 PM on January 7, 2009
And not the first use, and the movie itself was a real stinker, but I was blown away by the opening of Waterworld, in which the Universal globe changes, gradually showing the flooding of global warming, then the camera zooms down down down to Kevin Coster's boat. Fantastic shot.
posted by zardoz at 7:19 PM on January 7, 2009
You could search the crazy credits section of IMDB for logo, not exact but it should help.
posted by dead cousin ted at 7:21 PM on January 7, 2009
posted by dead cousin ted at 7:21 PM on January 7, 2009
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Paramount mountain fades into a peak in the distance.
posted by dunkadunc at 7:32 PM on January 7, 2009
posted by dunkadunc at 7:32 PM on January 7, 2009
In searching through dead cousin ted's link, looks like for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, they allowed the Fox Logo to be sepia toned. That was in 1969.
posted by witchstone at 7:50 PM on January 7, 2009
posted by witchstone at 7:50 PM on January 7, 2009
I don't know, but there's an interesting little piece on studio logos here, and a whole bunch of stuff here that might be useful to you.
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:03 PM on January 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:03 PM on January 7, 2009 [1 favorite]
Having actually read the second link I provided above, looks like the first was the MGM logo for the 1939 film Petunia National Park.
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:08 PM on January 7, 2009
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:08 PM on January 7, 2009
One of the Marx Brothers movies changed the MGM logo to have Groucho roaring instead of the lion, and then Chico roaring, and then Harpo trying to and being frustrated. Finally he used honked his horn while he mimed roaring.
I don't know which it was, but it would have been in the 1930's.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:12 PM on January 7, 2009
I don't know which it was, but it would have been in the 1930's.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:12 PM on January 7, 2009
Bad editing. "Finally he honked his horn while he mimed roaring."
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:13 PM on January 7, 2009
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:13 PM on January 7, 2009
Aha! It seems to have been "A Night at the Opera" in 1935, but the modified logo got dropped for the first release.
It got used in a re-release, but I'm not sure what year.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:18 PM on January 7, 2009
It got used in a re-release, but I'm not sure what year.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:18 PM on January 7, 2009
Chinatown Made in 1974 about a story that is set in 1937. The paramount logo is in sepia. I just put the disc in, to check if I was right and just watching the title sequence made me decide to watch this movie tonight (for the umpteenth time). This means that I'm thinking of Faye Dunaway all day long. Thanks for your question!
posted by ouke at 2:26 AM on January 8, 2009
posted by ouke at 2:26 AM on January 8, 2009
Not a "first", but kind of amusing... For the movie X-Men, after the 20th Century Fox logo appeared, when it faded out, the "X" faded just a little slower.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 8:32 AM on January 8, 2009
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 8:32 AM on January 8, 2009
not first, but Bob and Doug McKenzie played about with the MGM lion at the start of Strange Brew.
posted by Frasermoo at 8:55 AM on January 8, 2009
posted by Frasermoo at 8:55 AM on January 8, 2009
The Wikipedia article on production logos has a 1953 entry for "The Robe". Next is the Ten Commandments in 1956.
posted by Philbo at 12:54 PM on January 8, 2009
posted by Philbo at 12:54 PM on January 8, 2009
Response by poster: Thanks everyone! Not sure if it's possible to pick a right answer, although I love the idea that it was the Marx brothers. Too bad it didn't make the first release. Fun examples, and this practice has been going on for much longer than I would have guessed.
(I can't believe I forgot the Raiders opening.)
posted by Jim Biancolo at 8:03 AM on January 9, 2009
(I can't believe I forgot the Raiders opening.)
posted by Jim Biancolo at 8:03 AM on January 9, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by edmcbride at 6:31 PM on January 7, 2009