Columbia PicturesThis is a featured page

Logo descriptions by Jason Jones and James Fabiano
Logo captures by Eric S., Logophile, and naxo-ole
Editions by Eric S., V of Doom, Logophile, CBS/FoxKid999, Chowchillah, and Shadeed A. Kelly
Video captures courtesy of RetroVideoFan, diegovs95, LogicSmash, ColumbiaPictures21


Cohn-Brandt-Cohn Film Sales


CBC Films Sales

Background:
This predecessor company of Columbia Pictures was originally founded in 1919 by Harry Cohn, his brother Jack Cohn, and Jack's friend Joe Brandt. Brandt was president of CBC Film Sales, handling sales, marketing and distribution from New York along with Jack Cohn, while Harry Cohn ran production in Hollywood. Many of the studio's early productions were low-budget affairs; the start-up CBC leased space in a poverty row studio on Hollywood's Gower Street. Among Hollywood's elite, CBC's reputation led some to joke that "CBC" stood for "Corned Beef and Cabbage".
_______________________________________________________________

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.


Background:
Following a reorganization, the Cohn brothers renamed the predecessor company as Columbia Pictures Corp. in 1924. Columbia's product line consisted mostly of moderately budgeted features and a short-subject program of comedies, serials, cartoons, and sports films. Columbia gradually moved into the production of higher-budget fare, building a reputation as one of Hollywood's more important studios. In 1968, it was renamed to Columbia Pictures Industries after Columbia Pictures Corporation merged with Screen Gems. In 1982, Columbia Pictures was sold to Coca-Cola, became part of Columbia Pictures Entertainment in December 1987, and since September 28, 1989, it's owned by Sony Corporation of Japan. Since 1998, it is part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the mentioned multinational conglomerate.


1st Logo
(March 15, 1924-December 29, 1927)

Nickname: "Myriad Lady"

Logo: TBA

FX/SFX: TBA

Music/Sounds: TBA

Availability: Ultra rare. Seen on very early films by Columbia Pictures. Last seen on The Lady With the Torch documentary on Encore Drama (whenever the network decides to rebroadcast it).

Scare Factor: None.



2nd Logo

(January 1928-May 25, 1936)
Columbia Pictures Corporation Presents (1930)Columbia Pictures - CLG WikiColumbia Pictures - CLG WikiColumbia Pictures (The End, 1930)

Nicknames
: "Early Torch Lady", "Sparkler Torch Lady", "'20s Torch Lady", ''Torch Lady I''


Logo: We see a medium shot of a lady (Columbia, a representation of the USA), holding a light torch in her right hand. The lady is featured with a dark bob and a kind of Cleopatra-like headdress across her forehead. She is draped in an American flag complete with the stars on her left shoulder and the stripes coming across her middle, supported by her left arm, and hanging down her right side. Her torch is displayed with a rather primitive, flickering style of animation emitting lines of light as rays. The torch lady's head is under an arch of chiseled, square-shaped letters reading the words "A COLUMBIA PRODUCTION" or "A COLUMBIA PICTURE". At the end of the movie, the words are... "THIS IS A COLUMBIA PICTURE" with "The End" below it in a script font.

Variants:
  • Some movies would feature the name in another typeface, and will sometimes be ID'ed as "COLUMBIA PICTURES CORPORATION" at the start of the film, and "A COLUMBIA PRODUCTION" at the end of the film.
  • Another variation consists of the words "A COLUMBIA PRODUCTION" and "The End" below. It was spotted on the Three Stooges short "Restless Knights".
  • In 2004, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released several Three Stooges shorts by having the Torch Lady in color.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The torch rays shining like fireworks and sparklers, which look silly, but the logo is from the '20s, so give them credit.


Music/Sounds: A majestic horn sounder, much like the Fox logo, or the opening/closing theme of the short or feature.

Availability: Rare; seen on It Happened One Night. All can be seen on The Three Stooges releases on DVD. Can still be seen on reruns of early (w/o Shemp) Three Stooges shorts on IFC.

Scare Factor: Low to medium.



3rd Logo
(May 28, 1936-June 16, 1976)
Columbia Pictures - CLG WikiColumbia Pictures - CLG WikiColumbia Pictures - CLG WikiColumbia (1943)Columbia (1949)Columbia Pictures (1953, Color)Columbia Pictures - CLG WikiColumbia Pictures with CPI byline from 73-74

Nickname
: "Classic Torch Lady", "'30s Torch Lady", ''Torch Lady II"

Logo: We see the lady, this time standing on top of a pedestal with a backdrop of clouds over her, while she is holding her light torch. Much more refined, ethereal and goddess-like, her facial features became less pronounced and she looked away (up and to the right) instead of straight ahead. Her headdress was removed and her hair swept back instead of hanging by the sides of her face. The drape over her shoulder became less-obviously an American flag, the stars on the left shoulder having been toned down in a shadow, and the stripes visible only on the portion of the drape hanging down her right side. "A COLUMBIA PRODUCTION" was replaced with the tall chiseled letters of "COLUMBIA" (which fades in a second afterward) running straight across the top section of the screen, with the lady's torch glowing in front of the "U". A new form of animation was used on the logo as well, with a torch that radiates light instead of flickers. On the Three Stooges short "Disorder in the Court", "PRESENTS" appears below. Until the late 1960s, this logo would also appear at the end of films, sometimes with the words "The End" in a script font.

Byline: Starting in 1973-74, the company byline "A DIVISION OF COLUMBIA PICTURES INDUSTRIES, INC." appears at the bottom of the screen.

Evolution Variants:
  • 1942: The lady looks much like she did in 1936, only the stripes were removed and the flag became simply a drape without markings, dark on the left shoulder but only the shadows of the folds differentiating the rest of it from the lady's white gown on her right side. The "COLUMBIA" lettering was also modified, still chiseled but less bold, and with darker shadowing.
  • 1953: The Columbia Lady's robe was redrawn with a plunging neckline. The logo is also adapted for widescreen.
  • 1954: The logo is adapted for CinemaScope. The torch lady lost her slipper-clad foot peeking out from the bottom of her robe as it divided just above the pedestal. Also, the clouds behind the logo became concentrated in the center and more billowy in shape.
  • 1968-1973: The drapery was temporarily pink during this era. Some movies that feature this variant include Easy Rider, The Wrecking Crew, MacKenna's Gold, Cactus Flower, The Anderson Tapes, The Horsemen, Monty Python's And Now for Something Completely Different and Brian's Song.

Variants:
  • On the 1948 Three Stooges short Fuelin' Around, the 1968 logo featured in black & white was seen at the beginning. Obviously, this plastered the Screen Gems logo on some TV prints, with/without the original music.
  • There is a black & white version of the 1973 logo on the 1953 Three Stooges short "Tricky Dicks".
  • On The Three Stooges shorts from 1940-1945, the 1936 (or 1942) Torch Lady appears on the left side of The Three Stooges title card. On the steps are the words "COLUMBIA" on top, "SHORT SUBJECT" in the middle, and "PRESENTATION" on the bottom step.
  • On the 1976 film Taxi Driver, one of the last films to use this logo, the background is black and the cloud is blue.

FX/SFX: The torch rays shine more realistically in this version.

Music/Sounds: Usually, the beginning/end of a movie's score plays over the logo. On some films, the logo appears completely silent. However, on several mid to late '30s Three Stooges shorts, it has a majestic theme before playing the Stooges' theme. On several other films, it would have a different theme.

Availability: Uncommon; can still be seen on broadcasts of classic Columbia movies on AMC and TCM and The Three Stooges on IFC, among other channels, as Sony preserves their movie logos quite well. The 1970s black & white version was most prominent on 8mm/16mm prints of the studio's comedy short-subjects from the '30s-'50s, sometimes plastering over the Screen Gems logo on some TV prints, with the logo's original music occasionally intact, as well on some reissued Three Stooges shorts, some of which can be found on some out-of-print Three Stooges videos issued by Goodtimes Home Video in the early 1990s. However, the DVDs of Hey There, It's Yogi Bear and the original The Stepford Wives remove this logo. The last films to feature this logo were Taxi Driver (currently aired on the Showtime Networks) and Drive-In.

Scare Factor: Low to medium; the old B&W film and scary drawing might send some chills.



4th Logo
(June 23, 1976-May 15, 1981)
Columbia Pictures - CLG WikiColumbia Pictures - CLG Wiki
Left: The torch lady.
Right: The sunburst.

Nicknames: "'70s Torch Lady", "The Abstract Torch", "The Sunburst", ''Torch Lady III"

Logo: It begins with the familiar Columbia Torch Lady, standing on the pedestal holding her light torch. Then, the picture moves upward and towards the torch, which shines even more as the picture blurs around it. It then emits a flash that fills the screen. When the flash dissolves, the light torch itself appears, as if in sunburst, against a black screen and as it shrinks, it changes into a more "abstract" torch: a blue half circle, or a semicircle, with thirteen white light rays in the center and the words "Columbia Pictures" (in Souvenir font) under it. The entire logo then slowly backs away as it fades out.

Trivia: The Sunburst logo originally came out in 1975, but first appeared only on posters.

FX/SFX: The Torch Lady's torch zooming in, then turning into the Sunburst.

Music/Sounds: It begins with a dramatic theme that builds up as the camera zooms-in on the torch, composed by Suzanne Ciani. With the flash/sunburst, it takes an inspirational, majestic tone. Of course, like many other movie logos, this could also be silent or have the opening music from any soundtrack play over it, but usually not.

Availability: Actually more common than the TV version, as Sony is much better at keeping old logos on video releases of their movies, though in their home video division's early days this logo would be plastered by their home video logo. So you can usually still see the Torch Lady/Sunburst combination on movies from the time period. You can usually see it on cable movie channels like Turner Classic Movies, Showtime, and American Movie Classics as well. If you can't find it anywhere, the movie Superbad (2007) has a shorter, modified variant. Some of the last films to feature this logo were American Pop and Happy Birthday to Me.

Scare Factor: Minimal; this is a favorite of many.



5th Logo
(June 5, 1981-May 14, 1993)
Columbia Pictures - CLG WikiColumbia 1981 full screenColumbia Pictures (1986)
Columbia Pictures (1986,  Closing)Columbia Pictures

Nicknames
: "'80s Torch Lady", ''Torch Lady IV''

Logo: We see the standard Columbia torch lady (a somewhat less detailed version of the '70s Torch Lady; she also appears to be resembling Da Vinci's Mona Lisa) standing on a pedestal with her torch. The torch then shines into a bright abstract shape, as if in sunburst, then dims back in place. The words "Columbia Pictures" (appearing in the same font from the last logo) fade to the left and right of the Torch Lady. Her torch "shines".

Variants:
  • When viewed in full screen, there are varying versions where we see her pedestal. Sometimes it's close, sometimes it's far.
  • After 1988, the logo fades in and then the company name fades in about a second afterward. There was no big bright light in this variation.

Closing Variants:
  • Around this late period, Columbia's print logo was featured scrolling at the end of the movies' closing credits. This features the Torch Lady with the "sunburst" from the 1981-1988 variation of the opening logo. The phrase, appearing in the same font as the opening logo, reads "A Columbia Pictures Release" underneath. An earlier version of this didn't include the print logo, but rather the text instead.
  • Another one would feature the same closing logo, but would use "COLUMBIA PICTURES" in Bank Gothic font with the SPE byline below. On Castle Rock films, the words "Distributed by" appear on top. Used from September 1992-1993.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The torch lady "shining".

Music/Sounds: None, or the opening theme of the movie, but on one occasion, had used the sunburst music, which was probably a goof-up. Too bad; it kinda went well with this logo. Another recent occasion had the 1993 logo's music.

Availability: Usually saved on all movies when reran on cable or syndication, but the earlier variation is easier to come by, due to being used a longer time period and being on more popular movies; a few notable movies to have the short version are Ghostbusters II, The Adventures of Milo and Otis, Casualties of War, Awakenings, Mortal Thoughts, Mo' Money, and Groundhog Day. The last movie to use this logo was Lost in Yonkers.

Scare Factor: Minimal for the sunburst version, none for the short version.



6th Logo
(June 18, 1993-)
Columbia Pictures (1993)Columbia Pictures (1996)Columbia Pictures (1996)Columbia Pictures - CLG Wiki
Columbia Pictures (2006-Present)Columbia Pictures (1993- )
Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures (2002; Closing version)

Nickname: "'90s Torch Lady", ''Torch Lady V'', "CGI Torch Lady"

Logo
: This logo has a face lifted Torch Lady from 1936-1976 on her pedestal, giving more detail to the drawing. First, we see a bright light, as if in sunburst. The light is coming from a torch, which zooms out to reveal the lady who's holding it. On the top "COLUMBIA", seen in a bold, silver chiseled font, fades in afterward as a ring of light shimmers around the lady.

Trivia: The logo's most recent overhaul was undertaken during this era when Sony Corporation of Japan (which bought Columbia in 1989) commissioned illustrator Michael J. Deas to redesign the lady and return her to her "classic" look. The result, based on Deas' sessions with Mandeville, Louisiana homemaker Jenny Joseph who posed for him with a makeshift robe and torch, was a taller, slimmer Columbia Torch Lady with lighter, curlier hair and a dimmer torch. Rather than use Joseph's face however, Deas constructed a composite face made up of a couple of computer-generated features. The logo was animated at Synthespian Studios.

Byline: Starting in May 1996, "a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company" appears on the bottom. It is slightly off center.

Variants:
  • In 1999, the company celebrated its 75th anniversary. The beginning of the logo started off with the 1936 logo of Columbia Pictures in black and white, leaving the 1993 cloud background intact. The Torch Lady then slowly morphs into the current Torch Lady as the effects from black & white later turns to color. As the camera zooms back, we see a red arched banner dropping from above saying "SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY LIGHTING UP SCREENS AROUND THE WORLD" and the Torch Lady standing on the pedestal, where we see a red box with the gold, giant chiseled name "COLUMBIA" inside on top, and the small word "PICTURES" below. We also see the gold giant number "75" unfolding in between the Torch Lady.
  • In late 2006, the logo was given a more "enhanced" look, similar to the 2001 Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment logo and Michael J. Deas' original artwork of the logo. It can be seen here. The hand is in a different pose in which the finger is at the tip of the torch. The sky is also darker and the company's name looks has more silver in it.
  • At the end of the 2001 film Black Hawk Down, the logo zooms-out to a much more farther distance than usual, revealing the bottom of the cloud background below the pedestal; this variant is available on the VHS of the film. This variant can also be found on a trailer for Erin Brockovich (2000).

Closing Variants:
  • The superimposed closing variant features the Torch Lady (and the cloud background) placed inside a rectangular box. The torch, and the cloud BG, overlap the top of the box. Next to the logo are the words "COLUMBIA PICTURES", with "COLUMBIA" over "PICTURES". The phrase below the logo reads "A COLUMBIA PICTURES RELEASE" or "RELEASED BY" above the logo with the SPE byline underneath.
  • One early closing variant of such featured the boxed Torch Lady logo at center, with "COLUMBIA PICTURES"and the SPE byline below one another.

FX/SFX: The torch shining, the zoom-out.

Music/Sounds: A majestic tune is heard, which ends with a brass sounder. There are three versions of the fanfare: one that sounds orchestrated that's played by a piano with orchestration, one that sounds more synthesized, and the final having both themes mixed in together. All three have the same ending. Sometimes any movie's theme or any music from a soundtrack plays over it. Otherwise, it's silent.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the 2000 movie Finding Forrester, the logo theme was only played by a guitar. The theme wasn't accompanied by any other orchestrations.

Availability: Currently in use, but thankfully, not plastering anything from other eras. The first movie to use this logo was Last Action Hero. The variant with the SPE byline first appeared at the beginning of The Craft. At least for the Wii version, this logo is also available at the beginning of Ghostbusters: The Video Game. This logo has been placed in front of films for seventeen years.

Scare Factor: None; this logo has a beautiful fanfare and a soothing backdrop.


Shadeed329
Shadeed329
Latest page update: made by Shadeed329 , Today, 12:11 PM EDT (about this update About This Update Shadeed329 Moving the "Good Neighbor Sam" variant description to the Columbia variants page. - Shadeed329

29 words deleted

view changes

- complete history)
More Info: links to this page
Started By Thread Subject Replies Last Post
20thCenturyFoxLover2 "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear" DVD 0 Yesterday, 11:35 AM EDT by 20thCenturyFoxLover2
Thread started: Yesterday, 11:35 AM EDT  Watch
On the DVD version of "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear", the Columbia Pictures logo is removed from the film by Warner Bros. Entertainment. Does anyone know if the VHS of this film has the Columbia logo or not?
Do you find this valuable?    
sanbell Sony Pictures Font 3 Yesterday, 12:19 AM EDT by Shadeed329
Thread started: Jun 29 2010, 1:44 PM EDT  Watch
Does anybody know the font for the Sony Pictures Entertainment byline?
Also does anybody know the font for the byline on the Columbia logo?
Do you find this valuable?    
Show Last Reply
LogoFan121092 75th anniversary logo 0 Aug 8 2010, 2:18 AM EDT by LogoFan121092
Thread started: Aug 8 2010, 2:18 AM EDT  Watch
Hey, that 75th anniversary logo wasn't used in any theatrical releases was it? All the movies I've looked up released by Columbia in 1999 have the normal logo at the start. Where was it used then?
Do you find this valuable?    
Keyword tags: None
Showing 3 of 21 threads for this page - view all

Related Content

  (what's this?Related ContentThanks to keyword tags, links to related pages and threads are added to the bottom of your pages. Up to 15 links are shown, determined by matching tags and by how recently the content was updated; keeping the most current at the top. Share your feedback on Wetpaint Central.)