Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios: Difference between revisions

'''Availability:''' This is one of the rarest logos ever, as many films by this company, Metro Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures were destroyed in the 1967 MGM vault fire. Currently, the only known surviving movies containing this logo are ''The Ace of Hearts'' and ''The Penalty'', the latter of which has the logo at the end and is plastered on some prints with the MGM “Lion Marquee” endcap.

===2nd Logo (December 1920)===

'''Availability:''' Ultra rare. Only known to appear on ''What Happened to Rosa''. Also appears early on in the 1993 documentary ''Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic''.

===3rd Logo (1923-1924)===

* A rare variant of this logo was spotted on an 2011 CBS Sunday morning news broadcast. It feature an much brighter image of the lion, but his position is different and was looking at the camera. It is unknown what movie used this variant.

'''Music/Sounds:''' None, or the opening theme of the movie.

'''Availability:''' Very rare. So far, it has been spotted on ''He Who Gets Slapped'', ''Confessions of a Queen'', ''The Unholy Three'' (1925), ''The Circle'' and ''Battling Butler'', but other MGM films have Slats replaced by Jackie.

===2nd Logo (October 1, 1927-September 27, 1928)===

'''Editor's Note:''' MGM's early attempt at a color logo, and color films in general.

===3rd Logo (July 31, 1928-October 13, 1953)===

'''Editor's Note:''' Along with Tanner, Jackie rates at the top with logo enthusiasts as far as MGM lions go. He was the third-longest lion to be used behind Tanner and Leo.

===4th Logo (November 2, 1928-October 15, 1932)===

'''Availability:''' Rare. Seen on live-action color films such as ''The Viking'' (1928), ''The Mysterious Island'' (1929), and ''Crazy House'' (1930), as well as color short films like ''Kiddie Revue'' (1930) and ''Over the Counter'' (1932).

===5th Logo (1932-May 25, 1935)===

'''Availability:''' Uncommon. Seen on several of MGM's color short subjects, including ''Roast-Beef and Movies'' and ''Wild People'', as well as the first season of MGM's "Happy Harmonies" cartoons.

===6th Logo (September 18, 1934-December 3, 1953)===

'''Editor's Note:''' In terms of popularity, Tanner is pretty much tied with Jackie. In particular, those who grew up on ''Tom and Jerry'' consider him a favorite.

===7th Logo (July 17, 1953-November 2, 1956)===

'''Editor's Note:''' Obviously made for widescreen. The 3D version looks incorrectly aligned upon close inspection, as Tanner, who remains in 2D, appears to be in front of the ribboning instead of the other way around. In any case, this looks to be the start of a well-established design for the MGM logo as a whole; though the ribboning isn't gold yet, and the older lions are still in use, everything else is right in place.

===8th Logo (July 17, 1956-1958, March 19, 1963)===

'''Editor's Note:''' Even as far as abstract logos go, the onscreen graphic feels like a wasted effort. But, at least MGM still saw fit to use it elsewhere for a long time after.

===11th Logo (May 23, 1974-July 4, 1975)===

'''Availability:''' Uncommon. Seen on films such as ''That's Entertainment!'', ''Mr. Ricco'', and North American prints of ''The Wind and the Lion''. Makes a surprise appearance after the Sony Pictures Classics logo on the 2006 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment DVD of ''The Passenger''.

===12th Logo (July 20, 1984-January 18, 1985)===

'''Availability:''' Rare. It's only seen on MGM releases of the era such as ''Red Dawn'', ''2010: The Year We Make Contact'', ''Oxford Blues'', ''Garbo Talks'', ''Mrs. Soffel'', ''Just the Way You Are'', ''Electric Dreams'', and ''That's Dancing!''. All home video releases of ''Red Dawn'' have this logo intact; however, a few recent TV and streaming prints of said film replace it with the 2012 logo. Most other films from the era that use this (aside from the former two mentioned) may be intact or plastered with newer logos. The Japanese-subtitled laser videodisc release of ''Diamonds Are Forever'' from Warner Home Video has this preceding the Turning UA logo, with a textual notice reading "United Artists Presents" appearing in between.

=== 13th Logo (November 26, 1986-April 28, 2009)===

'''Logo:''' On a black background, a golden, rounded square passes by, bringing in a bright light. Another square passes while we zoom out through another to reveal we were inside the golden filmstrip ribbon. The ribbon zooms out and settles in place, this time reading "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">ART FOR ART'S SAKE</span>" (the English translation of the usual "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">ARS GRATIA ARTIS</span>"). A bright light is seen filtering out of the words in the ribbon. The light fades away from the right, making the metallic lustre of the ribbon more obvious and changing the English translation back to its familiar Latin version. The ribbons on the left and right move as Leo fades in and roars. The mask and leaf-like design around it grow and fade from the darkness, and the company name zooms out and shines on top of the ribbon, "<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">{{Font color|gold|TRADE MARK}}</span>" fading in.

'''Availability:''' Brand new. First uploaded to MGM's official YouTube channel on March 8, 2021, and is expected to be used on the studio's films in the near future.