@RetroVideoFan It wasn't around for very long. I'd never seen it until a few minutes before I copied it off a video and posted it. It's also a rarity in that it preceded the show rather than ended it. MGM did a similar thing with the "Northwest Passage" series in 1958.
@RetroVideoFan Seems like this "Shannon" pilot is one of the few times I've ever heard of this ident being used...but I could be wrong. It seems like most of the time between 1955 and 1963, various Torch Ladys appeared at the end of the credits as the show's ending theme built to a crescendo.
Well, 'actionsub', notice that, after 1956, Screen Gems' logo was changed from a TV set with their name in it, to one incorporating Columbia's "Torch Lady" logo (and the notation, "Television Subsidiary- Columbia Pictures Corporation). That was the year television was no longer a "dirty word" to most major film studios, as MGM, 20th Century-Fox and Warner Bros. were into TV production, and sold off to other companies [or leased] their pre-1949 theatrical films to eager local stations...
@fromthesidelines You make a good point. The timing on Screen Gems switching to Columbia's logo and adding the byline is telling. It's also interesting to note that once MCA purchased Universal Studios that they wasted no time tossing the Revue name under the bus.
@actionsub Check out The Virginian season one DVD set, because the last several episodes of the season have the Universal blinking negative tube logo, whereas all the earlier eps have the Revue sliding filmstrips, so that show had an early jump on the studio name change late in 1962-63!
@revueguy That is unusual, because other Revue shows of that season (ex. Leave It to Beaver) didn't make that fast jump. It may have been because "Virginian" with its 90 minute episodes, may have had a longer shooting date. Interesting.
@actionsub MCA already own the Universal Lot when they purchased the production lot. Also, most of Universal TV shows from 63 - 66 still copyrighted under the Revue Productions name.
...and Columbia wanted EVERYONE to be aware of the fact they were actively involved in TV production by fusing their theatrical and "Screen Gems" logos- and were probably more determined than any other studio to corner that market....which they eventually did by 1961, second only to MCA/Revue.
This opening logo also appeared on several episodes of "THE HATHAWAYS" (the Marquis Chimps sitcom with Peggy Cass & Jack Weston) as well. For some reason, Screen Gems decided to experiment with a variation of their logo [with parent Columbia's name out front before theirs, as if to say, "See, we're a big TV producer, too!"] during the 1961-'62 season.
@fromthesidelines That seems strange, considering that Columbia revived the Screen Gems brand for their television productions in 1948 to shield themselves from the "stigma" of a large film studio even dabbling in television. As such, Columbia was indisputably the very first major studio to do television, years before Disney and Warner Bros.
So that's the REAL Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems Television logo. I've never seen that before.
RetroVideoFan 8 months ago
@RetroVideoFan It wasn't around for very long. I'd never seen it until a few minutes before I copied it off a video and posted it. It's also a rarity in that it preceded the show rather than ended it. MGM did a similar thing with the "Northwest Passage" series in 1958.
actionsub 8 months ago
@RetroVideoFan I have. It was used in 1961.
RayPointer 4 months ago
@RetroVideoFan Seems like this "Shannon" pilot is one of the few times I've ever heard of this ident being used...but I could be wrong. It seems like most of the time between 1955 and 1963, various Torch Ladys appeared at the end of the credits as the show's ending theme built to a crescendo.
westpoint64 4 months ago
RARE shit, man!
ShaDeed329 10 months ago
Well, 'actionsub', notice that, after 1956, Screen Gems' logo was changed from a TV set with their name in it, to one incorporating Columbia's "Torch Lady" logo (and the notation, "Television Subsidiary- Columbia Pictures Corporation). That was the year television was no longer a "dirty word" to most major film studios, as MGM, 20th Century-Fox and Warner Bros. were into TV production, and sold off to other companies [or leased] their pre-1949 theatrical films to eager local stations...
fromthesidelines 1 year ago
@fromthesidelines You make a good point. The timing on Screen Gems switching to Columbia's logo and adding the byline is telling. It's also interesting to note that once MCA purchased Universal Studios that they wasted no time tossing the Revue name under the bus.
actionsub 1 year ago
@actionsub Check out The Virginian season one DVD set, because the last several episodes of the season have the Universal blinking negative tube logo, whereas all the earlier eps have the Revue sliding filmstrips, so that show had an early jump on the studio name change late in 1962-63!
revueguy 9 months ago
@revueguy That is unusual, because other Revue shows of that season (ex. Leave It to Beaver) didn't make that fast jump. It may have been because "Virginian" with its 90 minute episodes, may have had a longer shooting date. Interesting.
actionsub 9 months ago
@actionsub MCA already own the Universal Lot when they purchased the production lot. Also, most of Universal TV shows from 63 - 66 still copyrighted under the Revue Productions name.
TheGeminiStudios 5 months ago
...and Columbia wanted EVERYONE to be aware of the fact they were actively involved in TV production by fusing their theatrical and "Screen Gems" logos- and were probably more determined than any other studio to corner that market....which they eventually did by 1961, second only to MCA/Revue.
fromthesidelines 1 year ago
This opening logo also appeared on several episodes of "THE HATHAWAYS" (the Marquis Chimps sitcom with Peggy Cass & Jack Weston) as well. For some reason, Screen Gems decided to experiment with a variation of their logo [with parent Columbia's name out front before theirs, as if to say, "See, we're a big TV producer, too!"] during the 1961-'62 season.
fromthesidelines 1 year ago
@fromthesidelines That seems strange, considering that Columbia revived the Screen Gems brand for their television productions in 1948 to shield themselves from the "stigma" of a large film studio even dabbling in television. As such, Columbia was indisputably the very first major studio to do television, years before Disney and Warner Bros.
actionsub 1 year ago
WOOOOOOOW! Thanks for uploading this!
LogicSmash 1 year ago