The History Of Mark VII Limited Hammer Logos

[stargoboom1986]

The Mark VII sound was used for the Williams Street logo of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim shows. The scary part after that was the CN skull as you hear someone yelling out "SKULL"! :D

[RieB79]

Thumbs Up if you saw a bug on the 1st logo

[poughkeepsiejohn1]

Just once, I'd like to see this guy smack his thumb---AHH! GODDAMN! SHIT! SONOFABITCH! AHHHH!!!

[CommunieNetwork]

Greg Valentine's theme

[DrPhatkatt]

Williams Street

[dieselscience]

@DrPhatkatt No, Williams St. stole it from Mk VII.

[Mriohony]

0:00 - 0:08 great. it hurt my eyes.

[goldmoneygold1]

in my top five scary logo list its number 2 number 1 is bnd/vid

[Crazep0per]

So, this is the origin of the Williams Street sound in thier ID bumps.

[Bestmanme08]

Jack Webb in great new bio (All About Jeffrey Hunter) at amazon and kindle!

[CartoonNothing]

SKULL!!!

[publica74]

That last one at 1:06 used to terrify the FUCK out of me when I was younger..AUUUUUGGHHHH!!

[mixmessiah]

@publica74 me, too!!

[energicko]

I agree with all you people...its hilarity just about lightened the seriousness of "Dragnet".

[TimmyGal]

I always hated this logo when I was a kid. It's the only one that didn't fascinate me.

[Akira625]

I remember there was a Woody Woodpecker cartoon that parodied the Mark VII logo. It was at the end of the cartoon "Under The Counter Spy", and the guy with the hammer was stamping "The End", but ends up smashing his thumb.

[bigpopparamma]

Funny, I was just thinking about that. I laughed my head off over that. I wonder if Jack Webb was amused?

[HunterM28025]

That last logo kinda comes at you like "I'M BACK!!!" lol

[sheavepin]

Somebody spoofed this years ago, (SNL?) where it looks real, and then he smashes his hand and you see the hand shake and wiggle, Hysterical.

[the3rdgeneclipse]

wow that is freaky!

[samsticka]

Those hands are Jack Webb's himself..

[trains8000]

0:00-All first logo.

0:10-Same thing with drum rolling.

There is always variants on logos.

[eminemlover187]

The person who founded that production company with the hammer marking that logo was none other than Mr. "Mark VII Limited" himself actor/producer/director Jack Webb!

[afaggotwhoisinbarney]

guys, in the first one, look at the thing coming out of the bottom corner, all the way at the end.

is that a fucking spider?

[eleanorroosevelt1]

It's jack webb's manly chest hair.

[palmercomm]

Why does the blacksmith have to bring the hammer up to the camera? That's scary.

[seanoue]

How do you think this is scary?

[palmercomm]

You think the hammer might break the camera.

[seanoue]

Ah, no I don't.

[palmercomm]

OK, so you don't think so. But I do. Maybe I should've worded it differently.

It's scary.

[seanoue]

I remember those logos and I didn't get scared.

[ryda91]

SKULL!!! :P

[ECG3485]

The hammer sound is also used for William Street's logo.

[TheClodfather]

Yeah. I think the second-to-last one

[DEVINURDOG]

I Agree!I hear this sound at the end of Robot Chicken and ATHF!

[jhwink]

I used to think the hands were that of a criminal that was arrested on Dragnet and serving hard labor.

[ThePhantomSafetyPin]

This one, oddly enough, always freaked me out as a kid... O.o I think the slow 'KONG! ... KONG!" is what got me.

[iswc27]

KONG!...KONG!

I remember this mainly from watching "Adam 12" as a kid. It was just now that I found out that Mark VII Limited was Jack Webb's production company, and that those were his hands pounding the "VII" into place. I've never seen the earlier B&W versions of the logo before. Nice job putting these together, Johnny. Thanks for sharing!

[megamanj2004X]

that 1st Mark VII logo w/out the drumroll was a rare one to me since I've never seen that one before.

I also noticed that the position of the left arm is different in the third variation and the 4th variations than it is in the 1st 2 Mark VII logos and later Mark VII logos.

[ekkostar]

This did unnerve me a little when I first saw reruns of Dragnet on Nick @ Nite during the 90s, but later on it became sort of a cult classic logo.

[Bigstarrocker9]

STOP! Hammer Time

[LJK193]

@Bigstarrocker9 Can't touch this

[GonetoPT]

At least one of the Mark VII logos, perhaps the fourth one in the series on this clip, was done by Harold C. Nyby, Jack Webb's construction foreman during the mid-fifties.

[LuvvyDuck]

Cool! This is the first time I've seen the older ones. :)

[jhwink]

Anyone notice the spider at the bottom of the screen at 00:08?

[smegghead9991]

@jhwink probably a flaw in the original film

[CraigFoye80]

Taken from the 1955 film "Pete Kelly's Blues".

[Capcom4226]

how is it scary

[zekepig]

What show or movie was that from in 0:20-0:32?

[LemmyAndYourMom]

That's Webb? I always wondered who's hands they were. Greasy & sweaty ones, at that. LOL

[UKMikey]

Great work, Johnny.

Interesting how the timpani roll gets lower and lower with each successive logo, like it wasn't ominous enough, LOL.

[frank87it]

Is Mark VII Joe VII's brother?

[bashir1980]

Really scary, but good.

[Kaufmancab51]

hey doesn't adult swim use this for williams street?

[joekuta]

yes, williams street is apparently a "mark VII limited" production ;p

[bobfritz1466]

Also, Spike Lee uses the hammer for his 40 Acres and a Mule Productions.

[Capcom4226]

yea it as the same sound

[sexymama1966]

that was creepy..make sure the lights are on..lol

[Idoljunky32]

This use to freak me out as a kid! LOL! thanks for posting!

[tamapalagi]

Why were these closing logos so scray to us when we were kids? I'm glad I'm not alone.

[TheGameroomBlitz]

Loud, sudden noises and small, easily frightened children don't mix.

[JepMasta]

here's a little trivia...the man whose hands hold the die and swing the hammer...is none other than Jack "Joe Friday" Webb himself!

How 'bout that?

Brian~

[palmercomm]

Joe Friday did that? Why'd he have to bring the hammer up to the camera, nearly smashing it from the upswing?

That's interesting.

"My name's Friday. I carry a hammer."

[Sugarbehr1967]

I think the WB variation is from 'The Court Marshall of Billy Mitchell' from 1955 with Gary Cooper and Elizabeth Montgomery

[AllRequired]

Spectacular. Nothing short of spectacular.  Seven cheers for the Mark VII ident.

[collegeman1988]

This logo for me is in the top five scariest logos I remember as a kid. The ominous drum roll with the clanging of the hammer. I agree with the previous reviewer that the orange and gold logo that was used in later years of Adam 12 and Emergency was pretty creepy too.

[bobfritz1466]

I noticed that nobody's posted the Shocking Gold variation, with that "The House Is On Fire!" music in the background. Now that was creepy!

[megamanj2004X]

especially the way that phrase "A Production of Mark VII Limited" took up nearly the whole screen, coupled with a dramatic closing theme like "Adam-12" and "Emergency!" only added more fuel to the fire.

[retrovideoman]

What might also be cool to throw in this montage: the spoof of this logo from the Woody Woodpecker cartoon, which ends with the hammer hitting the guy's thumb and him screaming in pain.

[retrovideoman]

The color version of the logo with the fanfare and the Warner Bros. logo--where is that from?

[retrotvluver]

I'm pretty sure it was from the 1954 "Dragnet" theatrical film.

[lyriz465]

I like how spike lee's company does the same thing with the hammer.

[mrceleb2006]

Go Hamma! Go Hamma! Go, Go, Go Hamma!!

[supremetaco]

Please, Hammer, don't hurt 'em! ;-)

[mrceleb2006]

Here comes the Hammer!!

[mcy919]

Nicely done!

[supremetaco]

I agree! Very nicely done! Although you missed the "Shocking Gold" variation of the early 1970s, but we can do without that!