Logo Variations - Columbia Pictures

These are the logo variations seen throughout the years by Columbia Pictures, with more to be added overtime.

The Criminal Code and Ten Cents a Dance (1931):
 * The 1928 logo is shown without the company name. The practice of showing the Columbia logo sans company name predates the variations seen on Cowboy, Under the Yum Yum Tree, Good Neighbor Sam and Flight of the Doves.



Gun Fury (1953):


 * The logo is shown in a greenish-brown tint. Also, the Torch Lady's pedestal doesn't extend to the bottom of the screen, making it look like she's floating.



Zarak (1956):


 * The logo is a still painting. In addition, the "COLUMBIA" text is slightly larger and more spaced out than the standard logo and there are clouds below the pedestal.



Cowboy (1958):


 * The logo has no company name at the beginning of the film. The standard version appears at the end.



The Mouse That Roared (1959):


 * The Torch Lady (here a live action model against a backdrop) looks down and sees a mouse at her feet on the pedestal. The Torch Lady leaves her pedestal, leaving her torch behind. At the end of the film, you can see her rushing up the stairs of the pedestal, grabbing her torch again. On full-screen prints, along with the film itself, the logo is in 4:3 "open matte" aspect ratio.



The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962):


 * The 1936 Torch Lady is on the left side on a black background. The text "COLUMBIA PICTURES PRESENTS" is on the right side. The logo cross-fades to a statue of Norman Maurer, the son-in-law of Moe Howard of The Three Stooges as he holds a stick of dynamite. The text "A NORMANDY PRODUCTION" is on the left side. The sparks are flowing from the dynamite and the dynamite later explodes, leaving the lower legs and the pedestal on the statue. The text "FILMED IN GLORIOUS BLACK AND WHITE" fades in above.



Zotz! (1962):


 * We start with a black & white version of the 1950s logo with the standard Torch Lady replaced with a live action model in a similar manner to The Mouse That Roared with William Castle sitting on a director's chair in the bottom-right corner of the screen. William gets out of his chair and says "Zotz!" The Torch Lady replies by asking "Zotz? What's Zotz?" After that, we fade to the opening credits of the movie. At the end of the movie, the black & white version of the 1950s logo is shown, but the Torch Lady says "Zotz all!"



Lawrence of Arabia (1962):


 * The logo is merely a still painting. The light from the torch doesn't flicker and the clouds aren't as billowy. This was created especially for the film because there was no 70mm version of the logo in existence, and this variation was, at one point, plastered with the standard version for years until the film was restored in 1989.



Bye Bye Birdie (1963):


 * The Columbia Torch Lady's flame leaps from the torch to form the title of the film.