Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - Closing Logos (2024)

Variant: Slats appears to move differently on every film in which he makes an appearance.FX/SFX: Slats turning his head.Music/Sounds: None or the movie's intro.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.

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.

3rd Logo

(October 1, 1927-September 27, 1928)

Nicknames: "Telly the Lion", "4th MGM Lion", "2nd Roaring Lion"Logo: Another lion named "Telly" appears in a new re-drawn film-like ribboning of the MGM logo. He is the first of the two two-strip Technicolor lions. Telly appears with a long snarl with two roaring sound effects. The usual MGM marquee is seen below. Everything but the lion is in a green hue.Variants:

• While the logo was made in color, there is also a black and white version on The Mysterious Island. The movie was originally shot in color, but only a black and white version survived.

Music/Sounds/Variants: On Crazy House (1930), the logo has no sound.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)

Logo: The next lion named "Tanner" appears in this MGM logo. The Latin phrase on the circle is red, the words "TRADE" and "MARK" are yellow, the red mask and the ribboning are re-drawn slightly with the color orange on certain parts on the filmstrip ribbons. The reef is yellow and on the MGM marquee, the letters "M", "G", and "M" are red, with the remainder of the letters in yellow. Tanner roars three times in this one.Trivia: Aside from appearing in this logo, Tanner also appeared in the Three Stooges short "Hold That Lion!" (1947). His roar was also frequently used as a sound effect in MGM's cartoons at the time.Variants:

• There is a longer version of this logo. Tanner would growl first, then roar three times, then Tanner would look at the camera while having his head leaning, and would growl again, and the final roar with a gasp-like sound and a growl at the end.
• On some early animated shorts, the logo has Coffee's roar track. On the first roar for Tanner, it's Coffee's second roar, followed by the third roar, and the final roar is Coffee's growl.
• 1949: MGM celebrates its silver anniversary. This is basically the same as the version seen on Jackie's, but it's in color and Tanner proceeds this. Seen on In the Good Old Summertime, Challenge to Lassie, and On the Town.
• This logo strangely appeared in black & white and with Jackie's roar due to a plastering error on a TCM Australia airing of The Hucksters. Current prints of said film have Jackie.

Editor's Note: In terms of popularity, Tanner is pretty much tied with Jackie. Especially 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)

Music/Sounds: Tanner's re-dubbed roar or Tanner's roar with the music's intro.Availability: Uncommon. Seen on MGM films during this era, starting with the film High Society. This logo surprisingly showed up on the 1963 film Any Number Can Win.

Logo: A new lion appears, named Leo. The script "Metro Goldwyn Mayer" is in a new font. The reef and the mask is redrawn once again, and the ribboning on the sides are stretched out even more. Leo roars at first, then turns his head to his right. He would roar again for the second time and look away, and would do the same thing on his third roar and would look away for the final time.

Trivia:

• There is also black & white variant.
• By the 1970s, the logo looks a little more enhanced.
  
• From 1983-February 21, 1986 and July 10, 1987, the marquee name was altered to read "MGM/UA Entertainment Co.", following their acquisition of United Artists in 1981. Also, on UA releases of the era, this logo preceded the United Artists on-screen text. Starting with the release of Dream Lover on February 28, 1986, it reverted back to the name "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer". However, the MGM/UA variant appeared on the 1987 film O.C. and Stiggs. The film was originally made in 1985 and was shelved for two years.
  
• On several home media releases from the 1980s, the logo (especially the MGM/UA Entertainment Co. version) has the sides cut off and is more zoomed in. This is due to the pan and scan nature of the releases.
• On DVD copies of Teen Wolf, the fade-in is cut off and the logo starts at the first roar.
• Closing: At the end of every MGM/UA release, the movie's title would often appear above and below would say "DISTRIBUTED BY" or "FROM" with the MGM/UA Entertainment Co. or MGM Entertainment Co. print logo below. The Beastmaster only showed just the logo.

• Seen on such films like Jailhouse Rock, the first two Poltergeist films, A Christmas Story, Ben Hur, King of Kings, the 1980s James Bond films Octopuss* and A View to a Kill, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, among others.
  
• This logo even appears on several MGM shorts such as a few Gene Deitch Tom and Jerry shorts, among others.
  
• The logo is preserved on pre-May 9, 1986 films by MGM that are owned by Warner Bros. via Turner Entertainment Co. However, for releases from May 23, 1986-July 10, 1987 that still use the MGM/UA Entertainment Co. logo that's copyrighted by MGM Entertainment Co. (such as O.C. and Stiggs), the logo may be kept on or replaced with the 2001 logo on productions copyrighted to United Artists using the MGM/UA logo. Your best bet would be to check MGM/UA Home Video tapes.
  
• Also, the 1960-1982 version was plastered over with the 1983-1986 version on Two Weeks in Another Town on an international TCM airing.
• The last movie to use this logo was Walk Like a Man.
  This appeared on original theatrical prints of Where the River Runs Black, but video releases replaced it with the 13th logo.
• This logo remains intact on the Shout! Factory Blu-Rays of To Live and Die in L.A. and Poltergeist II: The Other Side.

Editor's Note: One of the most popular logos to exist. In fact, Leo is the most famous out of all the MGM lions.

Variants:

Trivia: This particular logo designed remained in use long after it was retired as an opening logo. This was used as the print logo for MGM until at least 1982. The lion graphic then became the logo for MGM Grand for many years, and later MGM Mirage. It is currently used for the logo of MGM Resorts International.FX/SFX: The simple fade-in and fade-out of the logo.Music/Sounds: None, but on 2001: A Space Odyssey, the film's opening theme plays over the logo.Availability: Very rare. It was seen only on two films: The Subject Was Roses, which is intact on its Warner Archive DVD-R release, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, which had the logo edited out on most TV prints, but is preserved on DVD and Blu-ray as well as some international TCM airings and the 2018 IMAX re-release. This logo remained intact on video covers from early MGM/CBS releases. The trailer variant can be seen on the trailers for films such as He Knows You're Alone and Fame, among others.

Logo: Same as the 8th logo, but at the top, "Metro Goldwyn Mayer", in the same font as the 1957 logo, is in yellowish-gold. Inside the circle is the phrase "BEGINNING OUR NEXT 50 YEARS...", with "B" a bit bigger and stretched vertically, also in yellowish-gold as Leo roars. There would be a cross fade between the phrase and Leo. Instead of "TRADE MARK" seen on the sides of the circle, "GOLDEN" is seen on the left and "ANNIVERSARY" is seen on the right in the same color. Leo would roar again two more times.FX/SFX: The cross-fade and Leo roaring.

Logo: We have the 1957 MGM logo, but instead, the ribboning is in gold instead of white and will remain this way from this point forward. On top of the logo are the words "DIAMOND JUBILEE", arched in a white font. On the circle is inscribed "METRO GOLDWYN MAYER/UNITED ARTISTS" in red, instead of the usual Latin phrase. The mask is re-drawn once again, with the mouth inside the mask in white, and the reef surrounding the mask is not there. Below the mask is a ribboning banner that reads "ENTERTAINMENT CO." On the right side above the ribbon, there is a small trademark symbol "TM", and below the logo is the phrase "SIXTY YEARS OF GREAT ENTERTAINMENT" in white. Leo roars while there is a white spark on the letters "M", "E" and "J".FX/SFX: Leo roaring.Music/Sounds: The 1982 lion roar.Music/Sounds Variants:

• Several trailers use the 1960 MGM lion roar.
• Some trailers with this logo use the 1982 roar.
• Another variant has the 1960 and 1982 MGM lion roars combined. This is seen on 2010: The Year We Make Contact.
• On current prints of Red Dawn, the 1995 roar is used.
• On Garbo Talks, the warped version of the 1982 roar is used.

Music/Sounds: Leo's roar.

• 1986-1988: The 1982 roar.
• 1994-October 20, 1995 and 1997: The 1982 roar, with a more raspier sound. Sounds close to the 1995 roar, but not quite.
• December 22, 1995-: Starting with the release of Cutthroat Island, the 1982 lion track was remixed using digital audio technology which blended many roars together.
• A silent variant of the short version has been spotted.

Availability: Extremely common, especially the 2001 variant which is notorious for plastering numerous logos from so many other companies. In fact, it's probably the most common movie logo ever (with the possible exception of the Warner Bros "Shield of Staleness"). Seen on all MGM releases of this era.

• Its earliest-known appearance was on TV spots of Running Scared (1986), but it is currently unknown if theatrical prints used this logo, as the original U.S. VHS had the 9th logo and the UK VHS had no logo at the front of the film, while 1990s VHS reissues feature the bylineless gold-ribboned logo (in letterbox), as did a 1994 broadcast on BBC1 (cropped to 4:3).
• The MGM/UA Communications byline version was seen on the original VHS and Laserdisc releases of Spaceballs, Overboard, Poltergeist III (also seen on the Scream Factory Blu-Ray), A Fish Called Wanda (also on the Arrow Video Blu-Ray), Fatal Beauty, Captive Hearts, P.I. Private Investigations, and Leviathan (VHS only; the Laserdisc, which is letterboxed, had the bylineless logo).
  
• The bylineless 1986 logo is seen on the original home video prints of titles such as Where the River Runs Black (plastering the 9th logo), Mindgames, Blue Steel, Quigley Down Under and Thelma and Louise.
• It is also seen on the MGM DVD, Olive Films Blu-ray and Vudu print of Fatal Instinct, as well as the Scream Factory Blu-ray of The Vagrant, Criterion Blu-Ray of A Dry White Season and the Vudu print of CrissCross.
  
• It also makes appearances on direct to video material such as An All Dogs Christmas Carol, The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue, and strangely takes the place of the MGM Home Entertainment logo on VHS releases like the 1999 VHS of Black Caesar, the 1998 VHS of Napoleon, and Great Balls of Fire!
  
• It also seems to have been used as a de-facto home video logo in tandem with the 1998 and 2003 MGM DVD logos, since on titles from Embassy Pictures, ABC Motion Pictures, and IFC Films, the logo precedes those companies' logos, in similar veins to Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
• The 1994 version is seen on Clean Slate, Blown Away (restored on digital prints and possibly the Kino Lorber Blu-Ray), That's Entertainment III, and (surprisingly) the Live Entertainment VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD releases of Stargate from (the Artisan and Lionsgate Ultimate edition DVDs use the Artisan logo).
  
• The bylineless logo with the 1994 roar appeared on original prints of The Pebble and the Penguin, Fluke, Species, and Get Shorty, as well as a surprise appearance on Red Corner. It can also be found on the Vudu print of Snow White (1987).
  
• The 1999 75th Anniversary version is seen on The Thomas Crown Affair and pre-2006 prints of The World is Not Enough, though the earlier and mid versions are usually replaced by the 2001 logo like on the Ultimate Edition DVD and Blu-ray release of the latter. Again, see the MGM/UA Home Video and MGM Home Entertainment tapes, along with some early DVDs from them.
  
• The silent version is seen at the end of network prints of Topkapi.
  
• This replaces the 1981 Columbia Pictures logo on releases of MGM owned Castle Rock/Nelson films such as When Harry Met Sally..., Lord of the Flies, Misery, and City Slickers.
  
• However, it doesn't appear on Red Dragon or Nanny McPhee (despite being credited).
  
• This logo was used on trailers on post-2008 Sony/MGM releases up to Zookeeper, though it made its last theatrical appearance on Igor, released on September 19, 2008 and was finally ended on the TV movie Legally Blondes.
  
• Interestingly, the 1988 video release of Willow from RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (now "Sony Pictures Home Entertainment"),as well as the 1996 Columbia/TriStar Family Collection video release,retains the bylineless logo with the 1982 roar, as do older cable prints, preceded by the Universal Pay Television logo. However, DVD releases of the film by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainmentfrom 2001 removed any evidence of MGM having released the film, and go directly to the Lucasfilm Ltd. logo; it would, however, be restored on the 2013 Fox and 2019 Disney Blu-ray releases, as well as the streaming version on Disney+.
  
• The 2001 variant appears at the start of some early Sony Blu-rays, in addition to some early Fox Blu-rays of catalog titles, including the Man with No Name Trilogy box set, and the 2013 German Tobis Home Entertainment Blu-ray of For a Few Dollars More.
  
• The 1995 version was seen (between the 2006 Lionsgate and in-credit Carolco logos) on the Blu-ray and digital prints of Cutthroat Island, while the original video releases omit it and go straight to in-credit Carolco logo.
  
• It can also be seen on the direct-to-video film Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids (though only on the American release, the Canadian release doesn't have a logo).
• For some reason, the 2001 version also appears on MGM-distributed releases of the DIC Movie Toons, like Groove Squad.
• It was also seen on the theatrical release and TV airings of Arthur and the Invisibles, but the DVD release only has The Weinstein Company logo.

Editor's Note: The history of this updated logo's creation is actually rather interesting. Although the 2008 roar track was a wasted effort. Why even make it if they decided to stick with the 1995 roar?