Cathay Organisation (HK) Ltd.

Credits

Descriptions by
Eric S. and Logohub

Captures by
Eric S.

Video captures courtesy of
Kaisen Looi, CosmosEarthManGalaxy, Moe Szyslak and revin hatol

Motion Picture and General Investment Co., Ltd.

Background

The Cathay Organisation, having the same Singaporean (Malaysian) origins as its main competitor Shaw Brothers, set its foothold in Hong Kong by establishing International Films Distributing Agency in early 1950s. In 1955, it took over Yung Hwa Studios (永華片場) and rationalised its operations as Motion Picture & General Investment Co., Ltd., MP & GI for short.

1st Logo (1955-195?)

Nickname: "The Cathay", "Cathay Building", "Cloudy Cathay"

Logo: We see a big building (The Cathay cinema, at the time was named Cathay Building) standing firmly on the ground. The sky background appears cloudy. Below everything is the company name in Chinese, written backwards (that's how Chinese people write during the days). It starts out in dark, then it brightens to see more clear.

FX/SFX: The logo brightening.

Music/Sounds: A somewhat mellow but triumphant orchestra fanfare.

Availability: Very rare. Seen on Mandarin/Cantonese films from the company.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (195?-1965)

Nickname: "The Cathay II", "Cathay Building II", "Zooming Building"
Logo: On a ground, we see the building zooming up (albeit in a redesigned form), with two big Chinese characters (written backwards), others under the building, and "MOTION PICTURE & GENERAL INVESTMENT CO, LTD". Unlike the last logo, the sky is bright here.

Variant: Later on in it's life, the background was changed to a starry sky, and the building was redesigned.

FX/SFX: The zooming of the whole thing.

Music/Sounds: A bombastic trumpet fanfare.

Availability: See the last logo.

Editor's Note: None.

Cathay Organisation (HK)

Background

Following the death of Dato Loke Wan Tho, the founder of the original Cathay Organisation in 1935, the company was rebranded as Cathay Organisation (HK).

1st Logo (1965-1967)

Nicknames: "Tiny Cathay", "Print Cathay", "Cathay Building III", "Cathay Scope"

Logo: Superimposed over a carving is the company name in red Chinese text (above the screen and written backwards). Below it is a small stylized print version of the Cathay Building, similar to one in the 1st MP/GI logo, with "CATHAY" on the left and "SCOPE" on the right, both in the blocky font.

FX/SFX: None, really.

Music/Sounds: An oriental-sounding ditty.

Availability: Ultra rare, can be seen on early Cathay releases.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1967-1970)

Nicknames: "Print Cathay II", "Cathay Building IV", "From Normal to Tiny Cathay", "Cathay Scope II"

Logo: Over the red curtain background, we see the 2D version of the Cathay Building in black with the white outline, two big Chinese characters (again, written backwards), "CATHAY ORGANISATION (HK.)(1965) LTD." and the metallic ribbon banner model below with the Chinese translation of the company name, we then cross-fade to the smaller print version of the same picture, except the ribbon banner is in the different shape, with "CATHAY" on the left, "SCOPE" on the right and same Chinese translation of "CATHAY SCOPE" on the bottom.

FX/SFX: The cross-fading transition.

Music/Sounds: See the 2nd MP/GI logo.

Availability: TBA

Editor's Note: None.

TBA for more information