Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions
codyfinke
Captures by
Eric S.
Video captures courtesy of
EnormousRat
Background: The first Hallmark Hall of Fame production aired in 1951. Until 1994, there was no production company as "Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions, Inc.", and instead, Hallmark joined forces with various production companies; also, Viacom Enterprises (now "CBS Television Distribution") syndicated the movie library during the 1970s and 1980s; this would continue by co-production until 1997.
1st Logo (1986-)
Nickname: "Zooming (Gold) Crown", "Door to Crown", "Morphing Shop", "Hallmark Crown"
Logo: On a black background, we see a gold line in extreme close-up. It them slowly zooms away to reveal Hallmark's familiar crown logo. Later on, "Hallmark" and "Hall of Fame" zoom out along with it in the familiar cursive font.
Variants:
- Sometimes, the logo is abridged.
- The logo has been enhanced over the years.
- Zoobilee Zoo used a variant for its funding credits on PBS. We first see a shop with black doors and black and tannish-red walls. Above it is a beige wall with a gold Hallmark logo. The camera zooms back and the shop morphs into the Hallmark crown. We end up with another gold Hallmark logo against a marble blue background, sometimes with "Hall of Fame" below.
- Another "ZZ" variant shows several people walking in and out of a Hallmark shop (preferably in a mall), which the camera zooms back from to the point the shop's sign is visible . It then fades to a gold Hallmark logo, possibly the same as the regular variant. It shines all the way through once revealed.
Trivia: The animation of the shop morphing into the Hallmark logo for Zoobilee Zoo was also used in some Hallmark commercials during the 1980's as seen in this ad.
Technique: The zooming. For the funding variant, the shop morphing.
Music/Sounds: The regular variant is silent or uses the end theme of the show, but the ZZ variant has an announcer who says, "Zoobilee Zoo is underwritten by Hallmark. Hallmark is pleased to bring you the very best in children's entertainment". On the DVD of O Pioneers!, the early alternate 8 note fanfare from the Hallmark Entertainment logo.
Availability: Seen on Hallmark Hall of Fame movies and Zoobilee Zoo reruns.
2nd Logo (1994-1997)
Nicknames: "Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions", "The White Text and Logo"
Logo: On a black background, we see a square with rounded edges. Inside there is the Hallmark crown and under it is "Hallmark Hall of Fame" in the Hallmark corporate signature font. "PRODUCTIONS" is under the square.
Technique: None.
Music/Sounds: The end theme of a certain Hallmark Hall of Fame movie.
Availability: Seen on Hallmark Hall of Fame movies of the era.