Revue Studios

Credits

Descriptions by
MatthewLMayfiend, Jason Jones, Jess Williams, bmasters9, Logophile, and Donny Pearson

Captures by
Eric S., Shadeed A. Kelly, mr3urious, JohnnyL80, V of Doom, snelfu, CuriousGeorge60, Subzero917, thehugetvfan, Mr.Logo, Logophile, originalsboy11, ClosingLogosHD, TVB, and TheEriccorpinc

Editions by
Shadeed A. Kelly, V of Doom, Hoa, Bob Fish, mr3urious, Mr. Logo Lord, Lee Cremeans, CuriousGeorge60, thehugetvfan, Kris Starring, KramdenII, Unnepad, Jesse Coffey, Blue2000 and Michael Kenchington

Video captures courtesy of
JohnnyL80, Donny Pearson, mcy919, digitalvideo1982, korranus, Eric S., SCMediaWorks, Broken Saw, Sagan Blob's Logos, ClosingLogosHD, Jordan Rios, Peakpasha, LogicSmash and EDC4

Background

Revue Studios (first known as Revue Productions, Inc.) was founded in 1943 by MCA when they originally produced live shows. The partnership of NBC and Revue extends as far back as September 6, 1950, with the television broadcast of Armour Theatre, based on the radio show Stars Over Hollywood. The company was renamed "Revue Studios" after MCA purchased the Universal Studios lot in 1958. Then in 1962, following the acquisition of Decca Records, who owned Universal-International Pictures at the time, Revue was renamed as Universal Television.

1st Logo (August 11, 1951-1953)

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Visuals: On a curtain background, we zoom in on a shot of a rotating television camera, revealing the phrase "A REVUE PRODUCTION" inscribed onto the camera base. Then it later fades to the MCA-TV "Filmreel" logo.

Technique: Live action.

Audio: A dramatic 1940s-esque horn fanfare.

Availability: This has appeared for a short time on some episodes of The Adventures of Kit Carson, among a few others.

2nd Logo (August 1, 1953-1957)

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Visuals: Over a light shaded background, the logo starts with the phrase "Produced by REVUE In Hollywood". The word "REVUE" is taller than the rest of the words, and appears in a very slim, 3-dimensional state. The angle is on the right, looking downward, with a small shadow behind the letters. The words above and below are seen in a cursive font.

Variants:

• This logo is shared with the MCA TV "Filmreel" logo on several TV shows.
• On Tales of Wells Fargo, the logo is superimposed into the background and the word "REVUE" is in 2D.

Technique: None.

Audio: None or the closing theme of the show.

Availability: Can be found on Revue produced shows from the time period.

• A variant of sorts can be found on first season episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents on Antenna TV and on DVD, as well as the pilot episode of Leave It to Beaver on TV Land, Antenna TV, and DVD, and The Adventures of Kit Carson on DVD.

3rd Logo (September 18, 1957-1958)

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Visuals: An in-credit version of the previous logo, but the text is in Franklin Gothic and reads "filmed at revue in Hollywood" with "revue" in bold lettering:

filmed at
revue
in Hollywood

The MCA Arrowhead above it is located near the logo.

Variants:

• "Exclusive Representatives" was later changed to "exclusive distributor" on the MCA-TV logo.
• Sometimes the phrase "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" is seen above the arrowhead.
• At other times, it would say "produced by revue in Hollywood".

Technique: None.

Audio: The end title theme from the show.

Availability: Can be found on Revue produced shows from the time period.

• It's seen on almost the entire 1st season and a few early episodes of the 2nd season of Leave It to Beaver on Me-TV, Antenna TV and DVD.
• It also appears on the first season of Wagon Train on Encore Westerns and 1957-1958 episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents on Antenna TV and Bachelor Father.

4th Logo (October 5, 1958-1963)

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Visuals: Two filmstrip-like lines with letters (the top one being black and the bottom one being gray move in opposite directions of each other, with the top line moving left and the bottom line moving right. To the tune of the fanfare, five letters stack horizontally together, unevenly, spelling the name "revue". Then the remaining letters move away, revealing a white-outlined rounded rectangle shape (similar in shape to the Warner Bros. \\' logo). Then, the inside turns into a dark gray color under the black and gray blocks of letters, with the words "filmed in hollywood at" above the blocks, "studios" below, and "MCA-TV EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR" under the shape appearing with it. The MCA byline, underneath the logo, is usually accompanied by its own union bug, which is a small globe with the words MCA over it.

Trivia:

• The letters featured on the lines are the following:
  • Top Right: xazcnaquroemscvxuozserncv
  • Left: azcvrzsnoxureaocvucxozrsx
• The top of the row also spells "revue": xazcnaquroemscvxuozserncv

Variants:

• This logo has a few length variations:
  • There is a long version that features the full-length version of the fanfare.
  • Some shows, such as those produced in association with Kayro Productions, feature an abridged version of the logo that starts with the TV tube zooming out and a shortened fanfare.
• There are also several versions of this logo used for co-productions, such as for Kayro shows, JaMco Productions, Hubbell-Robinson Productions, Top Gun Productions, and Shamley Productions; those feature the company name alongside a smaller version of the Revue logo.
• In 1962, a color version was introduced. The regular logo now takes place on a wallflower-type background with 60s star designs in orange, similar to the 1st logo of Universal Television. The filmstrips on the top are orange and those on the bottom are teal. The animation is the same, but the television tube inside later turns ivory instead of black.
• Another variation existed with the blocks blinking, which later fades to the co-producer's card. This version is bylineless.
• Another variation existed with this logo on a light blue background, but the inside is red with a white outline and the "r", "v", and "e" blocks are black and the "e" and "u" ones are blue. The only animation used was the TV tube finishing zooming out and later fading to the 1964 Universal Television logo in color.
• Early versions have a conjoined Revue/MCA logo, with the Revue logo on the left in a solid-lined TV tube border, and an MCA Arrowhead logo in a dotted-line TV tube connected to it on the right, Venn diagram-style. The usual Revue info is written on the left tube, and "mca tv exclusive distributor" is written on the right tube. The company name in which the show had been co-produced is written above, as usual. An MCA T.M. logo bug is sometimes seen in the lower left hand corner.
• One Kayro Productions variant had "Produced by Kayro productions" in a strange font (with "Kayro" in very large letters) and the TV tube containing the Revue logo with no additional text.
• On season 2 of Leave It to Beaver among other series, it has the words "productions inc." on the Revue logo, which later changed to "studios" in 1959.

Technique: Camera-controlled/cel animation.

Audio: A loud but majestic horn fanfare accompanied by drums and a xylophone. The music has a few length variations, corresponding with the logo. There were two jingles, a (rarely-heard) long version and a short version both arranged by Stanley Wilson and Juan Garcia Esquivel. The long version has the first note longer and four extra notes. The short version has the 1st note shorter and also deleted the four extra notes.

Audio Variants:

• Over the years, some shows have the regular jingle plastered with the 1964 Universal Television theme.
• The 1962 logo featured a higher-pitched version of the theme.
• There is a long version that doesn't feature the echo.
• On an Amazon Freevee print of S4E05 of Wagon Train, the logo is silent.
• High tone variants of the long and short versions of the Revue jingle also exist for PAL prints.

Availability: Can be found on Revue produced shows from the time period until 1963.

• It's currently seen on Leave It to Beaver on TV Land, Me-TV, and Antenna TV, S1 of McHale's Navy and Alfred Hitchcock Presents on Antenna TV with the in-credit logos from 1958-1960 and the animation from 1960-1963.
• The short version of the B&W logo also appears at the end of the Sky Arts airings of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
• The short version of the B&W logo also appears on Me-TV airings of Wagon Train.
• This logo also appears in the credits of specific programs.
  • Sometimes, only the name appears, like the previous logo.
• The color version was last seen on the first season episodes of The Virginian on Starz Encore Westerns and Laramie and the other on the color episodes of McHale's Navy.
• More recently, the color version has also been spotted on several color episodes of Laramie on Encore Westerns, followed by the 1960-63 NBC Studios "Snake" logo.

Final Note

Kayro Productions and Revue Studios formed a partnership by forming Kayro-Vue Productions in 1964.

Revue Studios

Universal Television (1963-1998) ►