The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Credits

Descriptions by
Logoboy95

Captures by
Logoboy95, Eric S., and V of Doom

Editions by
RSX-798, V of Doom, Shadeed A. Kelly, betamaxtheflyer and Michael Kenchington

Video captures courtesy of
Eric S. and DudeThatLogo

Background

The Samuel Goldwyn Company, Inc. was an independent film company founded in 1979 by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., the son of Hollywood mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, Sr., producing and distributing independent films. In 1991, SGC merged with Heritage Entertainment and was later reincorporated as "Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment". In 1996, SGE and its library were acquired by Metromedia and merged with Orion Pictures Corporation, and was renamed to "Goldwyn Entertainment Company". The next year, it was sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer under the Tracinda Corporation, who then renamed it to "Goldwyn Films". Today, MGM currently handles most of the SGE in-house productions, but films SGE merely distributed are now in different hands: The Chipmunk Adventure (a Bagdasarian production) has reverted back to the producers; Oklahoma! and South Pacific are owned by the Rodgers & Hammerstein estate through 20th Century Studios; and all of the Samuel Goldwyn, Sr.-produced films are owned by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. via the Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. Family Trust and licensed to Warner Bros. for US distribution and Miramax Films for international distribution. Two years later, Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. founded Samuel Goldwyn Films as his new film company, which he ran up until his death on January 9, 2015. His son Peter now co-runs the company.

Logo (June 15, 1979-February 28, 1997)

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Visuals: On a blue background, there are the words "Samuel Goldwyn" writing themselves in a script font, with a line drawing itself underneath the name. The text "THE SAMUEL GOLDWYN COMPANY" in the ITC Avant Garde font, flies up from the bottom of the screen and positions itself below the "Samuel Goldwyn" signature. Otherwise, the name fades in below in a smaller print.

Trivia:

• The signature reveal was animated by Dan Perri, a veteran title designer known for his works in The Exorcist (1973), Star Wars (1977), among others. Perri animated the logo using "reveal mattes" over a film cel with the Goldwyn signature in it, backlit photographed on an animation camera stand.
• Despite what many people think, the signature seen on the logo is not from Samuel Goldwyn Sr. (but despite a small similarity they are still not identical), but rather, the signature is extremely identical for Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the company's founder, the strongest evidence is proven here.

Variants:

• On some films, there is a shadow behind the logo.
• The early variant has the words "A" and "RELEASE" appearing above and below Goldwyn's name, respectively.
• A black & white variant of this logo appeared at the beginning of classic Goldwyn movies by Samuel Goldwyn Productions (an example is the 1941 Samuel Goldwyn movie The Little Foxes).
• The closing variant has the text "DISTRIBUTED BY" above the logo. A cable print of South Pacific inserts this variation in the opening credits.
• The logo often appeared on a black background and was seen on a re-release print of Oklahoma!.

Technique: Simple cel animation.

Audio: Usually silent, or uses the opening audio/music of the film.

Audio Variants:

• Beginning in 1992, some '90s films use a dramatic fanfare (that is currently used for the Samuel Goldwyn Films logo) composed by Pfeifer Broz. Music.
• On the Trimark/Pioneer DVD of La Femme Nikita, it uses the Gaumont fanfare (there is 7 seconds of a black screen then the logo fades in at the middle half of the fanfare).
• On older prints of The Care Bears Movie, the logo has a whimsical, synthesized version of the first few notes of the movie's theme song, "Care-A-Lot".
• On YouTube prints of Guys and Dolls (1955), the 1995 MGM lion roar is heard, due to sloppy plastering.

Availability:

• Can be seen on films released by this company such as Mystic Pizza, Gregory's Girl, Oleanna, and American Buffalo, among others.
• On most films put out by MGM DVD/BD, this is retained with the MGM lion and/or the 1997 Orion Pictures logos preceding it.
• On some films, such as Henry V and The Madness of King George, this is plastered by the 1997 Orion Pictures logo; while on some DVDs, such Eat Drink Man Woman, Love Is All There Is, and Rock-a-Doodle, it is replaced with the 2001 version of the 1986 MGM logo.
• On some of their output released through Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, with examples being the Spanish films Matador and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, it is plastered with the Sony Pictures Classics logo.
• This was seen on the original VHS release of The Chipmunk Adventure, but most current releases (including the 1998 Universal VHS, 2007 Paramount, and 2014 Bagdasarian DVD and BD) omit this logo and go into the opening scene.
• The Care Bears Movie also originally featured the logo, but modern digital releases use the 2012 MGM logo, while the DVD release uses the 2001 variant of the 1986 logo and the 2000 VHS has no opening logos.
• This was also seen on earlier international prints of Two Moon Junction, and makes an appearance on the MST3K broadcast of Laserblast as the MST3K gang are entering the theater. It also appears on the Cult Video/Full Moon VHS release of the aforementioned film after the Media Home Entertainment logo.
• The black & white variant of this logo can be found on The Little Foxes and other black & white films of the era.
• It can be also seen on re-issues of Oklahoma! and South Pacific; the 1990 VHS of the latter film shows the logo twice, before and at the end of the overture, but the 1994 and 1999 VHS releases cut the logo out entirely.
• This can be found on the 1999 HBO Video DVD release of Rock-a-Doodle.

References

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Goldwyn Entertainment Company ►