Leo the Lion (MGM)
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Leo the Lion is the mascot for the Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Since 1924 (when the studio was formed), there have been around five different lions used for the iconic MGM production logo, which was also first used in 1924.
Tanner [link] was the third MGM lion, used on all Technicolor films and MGM cartoons. Tanner was the second longest serving lion, in use on the studio logo for 18 years. The current lion, which does not have a large mane (compared to the other lions that have been featured in the logo), has been in use since 1957. However, when the MGM animation department—which had closed in 1958—re-opened with new Tom and Jerry shorts in 1963, these shorts used Tanner in the opening sequence rather than the current lion.
Logos
Main Logos
- Slats [link] was the first lion used for the newly-formed studio. Slats, who resided at Gay's Lion Farm[[Citing sources citation needed]] , was used on all black and white MGM films (1924-1928). The original logo was designed by Howard Dietz and used by the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation studio from 1916 to 1924, when the studio was ultimately absorbed into the partership that formed MGM. The MGM motto, Ars Gratia Artis (translating to Art for the sake of Art) was also used for the first time on the MGM logo. The newly formed studio adopted the logo and chose Slats as the mascot. Slats was trained by Volney Phifer to growl rather than roar, and for the next couple of years, the lion would tour with MGM promoters to signify the studio's launch and survived two severe accidents. Slats died in 1936.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
- Jackie was the second lion [link], depicted on the right from a still from The Wizard of Oz (1939). Jackie looked quite identical to Slats, his predecessor. Jackie was also the first MGM lion whose roar (which sounded more like soft growls) was heard by audiences of the Silent Film Era. Jackie was also arguably the most memorable of the lions, appearing on all black and white MGM films (1928–1956) and MGM's Happy Harmonies cartoons (1934–1938).
- Two lions were used for two-strip Technicolor variations of the logo in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The early MGM Happy Harmonies feature a color logo featuring the lion appearing to snarl, instead of roar.
- MGM began producing full three-strip Technicolor films in 1938, and the logo was slightly modified for color. Tanner was used on all Technicolor MGM films (1938–1956) and cartoons (1938–1958, 1963-1967). Tanner[[Citing sources citation needed]], who made his first feature film appearance in Sweethearts (1938) (his first cartoon appearance was earlier), was in use as Leo the Lion for 18 years, second only to the current lion (who has been retained for 49 years), and appears as if he is "grinning" in the logo. Whilst the MGM studio logo featuring Jackie may be the most memorable, it is the Tanner version of the logo that was the most frequently used version throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood.
- Tanner was kept in the change from Academy ratio films to widescreen CinemaScope movies, as depicted on the right from Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956). This change saw the main studio logo being slightly modified; Tanner and the ribboning were made larger to cover half of the background, the marquee below the film ribbon was removed, and the studio name was arched above the film ribbon. The first letters of the name ("Metro Goldwyn Mayer") were colored red, and the rest in a tan/gold color.
- Jackie II [[Citing sources citation needed]], was introduced in mid-1956, and was more heavily maned than any of the predecessors and the current lion. The lion seemed somewhat unnerved and appeared as if he was snarling, whereas the lions before him had roared (with the exception of Slats). The MGM logo was also redesigned slightly; the ribboning was changed from ochre colored to white, the ends of the film ribbon were slightly extended, the drama mask was simplified, and the studio name was outlined in white. Two of this lion's notable appearances include The Opposite Sex (1956) and The Wings of Eagles (1957), amongst others.
- The fifth lion had a smaller mane than the previous lions. It was used on all MGM films from mid-1957 to 1983 and Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Gene Deitch, 1961. It was during the period 1957-1960 that MGM used two variants of the logo featuring the fifth lion: the standard version is still used to this day, and features the lion roaring twice; the extended version features the lion roaring three times. Although the logo was in use for MGM films during 1963 and 1967, the opening sequence for the third series of Tom and Jerry (made during the aforementioned years) featured Tanner. MGM's three Camera 65/Ultra Panavision films, Raintree County (1957), Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and Ben-Hur (1959) utilized a resized still-frame of the logo, with the lion roar track added to the backing track. However, Ben-Hur did not include the roar; instead, the film score continued underneath the still-frame of the logo. A special black and white version was created for Jailhouse Rock (1957), and was utilized again in 1982 for the Columbia Pictures film Annie during an excerpt from MGM's 1936 film, Camille, replacing the original 1928-1938 logo featuring Jackie.
- The stylized lion, a major revamp of the logo, was short-lived, seen on only two MGM films, Grand Prix (1966) and (1968). However, it was retained by the MGM Records division and was also used on MGM movie posters.
- The fifth lion and its surrounding logo were reintroduced soon afterwards. The lion was retained in the revamp from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to MGM/UA Entertainment Co., used on all MGM/UA films (1983–1987). It was at this time that the original lion roar was replaced with a remade, stereophonic roar track, which was redone by Mark Mangini; the first film to feature the new roar effect was Poltergeist (1982). The logo was slightly revised; the capital letters of the new studio name were bolded in red and the rest in gold (MGM/UA Entertainment Co.), but the rest of the logo remained the same as its predecessor.
- The fifth lion continued to be utilized when the company reverted back to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, as depicted in the 2001 logo on the right (1987-present). The only difference between the 1987 and 2001 versions is the introduction of the web address www.mgm.com.
Variations
- MGM celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1974, and the studio logo was adapted to read "Golden Anniversary" on the left and right of the film loop, as depicted on the right in a still from the opening sequence of That's Entertainment! (1974), celebrating the studio's musical films. In the film loop before the logo began, the lion was replaced with "Beginning Our Next 50 Years...".
- MGM celebrated their 60th anniversary in 1984, and the studio logo was adapted again for the occasion; the studio name was replaced with "Diamond Jubilee: Sixty Years of Great Entertainment", and the words "Metro Goldwyn Mayer" were placed where "Ars Gratia Artis" is usually seen. The film ribbon, at that time colored white, was golden colored. One notable example of this logo's appearance was at the start of (1984).
- MGM celebrated their 70th anniversary in 1994, and the logo was again adapted, as shown on the right from That's Entertainment III. By this time, the fifth lion had been in use for 37 years, outplacing any of its predecessors.
- MGM celebrated their 75th anniversary in 1999, and the logo was adapted for this; "75: A Legacy of Excellence" was placed in a semi-circular shape at the bottom of the logo.
Popular culture references and spoofs
- In a Marx Brothers film, MGM allowed the trio of brothers to take the place of Leo in the logo, marking the first time a lion was not used in an MGM film.
- In early Technicolor MGM cartoons, MGM placed a cartoon version of the main studio logo featuring Jackie, with the same roar track.
- The black background on the MGM logo at the start of North by Northwest (1959) was changed to green, in keeping with the main title sequence of the film.
- In a Monty Python's Flying Circus episode, an animation shows a spoof of the MGM logo that has a small rodent appearing in the logo.
- * In the Monty Python film And Now For Something Completely Different, there is another spoof of the MGM logo. It has a frog burping in the logo.
- In an episode of the show called "Lights, Camera, Danger", when Jimmy tells Goddard to get lines from famous movies, he begins it with the standard MGM logo, only with Goddard instead of Leo.
- MGM has allowed several alterations to the studio logo for several different films. Some of these include amending the logo or replacing Leo the Lion with another animal, or a character from the film.
- * Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Chuck Jones from 1963 to 1967 include Tanner roaring in the MGM logo, to be replaced by Tom meowing in the style of the lion, as depicted in the image shown on the right.
- * In The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), the animation department added blood dripping from the lion's mouth, to keep in with the story of the film.
- * In Strange Brew (1983), the MGM logo included a new lion for that movie only, in which it appears to be drunk; the camera pans to show two characters, Bob and Doug MacKenzie, who are attempting to sober it up. One suggests to the other to "crank its tail".
- * In , MGM allowed a crocodile to take the place of Leo in the logo.
- * In The Pink Panther (2006), the standard studio logo was again modified; after the lion's roars, an animated cartoon version of the character Inspector Clouseau appeared, as well as an animated panther.
- * The MGM Kids logo featured a kitten in the place of Leo the Lion on the main logo.
- Outside the Culver Hotel (Culver City, California, where MGM's original studios were based), there is a statue of Leo the Lion in a fountain at the exterior of the hotel.
- Mary Tyler Moore's film company was called MTM, and the company's logo utilized a kitten (instead of Leo the Lion), paying homage to the MGM studio logo.
External links
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