Fox Technicolor Movies (1 Viewer)

[DaveK]

I have a question about 20th Cetury Fox's Technicolor movies from the 1930's - 1950's (before Cinemascope).

It seems that most of these movies (including Leave Her To Heaven and the Betty Grable movies) don't have the opening studio logo used during that time

Here's an Example


Instead they use the opening logo used during the 1960's and 1970's and on the opening, it has a ®.

I wanted to know if the old logos were completely removed or are there prints still existing with their original logos.

Since different logos appear on these films, are we getting original prints of the movies on DVD (Leave Her To Heaven)or reissued prints?

Someone PULLLLEASE clarify this for me.

 

[Jason-D]

I noticed the registered symbol on the opening of Leave Her To Heaven as well. It doesn't look the same as the rest of the opening to me, the picture wobbles a little bit but the symbol stays in the same spot onscreen, and I think that the symbol was added for whatever reason. As to the authenticity of the print, Fox does a lot of work on releases in the Studio Classics line and from what I've read before they use the original negative whenever possible. Usually when there is a problem with the original elements there will be a disclaimer in the restoration comparison featurette as there is on the new release of A Letter To Three Wives where it is explained that the original camera negative has been lost and explains what elements had to be used to restore the film. No excuses are made in the LHTH restoration featurette.

 

[ChrisPearson]

FWIW I remember that when the newly launched Channel 4 here in the UK bought the broadcast rights to a whole load of TCF films back in the 1980s, many were without the familiar searchlight opening. I believe it was the then-buyer for C4, Leslie Halliwell, in his TVTimes column who explained that the fanfare was missing since previous companies who had bought the films from Fox had snipped them off and replaced them with their own logo. Is this likely? Did Fox sell off a portion of its catalogue and then buy it back, a la Warner? If so, then this would account for 60s/70s logos being added to 40s/50s films.

 

[Douglas R]

On the subject of logos, it's a great pity that MGM/UA have cut out all the old United Artists logos from the beginning and end of UA films and replaced them with a modern MGM/UA opening. Anyone know why? I vaguely remember reading that there may have been a legal reason for them deleting the UA logo.