Universal Pictures (1923-1946)

Background
In 1923, the Universal Film Manufacturing Company was renamed into Universal Pictures Corporation. During the mid-1920s, Universal Pictures labeled its most expensive and heavily promoted feature films as "Super-Jewel" productions, including films such as Foolish Wives (1922), The Acquittal (1923), A Lady of Quality (1924), Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927), and Surrender (1928). While founder Carl Laemmle was an innovator, he was also a cautious studio chief who chose not to develop a theater chain like his rivals Adolph Zukor, William Fox, and Marcus Loew. He financed all of his own films and refused to take on debt. This policy nearly bankrupted the studio when actor-director Erich von Stroheim insisted on excessively lavish production values for his films Blind Husbands (1919) and Foolish Wives (1922), but Universal recouped some of the expenditure by launching a sensational ad campaign that attracted moviegoers. Character actor Lon Chaney became a drawing card for Universal in the mid-1910s but left Universal in 1917 because of a salary dispute. Chaney's two biggest hits for Universal were made as isolated returns to the studio: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925).

During the early 1920s, Irving Thalberg was entrusted with most of Universal's production policy decisions. Thalberg made distinct improvements of quality and prestige in Universal's output while dealing with director Erich von Stroheim's inability to control the expense and length of his films. Thalberg eventually fired Stroheim and replaced him with Rupert Julian. Louis B. Mayer lured Thalberg away from Universal in late 1922 to his own growing studio, Louis B. Mayer Productions, and when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was formed in 1924, Thalberg continued in the same position for the new company. Without Thalberg's guidance, Universal became a second-tier studio for several decades. In 1926, Universal opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under the direction of Joe Pasternak. This unit produced three to four films per year until 1936, migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face of Hitler's increasing domination of central Europe. The advent of sound led to productions in the German language or, occasionally, Hungarian or Polish. Despite not being distributed by Universal Pictures, some of these films were exhibited through other independent, foreign-language film distributors based in New York City. However, Nazi persecution and a change in ownership for the parent Universal Pictures organization resulted in the dissolution of this subsidiary.

Carl Laemmle initially enforced a "clean picture" policy at Universal Pictures. However, by April 1927, he considered this a mistake as "unclean pictures" from other studios generated more profit while Universal lost money. In 1928, his son Carl Laemmle, Jr. became the head of the studio as a 21st birthday present from his father. Laemmle, Jr. modernized the studio, converting it to sound production and investing in high-quality productions, such as the critically acclaimed All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). He also created the "Universal horror" series, which included classics such as Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931). However, Universal's attempts at high-quality productions led to receivership and the loss of control by the Laemmle family. This was due to overspending on a big-budget production of Show Boat (1936), which forced Universal to seek a $750,000 loan from the Standard Capital Corporation. When Universal could not pay back the loan, Standard Capital foreclosed and seized control of the studio, leading to the removal of the Laemmles from the company they had founded. Universal then focused on lower-budget productions, such as westerns, melodramas, serials, and sequels to their horror pictures. They also signed teenage singer Deanna Durbin and 13-year-old Gloria Jean to star in their own series of Pasternak musicals, which helped to resolve the studio's financial problems.

J. Arthur Rank, who had already invested in the studio almost ten years earlier, purchased a share in a four-way merger with Universal, International Pictures, and producer Kenneth Young in 1945 with hopes of expanding his presence in America. The merger, known as United World Pictures, failed and was dissolved within a year. Despite this setback, Rank and International remained interested in Universal, which led to the studio's reorganization as Universal-International. The merger was announced on July 30, 1946. William Goetz, a co-founder of International Pictures along with Leo Spitz, was appointed head of production at the newly renamed Universal-International Pictures. This company was a subsidiary of Universal Pictures Company, Inc., which also acted as an import-export subsidiary and held the copyrights for the production arm's films.

1st Logo (1923-1927)
Logo: Against some dark clouds, we see a biplane flying around a rotating globe counterclockwise, leaving a trail of smoke behind it, which forms the words "UNIVERSAL PICTURES".

Trivia: Given the fact that the first picture of the Earth from space was not taken until 1967, the globe in the logo is inaccurate. Madagascar is three times larger than in real life, and Japan and the Philippines are missing. Also, the globe spins to the left instead of to the right.

Variants:
 * A more zoomed out version in a sepia tone color was used sometimes.
 * On Soft Shoes (1925), there is a blue toned version of the logo.

Technique: Live-action model work combined with wiping effects.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Ultra rare.
 * Currently appears on some 1920's Universal films on TCM's Silent Sunday Nights.
 * It has also been seen on The Cat and The Canary and was also seen on Soft Shoes as well.

2nd Logo (1925-1927?)
Logo: On a dark cloudy background, we see a globe slowly rotating where a smiling Carl Laemmle can be seen in the middle. Below are the words "Carl Laemmle" in a script font and "P R E S E N T S" below it.

Variants:
 * On a black background, we see a globe on the top left with Carl Laemmle smiling in the middle whilst the globe is rotating at a normal pace. On the bottom right-hand corner, we see "Carl Laemmle" in a script font like the normal logo and says "Presents" below it.
 * Another variant has the rotating globe but with the "CARL LAEMMLE" text in a capitalized font.
 * At the end of Smouldering Fires, we see the text "It's a Universal Picture" on a black background.

Technique: Practical effects.

Music/Sounds: An organ theme for the normal logo, whilst the variant has a descending orchestral theme which could be an opening theme to the movie. On both prints of the film it would be normally silent like the original film.

Availability: Like most early Universal logos, extremely rare. Can be seen on the silent film Smouldering Fires, and the variant can be seen on another silent film, Head Winds.

3rd Logo (1927-1936)
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Logo: On a cloud-like background, an earth globe rotates as a biplane flies around it. The text "A UNIVERSAL PICTURE" wipes in diagonally as the biplane passes the globe.

Trivia: The biplane is a Lockheed 8C Sirius.

Variants:
 * The position of the globe varies per movie.
 * The logo was cropped to 1.85 for Universal's 75th Anniversary logo in 1990. However, fullscreen prints of the logo retain the full aspect ratio.
 * A colored variant exists where the entire logo (except for the continents, which are ) is light blue.

Closing Variants:
 * The words "THE END" are seen superimposed over the globe, and the sky is darker. Seconds later, the text "IT'S A UNIVERSAL PICTURE" fades in.
 * Another closing variant exists where the globe is at the bottom right corner rotating. On the top, it says "The End" in a cursive font. "It's a Universal Picture" (also in cursive) is superimposed over the globe. A ray of light also shines down on the globe. On some films, the text is on the bottom left corner. Starting around 1933, the text is in a Broadway font.
 * On short films, instead of the text saying "It's a Universal Picture", the text is replaced with "It's a Universal Short".
 * On cartoons, it says "It's a Universal Cartoon" in a script font.

Technique: Live-action.

Music/Sounds: The sound of the biplane's engine.

Availability: Very rare; can be seen on films of this era.
 * This logo can sometimes be seen after the current Universal logos on certain movies.
 * The earlier DVD releases of Frankenstein and Dracula have plastered this with the B&W variation of the 1997 logo, while the later VHS releases of the films plaster this with the B&W variation of the 1963 logo.
 * Early Betamax and VHS releases of the films do not use a logo at all, though it can be seen on the alternate opening for the former on its 2005 Special Edition DVD and the 2012 DVD and Blu-ray of the two aforementioned titles.
 * This is also seen on Bride of Frankenstein, including its 1984 MCA Home Video VHS release.
 * It appears on TCM's print and the Criterion and Universal DVD releases of My Man Godfrey, although several public domain prints of the film have the logo removed entirely.
 * It was also restored for the Criterion Blu-ray and DVD release of the 1936 version of Show Boat.
 * It surprisingly also appears on a cable print of The Texan, a 1930 Paramount film.

Legacy: This is considered an impressive logo for its era.

4th Logo (April 18, 1937-December 15, 1947)
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Logo: A stylized glass globe is seen, tilted at an angle and surrounded by stars. Around the globe, the words "A UNIVERSAL PICTURE" rotate, in a stylized Art Deco font.

Variants:
 * On some color releases, like color Woody Woodpecker cartoons at the time, the logo is tinted.
 * On the colorized versions of the Universal Sherlock Holmes movies, the letters are gold colored.
 * Like the previous logo, this logo was also cropped to 1.85 for Universal's 75th anniversary logo in 1990. The full screen version retains the full aspect ratio.
 * A Spanish-language version exists, with the text now reading "PELICULA UNIVERSAL". This may have been seen on some Spanish-dubbed Woody Woodpecker shorts.

Closing Variant: Superimposed on a special background or in the last seconds of a movie, we see the words "The End" with lettering that varies on the movie along with the text "A Universal Picture" or "A Universal Release".

Technique: Done in live action, which looks pretty impressive for its time. Created by set designer Alexander Golitzen.

Music/Sounds: A proud, bombastic orchestral fanfare, composed by Jimmy McHugh.

Music/Sounds Variant: From about 1945 onwards, the opening theme of the movie is used.

Availability: Rare.
 * Can be seen on Universal releases of the era, beginning with Top of the Town.
 * This doesn't show up that often on TV since the movies it appears on don't appear as often as newer movies (so you might have to look on home media), but Svengoolie on Me-TV happens to be one of the best sources of this logo (and other older logos from other movie companies).
 * It also often shows-up on Johnny Mack Brown films from the time period on Starz Encore Westerns.
 * The last regular appearance of this logo was on the Woody Woodpecker cartoon "Woody the Giant Killer".
 * It also showed up on a Screenpix Westerns airing of Destry Rides Again on August 27, 2021.
 * It is unknown if this appears on any prints of the 1943 version of The Phantom of the Opera.

Legacy: This is one only two Universal logos (the other being the 1914 logo) not to make use of the Earth as a globe.