Associated Talking Pictures

Background
The first incarnation of Ealing Studios was created in 1902 by Will Barker Studios, a company whose namesake (1868-1951) was a British film producer, director and cinematographer as well as an entrepreneur. In 1929, Basil Dean (1888-1978), a former stage actor turned film producer, created a production company that acquired Will Barker Studios. The company was renamed Ealing Studios in 1931. Two years later, in 1933, the company was renamed Associated Talking Pictures. The name remained for the next five years until Dean was replaced at the helm by Michael Balcon (1896-1977), who had affiliations with Gainsborough Pictures, as well as with the British subsidiaries of Gaumont and Metro-Goldwyn-Maye r. Balcon changed the name back to Ealing Studios in 1938. In 1944, the company was taken over by the Rank Organisation.

1st (Known) Logo (1933-1938)
Nicknames: "ATP in Space", "Zooming ATP", "Megaphone Man"

Logo: We see a dark background with a black and white globe at the bottom of the screen. The globe, which is in raised relief, spins as a white glow exudes from it. A white figure starts zooming in toward the centre of the screen, holding a megaphone in its left hand. Its right arm is ramrod straight at its side. The legs of the figure are held together and minutely bent behind it. As it zooms in, so do the letters A T P. The A shifts to the left, the T is dead centre, and the P shifts to the right. The T is somewhat higher than both the A and the P, while the A and P are parallel to each other. The figure imposes itself over the T and suddenly turns to the left, showing itself to be wearing a winged helmet much like the Roman god Mercury. Its megaphone is held up so that it is minutely higher than the A to its left and just underneath the top stick of the T. The figure's feet just touch the bottom corner of the P. Just as the figure shifts to the side, the word PRESENTS comes around the globe as it spins and then goes off screen.

FX/SFX: The letters ATP and the figure zooming in, the glowing and spinning of the globe, the word PRESENTS appearing.

Music/Sounds: A five-note horn fanfare broken up into three parts. The first part is only one sounding of the horn, while the second and third are both two soundings.

Availability: Very rare. This particular logo was taken from the 1936 film Whom the Gods Love.

Editor's Note: None.