Selznick International Pictures

Background
Selznick International Pictures was the studio of David O. Selznick, producer of the highest-grossing film of all-time (when adjusted for inflation), Gone with the Wind. While the studio had success, it was dissolved and reconstituted as Vanguard Films in 1943 as a tax shelter. Most of the studio's films were released by United Artists Pictures, while Gone with the Wind was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. Films produced by Vanguard Films were mostly released by RKO Radio Pictures. The rights to the library are split. Selznick's partner in the early films, Jock Whitney, sold some of the library off as part of the 1943 dissolution; this included A Star is Born, Nothing Sacred, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Made for Each Other and The Young in Heart. All but the latter of these films are now in the public domain. Whitney also sold Gone with the Wind completely to MGM and is now owned by Turner Entertainment Co. (who acquired the pre-May 1986 MGM film and television library due to Turner Broadcasting System briefly owning MGM in 1986) and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (Warner Bros.' owner, Time Warner, purchased Turner in 1996). After Selznick's death in 1965, the rest of his library was sold to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and later integrated into the ABC Motion Pictures/ABC Circle Films library, which is currently owned by Walt Disney Pictures and licensed to MGM Home Entertainment for home media releases.

(November 19, 1936-December 14, 1957)
Nickname: "The Mansion"

Logo: We see an ivory sign against a mostly cloudy sky that reads: serif

There are also shadows of trees rustling in the wind that are cast onto the sign. A few seconds later, the camera pans downward to reveal the exterior shot of a mansion, which was the Selznick Studio (now the "Culver Studios").

Variants:


 * There is a black and white variant of this logo in which the sign reads "THE SELZNICK STUDIO" or "A SELZNICK RELEASE" instead.
 * Made for Each Other and Portrait of Jennie had this logo in reverse. However, it begins with "IN A TRADITION OF QUALITY" over the mansion.
 * There is a version of the logo seen on The Prisoner of Zenda and A Star is Born in which the sign reads "SELZNICK INTERNATIONAL PICTURES INCORPORATED" instead. There's also a flag on the exterior shot of the Selznick Studio.
 * On the 1985 VHS of Gone with the Wind (probably sourced from a reissue print), the logo begins as a still picture, then the footage starts moving when it comes time to pan down toward the mansion.

FX/SFX: The live-action footage of the sign and the mansion.

Music/Sounds: A fanfare composed by Alfred Newman (the same composer as the 20th Century Fox fanfare). It starts off with an eight-note church bell tune, which is followed by a triumphant seven-note brass fanfare.

Music/Sound Variants:


 * On A Farewell to Arms, it was rearranged by Mario Nascimbene.
 * On Gone with the Wind, the theme is preceded by a long drumroll that plays over a black screen. During the original roadshow engagement, this was the cue after the overture to open the theater curtains before the logo faded in.
 * One a few movies, like A Star is Born and Notorious, the opening theme plays over the logo.

Availability: Uncommon. The color variant can be found on Gone With the Wind, A Star is Born, Nothing Sacred and Duel in the Sun, while the more common black and white variant was seen on Rebecca, Spellbound and The Prisoner of Zenda, among others. This logo did not appear on Little Lord Fauntleroy, but was edited onto later prints (sloppily cutting out part of the main credits in the process). On some prints of Notorious, the logo is replaced by the RKO Radio Pictures logo. The last film with this logo was A Farewell to Arms, David O. Selznick's last film produced.