Columbia Pictures/Logo Variations

Logo descriptions by Sean Beard, Matt Williams, Nicholas Aczel, Internet Movie Database and others. Images, up-to-date and design by Eric S. among others

These are the logo variations seen throughout the years by Columbia Pictures.

The Criminal Code and Ten Cents a Dance (1931): The 1928 logo is shown without the company name. The practice of showing the Columbia logo sans company name predates the variations seen on Cowboy, Under the Yum Yum Tree, Good Neighbor Sam and Flight of the Doves.

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Gun Fury (1953): The logo is shown in a greenish-brown tint. Also, the Torch Lady's pedestal doesn't extend to the bottom of the screen, making it look like she's floating!

Columbia Pictures - Gun Fury

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Zarak (1956): The logo is a still painting. In addition, the "COLUMBIA" text is slightly larger and more spaced out than the standard logo and there are clouds below the pedestal.

Columbia Pictures (1956)

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Cowboy (1958): The logo has no company name at the beginning of the film. The standard version appears at the end.

Columbia - Cowboy

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The Mouse That Roared (1959): The Torch Lady looks down and sees a mouse at her feet on the pedestal. The Torch Lady leaves her pedestal, leaving her torch behind. At the end of the film, you can see her rushing up the stairs of the pedestal, grabbing her torch again.

Columbia logo from "The Mouse that Roared"

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The Three Stooges Meets Hercules (1962): The 1936 Torch Lady is on the left side on a black background. The text "COLUMBIA PICTURES PRESENTS" is on the right side. The logo cross-fades to a statue of Norman Maurer, the son-in-law of Moe Howard of The Three Stooges as he holds a stick of dynamite. The text "A NORMANDY PRODUCTION" is on the left side. The sparks are flowing from the dynamite and the dynamite later explodes, leaving the lower legs and the pedestal on the statue. The text "FILMED IN GLORIOUS BLACK AND WHITE" fades in above.

Normandy Productions (1962)

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'''Zotz! (1962):''' We start with a black & white version of the 1950s logo with William Castle sitting on a director's chair in the bottom-right corner of the screen. William gets out of his chair and says "Zotz!" The Torch Lady replies by asking "Zotz? What's Zotz?" After that, we fade to the opening credits of the movie. At the end of the movie, the black & white version of the 1950s logo is shown, but the Torch Lady says "Zotz all!"

Logo Variations - Columbia Pictures - CLG Wiki

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Lawrence of Arabia (1962): The logo is merely a still painting. The light from the torch doesn't flicker and the clouds aren't as billowy. This was created especially for the film because there was no 70mm version of the logo in existence, and this variation was, at one point, plastered with the standard version for years until the film was restored in 1989.



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Bye Bye Birdie (1963): The Columbia Torch Lady's flame leaps from the torch to form the title of the film.

Logo Variations - CLG Wiki

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Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963): The Torch Lady is on an orange background. Like the Cowboy variant, the company name does not appear over the logo, but does appear on a title card that fades in a few seconds later as part of the main titles.

Columbia - Under the Yum Yum Tree

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Strait-Jacket (1964): The Torch Lady reappears at the end of the film for the closing variant, only her head has been chopped off and is sitting at her feet.

Columbia Pictures (Strait-Jacket" Variant)

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Good Neighbor Sam (1964): Similar to the Under the Yum Yum Tree variant, except the Torch Lady is on a light blue background. Incidentally, both films starred Jack Lemmon and used the same director, so this was no coincidence.

Columbia Pictures (1964)

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Cat Ballou (1965): The Columbia Torch Lady transforms into an animated version of Jane Fonda as a cowgirl who is holding two guns and firing them.

Columbia from "Cat Ballou"

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The Trouble with Angels (1966): A halo appears above the "A" in COLUMBIA, and wings sprout behind it. This reveals to be an animated angel hiding behind it, who flies around the Torch Lady and blows out the torch.

Columbia - Trouble w/Angels

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The Man Called Flintstone (1966): Wilma Flintstone replaces the Torch Lady and the logo is made in a prehistoric style. Great American Communications edited out this variation when they owned Hanna-Barbera, but it is intact on the VHS release.

Columbia Pictures - The Man Called Flintstone (1966)

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Torture Garden (1967): The 1941 logo has the company name appearing darker than usual, and "PICTURES CORPORATION PRESENTS" fades in below in yellow.

Columbia Pictures - Torture Garden (1967)

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Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968): The 1968 logo starts rotating a few seconds after the "COLUMBIA" text fades in, transitioning into the start of the film.

Columbia Pictures (1968)

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Head (1968): After the end of the credits, we see a psychedelic, almost Art Nouveau looking Torch Lady; slowly the film disintegrates.

Columbia Pictures - Head (1968)

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'''Oliver! (1968):' Same as Torture Garden'', but the logo is in sepia tone, and after the giant "COLUMBIA" text fades in, the words "PICTURES CORPORATION PRESENTS" fade in below.

Columbia - Oliver!

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The Looking Glass War (1969): The 1968 logo has the words "PICTURES" and "PRESENTS" appear below the "COLUMBIA" name and on either side of the Torch Lady.

Columbia - The Looking Glass War

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There's a Girl in My Soup (1970): Same as on The Looking Glass War, though "PICTURES PRESENTS" is in a different font.

Columbia - There's a Girl in My Soup

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Flight of the Doves (1971): Almost the same as the Cowboy variant, but the clouds appear to be more blue.

Columbia Pictures - Flight of the Doves (1971)

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The Last Picture Show (1971): The 1968 logo is shown in black and white.

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Thank God It's Friday (1978): We see the Torch Lady posed as in the start of "The Sunburst/Abstract Torch" logo. Suddenly disco music starts playing and the Torch Lady comes to life and starts dancing. Then she gets back into her normal position and the rest of the logo plays as normal.

Columbia - TGIF

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Crossroads (1986): The logo cuts to black rather than fading out as usual.

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The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988): When viewed in full screen, the 1981 logo is seen at a much farther distance than any other 4:3 version of the logo. Here, the pedestal is cut off at the bottom of the frame (made more apparent when the sunburst appears). The logo then fades into a picture of Pippi Longstocking (only showing her eyes, and her hair) on a white background.

Logo Variations - Columbia Pictures - CLG Wiki

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Little Nikita (1988): The 1981 logo fades into the sky.

Columbia Pictures logo (Little Nikita variant)

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City Slickers (1991): The 1981 logo is a still picture. Only on The Hub (now Discovery Family)'s print of the movie. The theatrical version had the logo freeze-framed when it fades-in, then the animation begins. Seen on the Widescreen LaserDisc and 1997 MGM/UA VHS releases of the film, while today it wouldn't be seen on current prints due to plastering by MGM.

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A League of Their Own (1992): At the end of the newsreel within the film, it has the words "COLUMBIA MOVIESCOPE NEWS" with the 80s Columbia print logo on top of the marquee styling between the words. It's historically inaccurate the 80s logo was used, considering the newsreel is supposed to be from 1943.

Columbia Moviescope News - A League of Their Own

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Last Action Hero (1993): The 1981 logo melts and integrates into the film-within-a-film, Jack Slater IV. The logo is briefly shown, then disintegrates like an old film would do, into the main titles. The movie itself is the first one to use 1993 logo.

Columbia Pictures - Last Action Hero (1993)

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The Age of Innocence (1993): When the music is almost over, the logo changes to a sepia tint and turns into a still picture and the company name fades out.

Columbia Pictures "The Age of Innocence" (1993)

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Wolf (1994): The already-formed 1993 logo is seen, but the clouds are navy blue. Then, navy blue clouds move from left to right, covering the logo.

Columbia Pictures - Wolf (1994)

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Street Fighter (1994, non-US version): as CTFDI (Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International, Inc). After the 1992 print logos of both Columbia Torch Lady and 1993 TriStar Pegasus fade out along with the company name, the background fades to the 1990 Universal Pictures logo's background with Globe and Sky (which was plastered from the US Print) segueing to the opening sequence before the globe zooms out to the movie's logo and the movie begins.

Columbia Pictures - Street Fighter: The Ultimate Battle

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The Cable Guy (1996): The logo goes static, just like a television would do.

Columbia Pictures - The Cable Guy (1996)

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Men in Black (1997): The 1993 logo fades into a black starry sky, segueing into the opening credits.

Columbia Pictures "Men in Black" (1997)

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Go (1999): The logo sequence at the end is abruptly interrupted by jarring clips from a rave scene that segues into the opening credits.

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Charlie's Angels (2000): The logo pans to the right, as the movie starts off in the sky on a plane.

Columbia Pictures "Charlie's Angels" (2000)

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Finding Forrester (2000): The logo's music is played on a guitar.

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'''What Planet Are You From? (2000):''' The Torch Lady's normal face is replaced with that of star Annette Benning, in a nod to the oft-noted resemblance between Bening and Jenny Joseph, the Torch Lady. The logo then fades into the night sky.

Columbia - Annette Bening

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Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment): The last few seconds of the logo feature a shadow covering the Pegasus and turning the Torch Lady into Aki Ross. Only shown before the DVD menu.

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Ali (2001) and Big Fish (2003): The logo animates in reverse.

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Thir13en Ghosts (Non U.S. version, 2001): The logo is in black & white, just like the Warner Bros. variant.

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Men in Black II (2002): The Torch Lady's torch flashes at the end of the logo, much like a neuralyzer.

Columbia Pictures "Men in Black II" (2002)

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Eight Crazy Nights (2002): The Torch Lady is replaced with Eleanore Duvall, who later melts into the Torch Lady._______________________________________________________________________________________

American Hustle (2013, US): The 1976 logo is used with the "a Sony Company" byline in the same font as the logo.

Columbia Pictures (1976) - American Hustle (2013)

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The Interview (2014): The 1953 logo is used and the 1928 theme is heard. Also, there is no introduction of Sony Corporation and the byline "a Sony Company" is removed.

Logo Variations - Columbia Pictures - CLG Wiki

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Aloha (2015): Exactly like Django Unchained, but the byline "a Sony Company" appearing below. Also, the logo is brightened.

Logo Variations - Columbia Pictures - CLG Wiki

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Concussion (2015): After the introduction of Sony Corporation logo, we see the Torch Lady for a moment, before "COLUMBIA" fades in.

Columbia Pictures "Concussion" (2015)

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Spectre (2015): Similar to All the King's Men (2006), but the logo is slightly darker.

Columbia Pictures "SPECTRE" (2015)

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The Night Before (2015) and The Front Runner (2018): The 1981 logo is used and the byline "a Sony Company" appears below.

Columbia Pictures (2015)

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Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017): A cardboard standee of the Torch Lady falls down, revealing Smurfette. She then notices a mushroom, raises it and a light transitions to the Sony Pictures Animation logo.

Columbia Pictures "Smurfs The Lost Village" (2017)

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The Emoji Movie (2017): A hand comes up and takes a picture of the lady. It selects an emoji with sunglasses. The phone drops and then the torch shines, transitioning to the Sony Pictures Animation logo.

Columbia Pictures (2017)

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Blade Runner 2049 (2017; International Release): Everything is in black and white. The logo also suffers a glitch, causing the clouds to disappear, but they return shortly afterwards.

Columbia Pictures (2017, A) Columbia Pictures (2017, B)

In the prototype version, the logo is in a digital red. The Sony logo transitions to Columbia via a flash, the cloud background is different, and the company name and byline appear letter by letter.

Columbia Pictures (2017)

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Only the Brave (2017): As the logo goes on, it slowly changes from full color to sepia. Also, the logo is silent.

Columbia Pictures (2017)

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'''Puppy! (Short Film, 2017):' Very similar to The Holiday'' variant.

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Peter Rabbit (2018): Instead of the Sony logo, the Sony Pictures Animation logo on a black background segues into the main logo. Also, the "a Sony Company" byline fades in before "COLUMBIA" does so, and as soon as the logo's music finishes, some birds fly right to the logo and fly around the logo, the Columbia logo then turns 3D and as soon as the camera pans its way around the logo, the clouds move faster. Once the camera begins to follow the birds, the entire logo (except for the birds) fades into white clouds moving on a blue sky. On the extended preview, some birds come after the logo is formed.

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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018): The logo appears in the style of the movie. The logo is also glitchy and shows older Columbia logos, including the Cat Ballou, 1976 logo and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (when the banana knocks the Torch Lady out).

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Men in Black: International (2019): When the logo is almost over, the Torch Lady moves her left hand and puts on a pair of sunglasses.The logo then transitions via a white light to the next logo. This is the first variation in the logo in which the Torch Lady moves.

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Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019): The logo cross-fades into a Mexican statue in the desert.

Columbia Pictures - Spider-Man Far From Home

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019): Same as the Django Unchained variant, but this time "a SONY Company" is seen in the same chiseled font used for both the bylines "a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT Company" and "A DIVISION OF COLUMBIA PICTURES INDUSTRIES, INC."

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Zombieland: Double Tap (2019): At the end of the logo, two zombies appear and run towards the Torch Lady, and she attacks them with her torch.

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Little Women (2019): The 1993 logo is used and has "a Sony Company" byline appearing below.