Fries Entertainment

Background
Fries Entertainment was formed in 1974 as "Charles Fries Productions" by Charles W. Fries, producing TV series and TV movies. Fries later renamed his company to its then-current name. Fries Entertainment went out of business in 1996. All produced material by Fries went to the French bank Crédit Lyonnais, then to PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1998 and later acquired by MGM in January 1999. As of now, Fries has another independent company known as "Fries Film Group" since 1997. Some of the earlier Fries film productions were previously distributed by Viacom Enterprises.

Note: "Fries" is actually pronounced "freeze" as in "freezing" and "freeze tag", not "french fries".

1st Logo (September 24, 1974)
Logo: An in-credit text that reads: "A CHARLES FRIES PRODUCTION FOR ALPINE PRODUCTIONS".

FX/SFX: The text appearing.

Music/Sounds: The end-title theme.

Availability: Seen only on The Strange and Deadly Occurrence.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (October 29, 1974-1984)
Nickname: "CFP"

Logo: On a blue background, we see the letters "C", "F", and "P" arranged in an abstract format. The text "Charles Fries Productions Inc." appears to the right of it.

Variants:
 * There was a variation with a lighter blue background and yellow C, F and P. Also, A Charles Fries Production appears instead of Charlie Fries Productions, Inc.. It's also in yellow. Only known to be seen on High Noon, Part II (1980).
 * Appears as in-credit either outline or filled in.
 * Sometimes would appear on a different colored background, such as the 1977 TV movie, The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald that would appear on a red background and the logo outlined in black with the text in solid white lettering.
 * There are a couple of credit mentions on TV movies by Fries with his other production company "Stonehenge Productions" such as Night Cries and the mini-series The Martian Chronicles.

FX/SFX: None or the fade-in and out.

Music/Sounds: None or the ending theme of the show or TV movie.

Availability: Uncommon. It appears occasionally on many TV movies on This TV. May also appear on MGM HD and Amazon Prime.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (December 17, 1978-October 31, 1979)
Nicknames: "Fries Diamond", "FE"

Logo: Just an in-credit logo. We see the symbol from the previous logo, followed by a "FE" made of lines. On the same line, "FRIES ENTERPRISES" is seen.

FX/SFX: Just the logo scrolling.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the TV movie.

Availability: Rare. It's only seen on The Winds of Kitty Hawk and The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan, both were released on DVD-R via MGM's Limited Edition Collection.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (January 23, 1984-March 10, 1987)
Nickname: "Fries Diamond II"

Logo: On a navy blue background, we see a fuchsia diamond-like symbol appearing on the screen. It spins and zooms out to the upper left. The text "CHARLES FRIES PRODUCTIONS INC." fades below, along with the byline "A FRIES ENTERPRISES COMPANY".

Later Variants:


 * An opening version starts off with the fuchsia diamond appearing and spins and zooms-out the the left side. The text "FRIES ENTERTAINMENT presents" appears to the side in a white Futura Bold MD BT font.
 * The diamond spins and zooms-out a little faster to the left side. The text "FRIES ENTERTAINMENT" fades in on the right. There is no byline underneath.

FX/SFX: The diamond spinning out.

Music/Sounds: A five-note synth tune or the closing music of the film or silence.

Music/Sounds Variant: For the Fries Entertainment variant on Starcrossed, a sound of shattering-like glass with a dramatic one-note theme that would later echo out (audio taken from the actual film itself, is not yet confirmed if this variant has different music than CFP on other productions).

Availability: The Charles Fries Productions variant was seen on the TV movies Jealousy and Dempsey, though on current prints of the former, it's plastered by the 2001 MGM logo. The Fries Entertainment variant can be seen on Starcrossed, Time Stalkers, LBJ: The Early Years, and Thrashin'. The "presents" variant is seen on The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (January 13, 1986-1993)
Nicknames: "Fries Diamond III", "Silver Bars"

Logo: On a black background, several sets of silver bar segments, varying in width, fly down from the top of the screen as they stack onto the space. The symbol from the previous logo flips into the empty space in the middle from the right, and the words "FRIES ENTERTAINMENT" appears.

Variant: An opening variant exists. It's essentially the Fries Distribution Company logo, with "FRIES ENTERTAINMENT" replacing the aforementioned descriptor.

FX/SFX: The bars flying down and stacking. The diamond flipping itself in the center.

Music/Sounds: An abridged version of the Fries Distribution theme. Otherwise, none or the closing theme.

Availability: Uncommon. It appears on TV movies produced by Charles Fries such as Crash Course and Fight for Life, the latter which can be currently found on Amazon Prime Video. The opening variant can be found on the StarMaker VHS releases of The Burning Bed and Small Sacrifices.

Editor's Note: None.