Walter Reade Organization

(August 13, 1963)


Visuals: On a grey background, a wireframe globe is wiped in. Two abstract comedy masks, one happy and one sad, slide in from the top and bottom of the screen until they meet on the bottom of the globe, with the masks being darker in the middle. "A" fades in as "Walter Reade/Sterling, Inc." wipes in above the comedy masks as well as "presentation".

Technique: Motion-controlled animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: It was seen on Lord of the Flies (the 1963 version, not the 1990 version). It was removed on The Criterion Collection DVDs, making only found on TV broadcasts of the film. It was seen on an airing of it in Poland.

(August 31, 1962-July 19, 1973)


Visuals: On a starfield background, we see the same logo from before on the left of the screen. On the right there is the text "Walter Reade Organization, Inc." can be seen in the same font as before. "a" and "presentation" can be seen above and below the text respectively.

Trivia: Although was first used anywhere by August 31, 1962, on Thursday, September 11, 1969, a U.S. federal trademark registration was filed for the above pictured logo by WALTER READE ORGANIZATION, INC., THE, OAKHURST 07755. The USPTO has given the trademark serial number of 72337611. The current federal status of this trademark filing has expired.

Variant: There is a color version of this logo (sometimes with a heavy red tint), featuring the lettering in red, and the black/dark blue starry background, which appeared on early prints of The Delta Factor, as well as the end of Son of Godzilla. Known prints of that movie have the logo blacked out with the music intact!

Technique: None.

Audio: A weird melody that consisted of an harpsichord playing 3 different tunes, each interrupted by a timpani beat, before ending with a xylophone allegro.

Availability: Was seen on some early prints of Night of the Living Dead (the ones that were introduced by George Romero himself), and on films such as The Delta Factor. It is intact on the Kult Klassics DVD of the former, however. And, around 1975, when Reade acquired television syndication rights to the Hal Roach Laurel and Hardy shorts and features, the black and white version was seen prior to the films' original opening with the MGM logo (most notably on Sons of the Desert and Swiss Miss). The TV syndication rights to the Laurel and Hardy films reverted to Hal Roach Studios around 1982.