International Pictures

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

International Pictures, Inc. was an independent production company founded in 1943 by businessmen William Goetz & Leo Spitz (some sources also say that actor Gary Cooper and screenwriter Nunally Johnson were also partners). Its films were initially distributed by RKO, but in late 1945, plans were for Universal Pictures to take a 50% stake in International and have its films released through "United World Pictures", a Rank/Universal joint venture that never took off. In 1946, Universal acquired International, thus the former company was renamed "Universal-International", and Goetz became head of production there. The library, however, now belongs to MGM through United Artists.

Logo (December 27, 1944-December 2, 1946)

Visuals: On a starburst background, there is a large compass. In the center is a globe, outside of the globe is a ring with "INTERNATIONAL" at the top and "PICTURES, INC." at the bottom, and a series of stylized triangles all around the inside.

Variant: There is a colorized variant where the logo has a more three-dimensional appearance, and the background is plain blue.

Technique: A still printed image.

Audio: A series of chiming bells. This was later reused for the Universal-International logo.

Availability: The standard B&W version can be seen on The Dark Mirror and The Stranger.

International Pictures
Universal-International Pictures