National Board of Review

Credits

Compiled by
Camenati

Background

The National Board of Review is a New York City-based organization of film enthusiasts. It was formed in January 1909 by Charles Sprague Smith originally as the New York Board of Motion Picture Censorship to address controversial films. They would review submitted films and object footage they found questionable, going as far as cutting the entire film. From 1912 to 1959, many films, under the approval from the board, carried the "Passed by the National Board of Review" legend. By then, they were overshadowed by the MPAA concerning film censorship.

The board has shown its support of cinema as an art and entertainment form throughout its lifespan. Today, they are known for their annual awards, choosing various movies (such as Mary Poppins Returns) to honor as the best film of the year.

Logo (March 4, 1914-April 24, 1920)

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Visuals: An outlined shield has the slightly arched text inside:

PASSED BY THE NATIONAL BOARD OF CENSORS

Underneath it is the chairman's signature. Surrounding the shield are the Tragedy and Comedy masks with hair facing the left and right respectively. On top of the shield is a bowl-like object with hair coming out. Lastly, underneath the logo is "OFFICIAL STAMP".

Variants:

• Sometimes, the text "OFFICIAL STAMP" is in a serif font.
• On films produced by Paramount Pictures, the font for the text is different and wider. Plus, "NATIONAL BOARD" is in a normal font, the chairman's signature is different, with "OFFICIAL STAMP" in a serif font, and the text "Paramount Pictures Corporation." is added underneath "OFFICIAL STAMP".
• On films produced by Pallas Pictures, "CENSORS" is replaced with "CENSORSHIP" or "REVIEW" and "REG. U.S. PAT. OFF." is added underneath "OFFICIAL STAMP".
• On a few Paramount films, the logo is seen with the texts "OFFICIAL STAMP" on the left side of the shield and "REG. U.S. PAT. OFF." on the right side of the shield with the chairman's signature omitted inside the shield.
• Sometimes, "REVIEW" replaces "CENSORS".
• On Poor Little Peppina, "CENSORS" is replaced with "CENSORSHIP".
• On The Boy Mayor, the chairman's signature is omitted.
• Sometimes, the logo may appear at the beginning of films.

Technique: A still, printed image.

Audio: The closing theme of the film.

Availability: It was seen at the end of films produced by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, Famous Players Film Company, Paramount Pictures, Pallas Pictures, General Film Company, and Edison Manufacturing Company from this period which includes The Boy Mayor, The Intrigue, The Italian, The Captive, Poor Little Peppina, Why Change Your Wife?, and When Knights Were Bold and at the beginning of films such as The Snowbird. Like many films from this period, they were either destroyed or in the public domain, removing this logo altogether. In addition, many only carried an in-credit notice rather than this logo. Despite its rarity, it is intact on the 2020 Blu-ray of The Intrigue: The Films of Julia Crawford Ivers box set.