Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Logos are the faces of companies. Most people are quick to judge a book by its cover so it’s important for the face of your organization to look appealing. A lot of logos, especially today, have a minimalistic look to them. In the modern era, everything is about efficiency and simplicity, over-elaborate and over the top. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer logo is anything but simple; the history of the company itself is also quite elaborate.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM is composed of three separate companies that were merged into one by Marcus Loew, a business and theater magnate. The company was called Metro Pictures Corporation; it was founded on June 23, 1915, by Richard A. Rowland and Louis B Mayer. Metro Pictures started by distributing films for Solax Studios, soon after operations began Louis B Mayer left to start Goldwyn pictures.
In 1920 Marcus Loew acquired metro pictures, 4 years after Loew purchased Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B.Mayer Production, merging all Three companies. MGM was fully developed on April 17, 1924, it quickly became a major contender in what was known as the golden age of Hollywood. During its peak in the 1930s, MGM was releasing Fifty films a year, even by today’s standards that is impressive. In 1952 a law was passed that forced theaters and studios to separate, due to the outcome of United States V. Paramount Pictures. This meant Loews Inc and MGM had to separate.
The split was a major damper to the success of MGM. The rise of television was taking place, making matters worse for MGM. The company was struggling, and unfortunately, Louis B. Mayer soon passed away in 1957. Without Mayer’s exceptional leadership MGM wasn’t able to recover. MGM was bought and sold multiple times. Each time changing its name and service. Today MGM continues to live on as a subsidiary of amazon.
The iconic lion motif on the MGM logo started with this poster by Howard Dietz, in 1916 for the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation.
The first iteration of the MGM logo was created for Goldwyn pictures. This was before the addition of Mayer production. The logo is very rare to find, it was in use for only one production, the only release date listed between 1920s-1950s. My estimation is 1924, The only film that has this Metro Goldwyn logo was, “He who gets slapped ” released in 1924. The font on the logo looks to be Hadfield font, the pictorial has a mythical/nobility aesthetic.
The first official MGM logo was created in 1924, by Howard Dietz. He shot a short close up clip of a lion’s head. He chose a lion as the mascot to show tribute to his columbia university athletic team; who were called the lions. The name of this lion was Slate. In Slate’s first debut he quietly looked left and right. The iconic roar didn’t happen till 1928. Following Slate, 5 other lions became the MGM logo mascots. They were Jackie, Coffee, Tanner, George and Leo. This version of the logo has a cleaner presentation while keeping the elaborate feel of the first one. The carpet design compliments the frame around the mascote. The addition of the mask makes it more apparent that this is a theater company. The font used was Liberal Hand Sans.
Leo was the last lion to be the MGM mascot. The design stayed relatively similar to the one in 1924, but it also incorporated some major improvements. Changing the carpet into film strips improves on the clarity of what MGM Produces. The font in this logo is Hadfield, with a film gradient to match the frame. The warped wordmark above the frame allows it to conform with the pictorial without needing a second frame.
In 1966 a new logo was created by Lippincott. MGM wanted a contemporary log design to freshen up their image, the new logo became known as “the stylized Lion”. This change lasted about 3 years until Leo was reinstated as the face of MGM. The Logo was different in every way from MGM logo identity, The fonts until now were Serifs but the new logo is San Serif. The pictorial was changed to a simplified illustration of a lion’s face. That’s why I believe that this logo didn’t stick, it was too different from what MGM was known for, people would not recognize MGM without the lions.
Howard Dietz, Creator of the MGM logo was a multipotentialite. He wrote more than 500 songs since 1923, he took up music as a hobby at first but quickly became serious once he gained some traction. He teamed up with Arthur Schwartz in 1929. The two then collaborated in writing many broadway musicals and revues. During his musical career he retained his position in MGM until 1957 when he retired.
Works Cited
“Goldwyn Pictures,” Closing Logos Group. Last update; June 28, 2020
closinglogosgroup.miraheze.org/wiki/Goldwyn_Pictures
“Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,” Closing Logos Group. Last update; September 15, 2022
closinglogosgroup.miraheze.org/wiki/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer_Studios
Young, Grace. “Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,Inc.” Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica.
August 08, 2016. Other contributor, Grace young,
David Airey,” The history of the MGM lions,” Logo Design love, February 24, 2015
Emily Rodriguez,”Howard Dietz,” Britannica, The editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Last update September 5, 2022
Lucy E. Cross “Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz”, Masterwork Broadway.
https://masterworksbroadway.com/artist/howard-dietz-and-arthur-schwartz/ (accessed Sept 18, 2022)
MGM’s official website
