The Evolution of Studio Trademarks
RKO - Radio Pictures
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Films, and Leo the Lion
Paramount
20th Century-Fox
Colombia Pictures
Universal Pictures
Warner Brothers
Studio Trademarks Now
TV Studio Logos

Paramount

The Paramount insigne is another which is known wherever movies are shown. The mountain peak, ringed with stars, (there are twenty-four of them) and the word “Paramount” across the center always insures especially good entertainment. In European advertising the symbol is somewhat changed in accordance with the demands of the different languages but wherever the mountain peak with it’s clouds and stars is seen, it carries a satisfactory assurance to the waiting audience. It was in 1916 that this trademark was devised as the result of the merger between Famous Players organization and the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company. The idea was credited to the Lesan Advertising Company. The two “god-fathers” who wrestled with the problem were Mr. Lesan and Francis H. Sisson, who became vice-president of the Guarantee Trust Company.

As the most paramount thing they could think of they sketched a rugged mountain peak – symbol of majesty, height and power; the trademark was supposed to be for a motion picture company featuring stars, so a crown of stars was added to the mountain. The original number was twenty-four but often, for the sake of clarity in small cuts the number is reduced to eighteen for when so many stars were used they reproduced as mere dots, which would not do at all. The script in which the word “Paramount” is lettered is the same as that made on the original drawing, the studio has retained that lettering throughout its advertising campaigns; a case of warranted superstition, since the trademark has meant fame and fortune for many players with corresponding benefits for the company.

1923-1941

1953-1966

1966-1987

1987-1993

1993-2000

Films Produced by Paramount