Hemdale Communications

Background : Hemdale Communications was an independent movie production and distribution company founded in London in 1967 by David Hemmings and John Daly originally as a talent agency, but after Hemmings left the company in 1971, Daly purchased the rest of the company to refocus it as a film studio. Derek Gibson later joined the company. Orion Pictures released many of Hemdale's films during the 1980s. However in 1995, Hemdale closed its doors after declaring bankruptcy due box office failures. The library was made part of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and was acquired by Orion Pictures in January 1999 and as of today, MGM owns the Hemdale library.

1st Logo (1970-1984)

Nicknames : The Hemdale Script

Logo : On a black background, a white (or sepia) line beings to draw itself into a cursive "H". Another line draws itself on the opposite side of the "H", forming a lowercase "e" and works it's way left, writing out "Hemdale" in a stylized, cursive font. During the logo a Film from fades in.

FX/SFX : The drawing, the A film from text appearing.

Music/Sounds : A synthesized, fancy sounding string ditty, or none on occasion.

Availability : Extremely rare. Was seen on films of the era such as the 70s Carry On films among others, but has fallen to plastering to other companies' logos due to ownership changes.

Scare Factor : Low to medium. The music is a little more than creepy, and will scare a few. None for the silent variant.

2nd Logo (1984-1986) Nicknames : "The Nintendo Logo", "Nintendale", "Hemtendo"

Logo : On a black background, we see a red line drawing in at the bottom. The line flips up to reveal a Nintendo-like logo. Inside it is HEMDALE. Below it is the word presents.

FX/SFX : The line flipping.

Cheesy Factor : Obviously a rip-off of the Nintendo logo (talk about lack of originality).

Music/Sounds : Silent.

Availability : Seen on Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf, which is preserved on its DVD releases. Also seen on trailers for Hemdale films of the era, such as Salvador. It was said this appeared in place of the 2nd Orion Pictures logo on international theatrical prints of At Close Range and The Terminator.

Scare Factor : None.

3rd Logo (1986-1987)

Nicknames : "The Handwriter", Hemdale Script II

Logo : Same as the first logo, except that the logo is orange, and after it is done drawing, the text "RELEASING CORPORATION PRESENTS" wipes in below it.

FX/SFX : The drawing, the wiping in of the text.

Cheesy Factor : The film quality and the wiping in of the words are pretty much unintentional.

Music/Sounds : Same as the first logo. Availability : Extremely rare. May have appeared on films of this time period, but like the first logo, has fallen to plastering with the current MGM lion or (sometimes) the Orion Pictures logo. The only place where it is seen fully intact is on the trailer for The Belly of an Architect.

Scare Factor : Same as the first logo.

4th Logo (1987-1993)

Nicknames : "The Spinning Letters", "Changing Colors

Logo : On a black background, an orange "H" spins first, then comes a blue "E" spinning, a yellow "M" spinning, a green "D" spinning, a pinkish purple "A" spinning, a red "L" spinning, and a blue "E" comes spinning last and they all turn white. After they turn white, the letters spread that reveals "HEMDALE" and then a rainbow line appears between and "FILM CORPORATION" below the line. On some films, the word, "PICTURES" would be in place in the word "FILM".

Variant : A trailer for Vampire's Kiss features the words "A FILM FROM" above the logo.

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor : The colorful letters turning white, the spreading. On the trailers, the spinning intro is cut and the rest of the logo just plays.

Music/Sounds : A 7-note synthesizer piece when the letters spin: C (H), G (E), High C (M), F (D), B flat (A), High F (L) and High G (E). It also has a synthesizer going off like an alarm in background. Then follows by a nature-oriented music piece with 80's video game effects when the letters spread, followed by a majestic horn fanfare with a keyboard mixed in it which becomes synthesized, ending with 2 orchestra hits. Sometimes, the logo is silent.

Availability : Rare. Retained on films such Hidden Agenda, Shag, Vincent and Theo, the Goodtimes DVD of Wrangler, and on the original VHS of Little Nemo: Adventures on Slumberland. On some MGM DVD releases of their output, such as Miracle Mile, it is plastered with the 2001 MGM logo. This appears on the 2000 MGM DVD of At Close Range plastering the Orion Pictures logo, and on the TCGDirect release after the 2001 MGM lion and Orion logos. Also seen on the Hemdale Home Video, Live, and Artisan releases of The Terminator, along with the 1998 Image Entertainment DVD and Laserdisc. The silent variant can be found on Vincent and Theo and Bright Angel.

Scare Factor : Minimal.

5th Logo (1993-1995)

Nickname : "Bronze Hemdale"

Logo : We see at the screen:

H EMDAL E COMMUNICATIONS and it shines.

Trivia : This particular logo had been used since at least 1988 as a print logo (without the word "COMMUNICATIONS").

FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor : The logo shining.

Music/Sounds : None.

Availability : Rare. It was found on a VHS print of Savage Land.

Scare Factor : None.