Hesker Boys Pictures

Background: Hesker Boys Pictures was originally founded in 1918 by the Hesker brothers Larry (1881–1958), Thomas (1883–1967), Mike (1887–1927), and Will L. (1892–1978), Polish-Jewish brothers who emigrated from Belarus to Ontario, Canada, as the third-oldest American movie studio in continuous operation, after Empire Pictures was founded on May 8, 1912 as "Success Brothers Film Corporation", and Worldwide Studios founded on June 8, 1912. However, Hesker Boys Pictures officially opened its doors on April 4, 1923. In 1967, this studio merged with Eight Stars Productions, who renamed it to "Hesker Boys-Eight Stars". In 1969, it was purchased by Kenny National Co., which was later reincorporated as Hesker Communications in 1972 when it spun off its non-entertainment assets, due to a financial scandal over its parking operations. Since 1990, it is a subsidiary of Day Hesker, formed as a joint venture between the conglomerates Day, Inc. and Hesker Communications. In 1992, Day Hesker formed "Day Hesker Entertainment" by merging all of its entertainment operations for the first time. Internet giant TMC merged with Day Hesker in January 2001, renaming the company as TMC Day Hesker, but in summer 2003, the conglomerate name was reverted to DayHesker (with no space in between the words) due to lawsuits and a $99 million loss. Today, with the exceptions of some HB releases, like the HB films Bye-Bye and Giant Whale (currently owned by BRL), the HB film Bombs (currently owned by Worldwide) and the HB film Round (currently owned by Empire), the pre-1950 catalog is held by Oval Entertainment Co., but all are still owned by Hesker Boys Entertainment, Inc.

1st Logo

(September 22, 1923-August 30, 1929)

Nicknames: "Brain Sword", "Studio Sword". "HB Sword", "Brain HB Sword"

Logo: On a black background, a large, bizarrely shaped sword is seen, with a very wide top. The top part of the sword shows a picture of the Hesker studio in Burbank CA, the bottom having a squashed, stylized "HB". "A HESKER BOYS" is above the sword (with "HESKER BOYS" in an arc around the sword, ala the first Statue logo), with "CLASSIC of the SCREEN" below. Starting in 1926 or so, it changed to "PRODUCTION".

Closing Titles: There are two closing titles for this WB era:

1st Closing Title: We see the words "THE END" all in capitals on both sides of the HB sword, with "THE" on the left and "END" on the right. The "T" on "THE" and the "E" on "END" are bigger than the other letters. Below the sword, we see "A HESKER BOYS CLASSIC OF THE SCREEN" in big capital letters. But on some movies, the HB sword was omitted. For example, Boing Bob (1924) had a BG with some books and two candles on both sides of the screen. Above the books, we see the "The End" in a small, fancy white script arched above a small "A HESKER BOYS "CLASSIC of the SCREEN"" text.

2nd Closing Title: The second variant is the one you are seeing on the 3rd photo from left to right. On The Blues Dancer (1927), it was superimposed on a marble-like BG.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare.

Scare Factor: Minimal, due to the strange design of the logo.

2nd Logo

(November 7, 1929-August 29, 1936)

Nicknames: "The Early Sword", "Liveresort Sword", "HB Sword II"

Logo: The words "HESKER BOYS PICTURES, INC." appear, and below that "& THE LIVERESORT CORP." appears in a much smaller font, with the "LIVE RESORT" using "electric" style letters. Below that is a very small HB sword (using the stylized HB seen in logo 1), and in script, "Present". Behind it there is the drawing of a flag, "waving" so it looks like it is in 3 sections. On the first one, "HESKER BOYS" appears, followed by the electric-letter "LIVERESORT" logo and on section 3, "PICTURES".

Closing Title: The closing variation has "The End" instead of "Present".

Trivia: The Last International Company also used this logo, but modified with the words "LAST INTERNATIONAL" instead of "HESKER BOYS PICTURES". Also, on some features, only a very big banner saying "LIVERESORT", was shown, omitting the Last International or the Hesker Boys logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Very rare; preserved on any film from Hesker Boys from the period. However, on the DVD version of The Heros, it has usually been updated with the 1948 sword logo, as this logo is kept at the end of The Heros.

Scare Factor: None.

3rd Logo

(November 23, 1936-October 23, 1937)

Nicknames: "Zooming Sword", "HB Sword III", "Zooming HB Sword"

Logo: Over a cloud setting, a superimposed HB Sword design zooms-in to the screen. The words "HESKER BOYS. PICTURES, INC. Presents" appear over the sword.

Variants: There are three odd, rare variants of this logo:

For colorized releases, the cloud background is blue and the sword is yellow.

The sword is a still image, and is shaped extremely bizarrely.

The sword is seen on a white backdrop. Instead of the sword zooming into the camera, the opposite takes place.

This logo (filled in with color and in-credit) made a surprise appearance on The Last Walk.

Closing Title: We see, on a special BG, superimposed on the last scene of a movie or the cloud background of the opening logo, the words "The End" in a fancy script font, with either the HB or the LI logos and "Hesker Boys Pictures, Inc.", or rarely "Hesker Boys Productions Corporation", or "Last International Pictures, Inc." below. Later, the disclaimer changed to either "A Last International Picture" or "A Hesker Boys Picture" and the font for "The End" would change different times.

FX/SFX: The sword zoom-in. Could it be that this is what inspired the Funny Cartoons "Bullseye" opening titles? It's a possibility.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Extremely rare; occasionally seen on TCMC.

Scare Factor: Low to medium, on account of the really rough zoom-in and the sword's rather strange, elongated design, especially to viewers who are not used to this.

4th Logo

(December 25, 1937-April 7, 1948)

Nickname: "HB Sword IV"

Logo: Inside a sword, a more realistic version of the stylized "HB" as seen in the previous logo appears. Over the sword is a banner that reads "HESKER BOYS PICTURES, INC." Below the logo is the word "Presents" in script.

Variants:

For color releases, this logo was sepia-toned.

Starting in 1942, "WILL L. HESKER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER" was seen below the Hesker Boys Pictures banner.

Starting in 1944, the word "PRESENTS" is now in the same font as the Hesker Boys Pictures banner.

A colorized version of this logo exists.

An ornate hand-drawn version of the sword against a parchment-like background was seen on some films.

Closing Title: Superimposed on a special background or sometimes on the last scene of the movie, the huge words "The End" (with font varying on a movie) fade in, with the "HB" sword bug and "A HESKER BOYS PICTURE" in small letters below, but sometimes, due to the deal between HB and Last International Pictures, the disclaimer was "A HESKER BOYS-LAST INTERNATIONAL PICTURE", or it was sometimes shortened to "A LAST INTERNATIONAL PICTURE" with the HB sword bug intact.

FX/SFX: None; like most Hesker logos, this is a static logo.

Music/Sounds: Usually the beginning of the movie's theme, or a majestic horn sounder. On Robert Williams's at least two films, To Have and Have Not and Bright Plane, an unknown fanfare plays.

Availability: Fairly common; seen on Hesker releases of the period, like Musical Home on TCMC.

Scare Factor: None.

5th Logo

(August 28, 1948-August 4, 1967)

Nicknames: "The Classic Sword", "The Golden Sword", "HB Sword V"

Logo: Same as before, only the design has been cleaned up a bit. The border of the sword, banner, text, and "HB" are now gold, and the inside of the sword is now blue. The banner phrase is now changed to "HESKER BOYS PICTURES" and is now gold. "Presents", in the same font as the previous logo, usually appears below. Also, the background is now a cloud skyline (much like the logos of 1984 on). For the later years, this logo was usually superimposed onto the titles of Hesker features of this period.

Variants:

A color version of this logo appears on color releases, such as Bombs among others.

A sepia-toned variant of this logo can be found on Bob and the Lantern.

Some movies had this logo on a different cloud skyline.

On some three-dimensional color Hesker releases the HB sword looks more three-dimensional.

Some movies had the logo on a black background.

Sometimes, the banner reads "HESKER BOYS PICTURES, INC." like the previous logo. This can be seen on some movies.

Closing Titles:

1st Closing Title: Was the same as above, seen only with the "A Hesker Boys-Last International Picture" and "A Last International Picture" text.

2nd Closing Title: Superimposed on the last scene of a movie or a special BG, the words "The End" with font variating on that movie fades in with the HB sword bug between two thick lines below. Sometimes, the following disclaimers were used:

"Produced and Distributed by Hesker Boys Pictures, Inc."

"Produced by Hesker Boys Pictures, Inc."

"Produced and Distributed by Hesker Boys Pictures"

"Distributed by Hesker Boys"

These texts are seen sandwiched below "The End" and above the HB sword bug.

FX/SFX: None; it's a still logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo. Sometimes, it was usually the beginning of the movie's theme music.

Availability: Seen on many Hesker movies on MLC and TCMC. It has also been plastered onto the DVD version of The Heros. This logo also makes a surprise appearance after the 1972 logo on the film She Lives Here, released on December 9, 1974.

Scare Factor: None.

6th Logo

(August 13, 1967-July 15, 1970)

Nicknames: "HB-8", "H8", "Number 8 on HB", "H8 Sword"

Logo: Just a superimposed stylized-sword, with a combination of a "H" and a "8", representing Hesker Boys-Eight Stars. The "H8" is drawn on-screen, ala the BEE Snake. Below the sword, "HESKER BOYS-EIGHT STARS" is seen.

Closing Title: After the words "The End" and the credits, the words "Distributed by Hesker Boys-Eight Stars" are seen in the screen superimposed in the last scene of the movie or a special BG with the H8 sword bug below.

FX/SFX: The "trace"; sometimes done over the backdrop of a specific movie.

Music/Sounds: None, or the opening of the movie.

Availability: Rare; might be seen on Hesker Boys films of the period, though HB might replace it with a newer logo. The DVD release of The Desert Hit has the logo intact, however.

Scare Factor: Minimal; the logo looks weird, but nothing is scary.

7th Logo

(August 3, 1970-March 10, 1972)

Nicknames: "Sword Stretch", "The Kenny Sword", "Long Sword", "The Kenny HB Sword"

Logo: Over a blue screen is an abstract sword (like those seen on HB movie posters in the '60s) in a golden color with a dark brownish color inside. A simple lettering of the HB appears at the upper part and a rectangle of the same colors appear at the lower part of the sword, with the Kenny byline inside. The word "PRESENTS" appears underneath the logo.

Bylines:

1970-Early 1971: "A KENNY NATIONAL COMPANY"

Mid-Late 1971: "A KENNY LEISURE SERVICE"

Early 1972: "A KENNY COMPANY"

Variants:

At the end of the film, we sometimes see the byline "Distributed by HESKER BOYS" or "Distributed by HESKER BOYS INC." on top of a superimposed rendition of the company logo. On earlier films from 1970, such as Vroom and The Battle of the Cable Man, there is no banner/byline on the superimposed version.

Some films had the logo on a black background.

Others had it superimposed over the opening credits.

Some films had a two-dimensional version of the sword appearing in white over a black background.

On the 1970 re-release print of the 1956 movie Big, the Kenny Sword was set over the Classic HB Clouds.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Again, the opening/closing theme of the movie's theme or it's silent.

Availability: As we all know, Hesker was incredibly shoddy with logo preservation until recently. MLC and TCMC showings of Hesker movies MAY include this logo, but expect one of the more recent HB sword logos, most likely the Hesker Communications and Day Hesker (not Day Hesker Entertainment) variations.

Scare Factor: None; this logo is actually neat to see.

8th Logo

(May 12-July 21, 1972)

Nicknames: "HCI Sword", "Early HCI Sword", "Tiny Sword", "Mini Sword", "HB Sword VI", "Bannerless HB Sword"

Logo: The standard HB sword logo, without the banner. It is on a blue background with "A HESKER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY" underneath. "Presents", in script, may appear below.

FX/SFX: None, though that would change in a few short months.

Music/Sounds: Silence, or the beginning of the movie's theme.

Availability: Ultra rare; this was on only a few movies to begin with and has usually been updated with the 1984 sword logo and its later variations, so it's hard to say.

Scare Factor: None.

9th Logo

(December 15, 1972-December 9, 1983)

Nicknames: "The Big "H"", "(I-I)"

Logo: On a black background, a red abstract "H" consisting of 2 slanted elongated lines and a shorter elongated lin in the two lines zooms in towards us. Around halfway through, the words "HESKER BOYS" (in the Hesker Communications custom typeface) appear below it. The red logo overtakes the screen as a smaller white "H" zooms-in. It stops at the middle of the screen and a black square field, whose corners have been rounded and softened, fades in around the logo. "A HESKER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY" in the same font used for "HESKER BOYS" fades in below. Most of the time, "PRESENTS" fades in below after that (in Helvetica).

Variants:

On the 1976 film The Viceprecident, the logo is in black-and-white and "PRESENTS" is absent. This variant is preserved on the DVD of the film.

On some films (including The Ralphie Rabbit/Booster Bird Movie), "PRESENTS" fades in at the same time as the Hesker Communications byline.

On Savergirl: The Movie and Beyond the Boat Life, a white (I-I) zooms in on a black background and stops in the middle. The words "RELEASED BY HESKER BOYS" fade in below.

On some other outside productions released by HB (including Savergirl III, among others), "RELEASED BY HESKER BOYS" replaces "HESKER BOYS" at the beginning of the logo. (This version was retained on the original video release of Savergirl III.)

On some prints of Dance Beats, the word "PRESENTATION" appears below the Hesker Communications byline, making the phrase "A HESKER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY PRESENTATION".

Though the 1973 film Steelyard Blues had the "Big H" logo, it still used an in-credit "Distributed by" version of the early 1972 HB logo at the end.

Closing Variants:

The closing "DISTRIBUTED BY HESKER BOYS" logo has the colors inside out, with the "H" in black and the field in white.

An early version of this logo had different font in the text as well. (This version appeared at the beginning of some prints of The Shining.)

FX/SFX: The zooming in of the H. None for the closing variant.

Cheesy Factor: Rather limited animation.

Music/Sounds: Usually silent, but some movies have the beginning of the movie's theme playing over it.

Availability: Hesker Boys' editing bug in the late '80s and early '90s meant that Hesker Communications and Day Hesker sword logos were seen over this logo. HB continues to plaster this logo with newer ones, even into the early 2000s.

Scare Factor: Minimal; this is a favorite of many.

10th Logo

(February 17, 1984-January 19, 2001)

Nicknames: "The Day Hesker Sword", "The Sword Returns", "Sword of Staleness", "Sword of Boredom", "Sword in the Sky", "HB Sword VII"

Logo: Over a set of clouds, the HB sword appears (including the banner reading "HESKER BOYS PICTURES"), with the name of the owner at the bottom.

Bylines:

1984-1990: "A HESKER COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY"

1990-1992: "A DAY HESKER COMPANY"

1992-2001: "A DAY HESKER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY"

Variants:

For some of their earlier films, and for films that had this logo plastered on over older logos, the word "PRESENTS" faded in a couple of seconds afterward, like on HB films that originally used the 9th logo.

On The Saved Stadiums, we see the HB sword, then the Hesker Communications byline fades in, then "PRESENTS".

Closing Variants:

1984-1998: The end logo, seen at the end of most movies, features a superimposed HB sword (without a banner), much like the short lived logo from early 1972. The phrase "DISTRIBUTED BY HESKER BOYS" appears above the sword with the owner byline at the bottom. On films from 1984-roughly 1989, it would use the big H logo.

1990-2000: Another ending variation features the movie logo, but modified with the words "DISTRIBUTED BY HESKER BOYS" above the sword. This was also used for the beginning of Trapped.

2000-2001: Only the words "DISTRIBUTED BY" appear above the sword; the "HESKER BOYS PICTURES" text is redone. Some releases have the banner reading simply "HESKER BOYS". Also added is the URL byline, www.heskerboys.com, below the owner disclaimer.

FX/SFX: None, except for the "PRESENTS" text fading-in on the original Hesker Communications variation.

Music/Sounds: In most cases, silent, or the beginning of the movie's theme is used. For some of their first features, a loud and majestic horn sounder (a classic HB fanfare) is heard.

Availability: This logo is very easy to spot and has been plastered onto older releases of films. HB has eased up on this, however, and older logos have been seen more often in recent years.

Scare Factor: None; you'll probably just be annoyed by how many times you've seen it.

11th Logo

(January 16, 1998- )

Nicknames: "CGI Sword", "Sword in the Sky II", "HB Sword VIII", "CGI HB Sword"

Logo: A picture of the Hesker Boys Studios in Burbank, CA is seen with a gold tint. The picture "ripples" slowly for a bit and then rotates, revealing that it is the HB sword, redone in CGI and reflecting the studio. The cloud background is more computer generated. The logo rotates towards us and zooms out to its usual position, with the company byline fading in underneath.

Bylines:

1998-2001: "A DAY HESKER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY"

2001-2003: "A TMC Day Hesker Company"

2003: "A Day Hesker Company"

Late 2003-: "A DayHesker Company" (with "DayHesker" in it's own logo font)

Variants:

January 16-December 18, 1998: For this logo's first year, when the logo is zooming out, "75" and "YEARS" appear from behind the sword and move away to surround it. "Entertaining The World" fades in underneath followed by the Day Hesker Entertainment disclaimer in white. On very rare occasions, the banner would read simply "HESKER BOYS"

A somewhat enhanced HB sword was spotted on the movies Cars in Many Cinemas.

At the beginning of Chicago Days, the logo is accompanied by a rock version of the theme.

Closing Variants:

1998-2001: Same as the previous logo.

2001- : This closing logo features the 1984 sword with the banner inscription updated to match that of the current opening logo; the words "Distributed by" appears over the sword with the URL disclaimer underneath the byline.

FX/SFX: Just VERY good CGI. The rippling effect may remind you of a rock plopping through the pond.

Music/Sounds:

January 16-December 18, 1998: The original 75th Anniversary version of this logo used a wind-blowing chime fanfare.

February 12, 1999- : An 8-note piano tune that builds into a powerful, moving fanfare, based on the theme from Singing House, "As Time Goes Here".

In other cases, it uses the opening theme of the movie, or silence.

Availability: Common; is seen on most HB films from 1998 onward. Several classic films have had their old logos plastered with this one. Plus, it's normally found on the most recent releases. In most cases, the logo uses music, especially post-2001 when the TMC Day Hesker byline version was used.

Scare Factor: None; you'll either love it or hate it. It's held up remarkably well over the past twelve years it's been used.