Magnetic Videography: UK and South Pacific

1978 was a year of growth - and expansion - for Magnetic Video Corporation. That year, its head, Andre Blay, obtained the rights to Viacom programs, a multitude of films with Charlie Chaplin in them, and Avco-Embassy Pictures; he also launched a UK unit and an Australian, or South Pacific, unit. The UK offices were at Building No. 9, GEC Estate, East Lane, Wembley, Middlesex HA9 7QB. Meanwhile the Australian unit had offices at Level 10, Northpoint, 100 Miller Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060. It found success in both countries as well as in the other countries where it operated a unit (such as Germany, as mentioned in the Viacom part of the videography. Only some of the deals it had with film companies applied overseas. Fox's, Avco Embassy's and Viacom's applied, but ITC's didn't apply in the UK (as it had its own video company to worry about) and the Charlie Chaplin films were eventually issued on Spectrum, one of the PolyGram companies.

Early international releases on Magnetic used a slide with the "Mirrored M" (in two shades of brown) from the American Magnetic Video logo behind the words "MAGNETIC VIDEO" in a white Microgramma Bold font, at the beginning of the tape.

The UK and Australian markets brought their custom variations of the Magnetic logo.

One involved the Magnetic Video logo with white text below it reading "Magnetic Video (South Pacific)" on a green, kaleidoscopic, out of focus background with the Fox Cinemascope fanfare playing over it. It was used in Australia.

Another variant had the words "Magnetic Video" in red text on the top of the screen and the copyright warning below in yellow text. Suddenly, the screen changes on the same black background, and the text is changed to look something like this:

Magnetic Video
A Twentieth Century-Fox Company

with "Magnetic Video" in red on the top and the byline "A Twentieth Century-Fox Company" below in white. The whole text, centered, stays on the screen for a few seconds before it fades out.

The UK/Australian titles ran initially in a sequence with the numbers 3 or 4 coming first followed by a price code then a dash and then the number for the tape itself. This started in 1979 and would last into April 1981, after which Magnetic started to use the normal numbering system on tapes.

3B-001 The African Queen (1951)
3B-002 All in a Night's Work (1960)
3A-003 Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1969)
3B-004 Blue Hawaii (1961)
3A-005 The Boston Strangler (1968)
3C-006 Carnal Knowledge (1971)
3C-007 C.C. & Company (1970)
3C-008 Deadly Hero (1975)
3A-009 The Detective (1968)
3A-010 Fantastic Voyage (1966)
3B-011 G.I. Blues (1960)
4A-012 Hello, Dolly! (1969)
3A-013 Hombre (1967)
3B-014 Last Train from Gun Hill (1959)
3C-015 Macho Callahan (1970)
3A-016 M*A*S*H (1970)
4A-017 Patton (1970)
4A-018 The Robe (1953)
3A-019 The Seven Year Itch (1955)
4A-020 The Sound of Music (1965)
3C-021 Soldier Blue (1970)
4A-022 The King and I (1956)
4A-023 Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965)
3A-024 Von Ryan's Express (1965)
3A-025 Vanishing Point (1971)
3A-026 Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
1B-027 5 Terrytoon Cartoons Featuring Mighty Mouse (1978)
1B-028 5 Terrytoon Cartoons Featuring Deputy Dawg (1978)
4A-029 Bible, The (1966)
4A-030 Doctor Dolittle (1967)
3A-031 The French Connection (1971)
3A-032 The Hot Rock (1972)
2A-033 The Making of Star Wars (1977)
3B-034 Roustabout (1964)
3A-035 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)
4A-036 The Blue Max (1966)
3A-037 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
4A-038 Cleopatra (1963)
3A-039 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
3B-040 Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)
4A-041 The Longest Day (1962)
3A-042 100 Rifles (1968)
3A-043 The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
3A-044 Sky Riders (1976)
3C-045 Stiletto (1969)
1B-046 5 Terrytoon Cartoons Featuring Heckle & Jeckle (1978)
3A-047 Blood and Sand (1941)
4A-048 Can Can (1960)
3A-049 Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974)
3A-050 Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox, The (1976)
3B-051 Fun in Acapulco (1963)
3A-052 Heidi (1937)
XX-053
3A-054 Planet of the Apes (1968)
3A-055 The Undefeated (1969)
3A-056 Valley of the Dolls (1967)
3B-058 The Adventurers (1950)
3B-059 Beat the Devil (1953)
3B-060 Carrington, V.C. (1954)
3B-061 The Good Die Young (1954)
3B-062 I Am a Camera (1955)
3B-063 I'll Get You for This (1950)
3B-064 Let's Get Married (1959)
3B-065 Moulin Rouge (1952)
3B-066 Room at the Top (1959)
3B-067 Storm Over the Nile (1955)
3B-068 King Creole (1958)
3B-069 Paradise, Hawaiian Style! (1966)
2B-070 The Incredible Magic of Magic Volume 1 (1980)
2B-071 The Incredible Magic of Magic Volume 2 (1980)
3D-072 Milestones of the Century 1: The Great Wars (1961)
3D-073 Milestones of the Century 2: Turning Points (1961)
3D-074 Men of Destiny 1: World Political Figures (1962)
3D-075 Men of Destiny 2: Artists and Innovators (1962)
3A-076 There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
XX-077
3D-078 The Devil's Men (1976)
3A-079 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)
3A-080 Myra Breckinridge (1970)
3D-081 Under Milk Wood (1971)
3E-082 The Muppet Movie (1979) Australia only. UK release was on Precision VITC-2001.
XX-083
XX-084
XX-085
3E-086 The Boys from Brazil (1978) Australia only. UK release was on Precision VITC-3010.
4A-087 All About Eve (1950) With a full 100% on Rotten Tomatoes (owned by Warner Bros. and Universal) Fox's most highly acclaimed film.
4A-089 Diary of Anne Frank, The (1959)
3A-090 Sand Pebbles, The (1966)
3A-091 Silver Streak (1976)
4A-092 Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
4A-093 Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
4A-094 Young Lions, The (1958)
3B-095 15 Famous Cartoons from Terrytoons (1978)
3A-096 Omen, The (1976)
4A-097 Sleuth (1972)
3C-098 Bittersweet Love (1975)
3A-099 Breaking Away (1979)
3F-100 Vanishing Africa (1976)
XX-101
XX-102
XX-103
XX-104
XX-105
XX-106
3E-107 The Tamarind Seed (1974) Australia only. UK release was on Precision VITC-3037.
3A-111 Norma Rae (1979)
3A-112 The Turning Point (1977)
XX-113
3E-114 Domino Principle, The (1977) Australia only. UK release was as The Domino Killings on Precision VITC-2029.
3E-116 Farewell, My Lovely (1975) Australia only. UK release was on Precision VITC-2031.
3E-117 Saturn 3 (1979) Australia only. UK release was on Precision VITC-2003.
XX-118
XX-119
XX-120
XX-121
XX-122
XX-123
XX-124
XX-125
XX-126
XX-127
3A-128 Alien (1979)

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3B-129 Hell's Angels on Wheels (1967)
4A-130 Hustler, The (1961)
4A-131 The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
XX-132
4A-133 The Rose (1979)
3A-134 The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
3A-135 Paper Chase, The (1973)
3A-136 An Unmarried Woman (1978)
3A-137 Bus Stop (1956)
3B-138 15 Terrytoon Cartoons (1978)
XX-139
3A-140 Laura (1944)