List of early color feature films
This is a list of early feature-length colour films (including primarily black-and-white films that have one or more color sequences) made up to about 1936, when the Technicolor three-strip process firmly established itself as the major-studio favorite. About a third of the films are thought to be lost films, with no prints surviving. Some have survived incompletely or only in black-and-white copies made for TV broadcast use in the 1950s.
Background
The earliest attempts to produce color films involved either tinting the film broadly with washes or baths of dyes, or painstakingly hand-painting certain areas of each frame of the film with transparent dyes. Stencil-based techniques such as Pathéchrome were a labor-saving alternative if many copies of a film had to be colored: each dye was rolled over the whole print using an appropriate stencil to restrict the dye to selected areas of each frame. The Handschiegl color process was a comparable technique. Because transparent dyes did not impact the clarity or detail of the image seen on the screen, the result could look rather naturalistic, but the choice of what colors to use and where was made by a person, so they could be very arbitrary and unlike the actual colors.
Edward Raymond Turner's process, tested in 1902, was the first to capture full natural color on motion picture film, but it proved to be mechanically impractical. A simplified two-color version, introduced as Kinemacolor in 1909, was successful until 1915, but the special projector it required and its inherent major technical defects contributed to its demise. Technicolor, originally also a two-color process capable of only a limited range of hues, was commercialized in 1922 and soon became the most widely used of the several two-color processes available in the 1920s.
Beginning in 1932, Technicolor introduced a new full-color process, "Process 4", now commonly called "three-strip Technicolor" because the special camera used for live-action filming yielded separate black-and-white negatives for each of the three primary colors. The final print, however, was a single full-color strip of film that did not need any special handling. This became the standard process used by the major Hollywood studios until the mid-1950s.
List of films
Year | Title | Country | Color process | Length | Production company |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1903 | La Vie et la passion de Jésus Christ | ![]() | Pathéchrome | Pathé Frères | |
Extant. Also known as The Passion Play and Vie et Passion du Christ. Not released as a single feature, but as 32 individual shorts in three different groupings and shot at different times. Some scenes are partially hand colored (e.g. 98 min. copy on YouTube (with Dutch intertitles)). The later scenes feature different actors and costumes from the earlier scenes.[1] On DVD. | |||||
1909 | Ukhar Kupets | ![]() | hand-colored | Pathé Frères | |
Extant. Also known as The Dashing Merchant and The Happy-Go-Lucky Merchant. | |||||
1912 | With Our King and Queen Through India | ![]() | Kinemacolor | 16,000 ft. | Natural Color Kinematograph Company |
First feature-length documentary capturing natural color rather than colorization techniques. The original footage ran for 2½ hours (16,000 ft.), presented in two different programmes. The main film of the Delhi Durbar itself was shot on 12 December 1911. The rest of the film was made in other locations in India up to 30 December 1911, of which only a ten-minute extract still exists. Released in UK on 2 February 1912.[2] | |||||
1912 | Making of the Panama Canal | ![]() | Kinemacolor | 2 hours | Kinemacolor Company of America |
Most successful Kinemacolor documentary after With Our King and Queen Through India. The film was nine reels long and ran for 2 hours. It was also shown by Charles Urban in Britain. Only black and white stills remain.[3] | |||||
1912 | The Miracle | ![]() | Pathéchrome | Joseph Menchen (personal project) | |
Filmed in Austria in October 1912; hand-colored in Paris by seventy people;[4] UK release on 21 December 1912. Original UK length 7,000 feet;[4] censored versions showed at 5,000 and 5,500 feet. Designed to be accompanied by score for full symphony orchestra and chorus by Engelbert Humperdinck. A B&W print of a cut version is extant, held at the CNC Archives, France. Available on YouTube and final scene only, with extracts of the original music. | |||||
1914 | The World, the Flesh and the Devil | ![]() | Kinemacolor | Natural Color Kinematograph Company | |
First feature-length narrative film in natural color. Lost. | |||||
1914 | Little Lord Fauntleroy | ![]() | Kinemacolor | Natural Color Kinematograph Company | |
Lost film. Only black and white stills remain. | |||||
1914/15 | With The Fighting Forces of Europe | ![]() | Kinemacolor | c. 20,000 ft[5] | Color Films Ltd. |
Documentary film about the First World War, produced by Color Films Ltd., successor to the Natural Color Kinematograph Company. Some scenes were reused from the pre-war period, but many were shot during the war, particularly on the Western Front. The film was released shortly after the outbreak of war in 1914 and was constantly updated with new material until 1915. For this reason, the length of the film varied, with contemporary accounts reporting around 20,000 feet. The film has been lost.[6] | |||||
1915 | Britain Prepared | ![]() | Kinemacolor inserts | Jury's Imperial Pictures | |
First British propaganda film. Extant. | |||||
1916 | Joan the Woman | ![]() | Handschiegl Color Process inserts | Famous Players–Lasky | |
Survives complete with color sequences. Directed by Cecil B. DeMille. (Color was billed as the "DeMille-Wyckoff Process") | |||||
1917 | The Gulf Between | ![]() | Technicolor feature | Technicolor Corporation | |
First American film shot in color. Lost film. Only a few frames from test prints, showing star Grace Darmond, have survived. | |||||
1917 | The Devil-Stone | ![]() | Handschiegl Color Process inserts | Famous Players–Lasky | |
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Only two reels survive in AFI collection at Library of Congress. | |||||
1918 | Cupid Angling | ![]() | Douglass Natural Color feature | Douglass Natural Color Film Inc. | |
Lost film. Only feature film made in this process. | |||||
1918 | Our Navy | ![]() | Prizma feature | Prizma | |
First feature film shot in Prizmacolor. | |||||
1920 | Treasure Island | ![]() | Hand coloring (Handschiegl?) | Paramount Pictures | |
Lost film. | |||||
1920 | Roman Candles | ![]() | Handschiegl Color Process inserts | Cineart | |
Prints exist. | |||||
1920 | Way Down East | ![]() | Technicolor insert | D.W. Griffith Productions | |
Extant in black-and-white only. | |||||
1921 | Bali the Unknown | ![]() | Prizma feature | Prizma Inc. | |
Five-reel documentary opened 27 February 1921 at Capitol Theatre in NYC. Considered lost.[7] | |||||
1921 | The Three Musketeers | ![]() | Handschiegl Color Process inserts | United Artists | |
Restored in 2022. | |||||
1922 | The Toll of the Sea | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 3190 ft. | Technicolor / Metro Pictures |
The first natural-color feature film made in Hollywood. The final two reels are apparently lost. Available on DVD. | |||||
1922 | A Blind Bargain | ![]() | Handschiegl Color Process inserts | 188 ft. | Goldwyn Pictures |
Lost film. | |||||
1922 | The Glorious Adventure | ![]() ![]() | Prizma feature | United Artists | |
Directed by J. Stuart Blackton. Extant at the British Film Institute. On DVD. | |||||
1922 | Flames of Passion | ![]() | Prizma insert | Astra Film | |
Directed by Graham Cutts. Lost film. | |||||
1922 | Foolish Wives | ![]() | Hand coloring inserts | Universal Pictures | |
Hand coloring by Gustav Brock. | |||||
1923 | Red Lights | ![]() | Handschiegl Color inserts | Goldwyn Pictures | |
Extant in black-and-white only. | |||||
1923 | The Ten Commandments | ![]() | Technicolor inserts, Handschiegl Color inserts | Paramount Pictures | |
Survives complete. Is on DVD. | |||||
1923 | Vanity Fair | ![]() | Prizma insert | Goldwyn Pictures | |
Directed by Hugo Ballin. Lost film. | |||||
1923 | The Virgin Queen | ![]() | Prizma insert | J. Stuart Blackton Productions | |
Directed by J. Stuart Blackton. Status unknown. | |||||
1923 | I Pagliacci | ![]() | Prizma insert | Napoleon Films | |
Starring Lillian Hall-Davis. Status unknown. | |||||
1923 | Maytime | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 200 ft. | B.P. Schulberg Productions |
Partially restored. | |||||
1924 | The Uninvited Guest | ![]() | Technicolor insert | Metro Pictures | |
Preservation status unknown. | |||||
1924 | Cytherea | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 230 ft. | Technicolor / Goldwyn Pictures |
Lost film. First Technicolor film shot under artificial light. | |||||
1924 | Wanderer of the Wasteland | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 3854 ft. | Paramount |
First western in color. Lost film. | |||||
1924 | Venus of the South Seas | ![]() | Prizma Insert | Lee-Bradford Corp. | |
Extant. Restored by the Library of Congress in 2004. Final reel is in Prizma. | |||||
1924 | The Heritage of the Desert | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 34 ft. | Paramount |
Starring Bebe Daniels. Unknown status. | |||||
1924 | Greed | ![]() | Handschiegl Color Process inserts | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Short version of film extant, coloring lost (a few specimen frames may survive). On DVD. | |||||
1924 | The Dance of the Moods | ![]() | Friese-Greene Natural Color (formerly Biocolour) | Friese-Greene Productions | |
Unknown if a feature or short film. | |||||
1924 | Moonbeam Magic | ![]() | Friese-Greene Natural Color (formerly Biocolour) | Spectrum Films | |
Produced by Claude Friese-Greene. Status unknown, possibly at BFI. | |||||
1925 | Ben-Hur | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 1029 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1925 | Cyrano de Bergerac | ![]() ![]() | Pathéchrome feature | 9501 ft. | Unione Cinematografica Italiana |
Starring Pierre Magnier. Extant. | |||||
1925 | The Phantom of the Opera | ![]() | Technicolor inserts, Kelley Color /Handschiegl Color | 497 ft. | Universal Pictures |
One color segment survives. On DVD. | |||||
1925 | The Merry Widow | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 136 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Film survives, including two-minute color sequence. | |||||
1925 | Stage Struck | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | Paramount | |
Extant with color sequences. Restored by George Eastman House. Starring Gloria Swanson. | |||||
1925 | Pretty Ladies | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 597 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1925 | His Supreme Moment | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 517 ft. | First National Pictures |
Lost film. | |||||
1925 | The Big Parade | ![]() | Applied color by Technicolor | 154 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Feature and color exists. On DVD. | |||||
1925 | So This Is Marriage | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 729 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Lost film. | |||||
1925 | The Splendid Road | ![]() | Handschiegl Color inserts | First National Pictures | |
Status unknown. | |||||
1925 | Seven Chances | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 275 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant with color. On DVD. | |||||
1925 | The King on Main Street | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 105 ft. | Famous Players–Lasky |
Survives complete. | |||||
1925 | Lights of Old Broadway | ![]() | Technicolor inserts, Handschiegl Color Process inserts | Cosmopolitan Productions | |
Extant in Library of Congress. | |||||
1925 | Peacock Feathers | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 82 ft. | Universal Pictures |
Lost film. | |||||
1926 | Fig Leaves | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 969 ft. | Fox Film Corporation |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1926 | Beverly of Graustark | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 354 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | Monte Carlo | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 1000 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | Into Her Kingdom | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 221 ft. | First National Pictures |
Lost Film. | |||||
1926 | The Yankee Señor | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 475 ft. | Fox |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | The Far Cry | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 807 ft. | First National Pictures |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | Hell's Four Hundred | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 321 ft. | Fox |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | The Open Road | ![]() | Friese-Greene Natural Color (formerly Biocolour) | Friese-Greene Productions | |
Series of documentary films shot between 1924 and 1926. A print was restored and shown on the BBC in 2006. On DVD. | |||||
1926 | Gli ultimi giorni di Pompeii | ![]() | Pathéchrome feature | 12083 ft. | Società Italiana Grandi Films |
Extant. US Title: The Last Days of Pompeii On DVD. | |||||
1926 | Irene | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 972 ft. | First National Pictures |
Survives complete with color sequences. | |||||
1926 | Beau Geste | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | Paramount Pictures | |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | The Flaming Forest | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 203 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant at Library of Congress. | |||||
1926 | The American Venus | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 1574 ft. | Paramount |
Lost film. Two trailers, and brief clip of color insert, survive at the Library Of Congress. | |||||
1926 | Volcano | ![]() | Handschiegl Color inserts | Paramount Pictures | |
Extant at Library of Congress. Preserved by UCLA and Television and The Museum of Modern Art. | |||||
1926 | Mike | ![]() | Handschiegl Color inserts | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Extant at Library Of Congress. Complete print of 70 minutes found at Library Of Congress in December 2015. | |||||
1926 | The Black Pirate | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 8124 ft. | United Artists |
Original Technicolor Process 2 print survives at the BFI. Commonly seen version was created from surviving negatives. Outtakes survive in black-and-white. On DVD. | |||||
1926 | The Fire Brigade | ![]() | Technicolor inserts, Handschiegl Color inserts | 692 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Film extant, but color is incomplete. At Library of Congress . | |||||
1926 | The Joy Girl | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 285 ft. | Fox |
A copy may survive in the Museum of Modern Art film archive. | |||||
1926 | Flames | ![]() | Handschiegl Color inserts | Associated Exhibitors | |
One reel exists in the Library of Congress. | |||||
1926 | The Girl from Montmartre | ![]() | Handschiegl Color inserts | First National Pictures | |
Preserved by Warner Bros. from original negative and nitrate handschiegl print. | |||||
1927 | Long Pants | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 950 ft. | First National Pictures |
Extant. | |||||
1927 | White Pants Willie | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 533 ft. | First National Pictures |
Extant. | |||||
1927 | The Girl From Rio | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 125 ft. | Gotham Productions |
Extant. | |||||
1927 | Frisco Sally Levy | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 381 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1927 | The King of Kings | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | DeMille Productions / Pathé Exchange | |
Survives complete. Is on DVD. | |||||
1927 | Winners of the Wilderness | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 180 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
16mm print extant. Starring Joan Crawford. On DVD. | |||||
1927 | Annie Laurie | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 204 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant with color at the Library of Congress. | |||||
1927 | The Wizard | ![]() | Hand coloring | Fox | |
Lost film. | |||||
1927 | Napoléon | ![]() | Keller-Dorian process sequences | Abel Gance / Gaumont | |
Extant. Keller-Dorian process proved to be impractical. | |||||
1927 | La revue des revues | ![]() | Pathéchrome inserts | ||
Extant. | |||||
1928 | The Garden Of Eden | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 277 ft. | First National Pictures |
Extant. | |||||
1928 | The Actress | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 121 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1928 | Revenge | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 329 ft. | United Artists |
Lost film. | |||||
1928 | The Big Hop | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 500 ft. | Buck Jones Productions |
Lost film. | |||||
1928 | The Woman and the Puppet | ![]() | Keller-Dorian process | ||
Extant. Directed by Jacques de Baroncelli | |||||
1928 | None but the Brave | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 549 ft. | Fox |
Unknown | |||||
1928 | The Wedding March | ![]() | Technicolor insert, hand coloring. | 294 ft. | Paramount |
Extant. Directed by Erich von Stroheim | |||||
1928 | Red Hair | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 57 ft. | Paramount |
Lost film. Color tests survive at UCLA Film and Television Archive. | |||||
1928 | Casanova | ![]() | Pathéchrome insert | Ciné-Alliance / Pathé | |
Extant. Based on operetta by Ralph Benatzky. | |||||
1928 | The Viking | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 8398 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. The first Technicolor feature with sound (synchronized music score and sound effects only, no dialog or "live" sound). On DVD. | |||||
1928 | The Water Hole | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 332 ft. | Paramount |
Status unknown. | |||||
1928 | Court-Martial | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 473 ft. | Columbia Pictures |
Status unknown. | |||||
1929 | Redskin | ![]() | Mostly Technicolor with sepia-toned sequences | 4463 ft. | Paramount |
Synchronized music score and sound effects but no dialog or "live" sound. Survives complete. On DVD. | |||||
1929 | On With the Show! | ![]() | Technicolor | 9592 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant in black-and-white. 20-second color clip exists in private collection. The first all-talking color feature. On DVD. | |||||
1929 | Harmony Heaven | ![]() | Pathéchrome sequences | British International Pictures | |
Extant at British Film Institute | |||||
1929 | A Romance of Seville | ![]() | Pathéchrome feature | British International Pictures | |
Sound version released July 1930. First British sound film released in color, using the Pathéchrome stencil-coloring process. On DVD. | |||||
1929 | Devil-May-Care | ![]() | Technicolor insert | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Prints survive. | |||||
1929 | The Show of Shows | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 9987 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Only survives in black-and-white except "Chinese Fantasy" number with Myrna Loy and Nick Lucas and part or all of "Meet My Sister" number. On DVD with latter number in black-and-white (color footage only recently discovered). | |||||
1929 | Pointed Heels | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 270 ft. | Paramount |
Extant complete at UCLA. Broadcast master is in black-and-white. | |||||
1929 | Paris | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 3645 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Picture lost except 3 fragments at Seaver Center. Soundtrack extant. | |||||
1929 | Gold Diggers of Broadway | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 9122 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Two incomplete reels and some short fragments extant. Complete disc soundtrack extant. Surviving reels on DVD. | |||||
1929 | Sally | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 9280 ft. | First National-Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. Two-minute color sequence also extant. On DVD. | |||||
1929 | Glorifying the American Girl | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 897 ft. | Paramount |
Extant complete at UCLA. On DVD. | |||||
1929 | The Broadway Melody | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 307 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Technicolor sequence survives in black-and-white only. On DVD. | |||||
1929 | The Desert Song | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 306 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant in black-and-white only. | |||||
1929 | Sunny Side Up | ![]() | Multicolor inserts | Fox | |
Extant in black-and-white only. | |||||
1929 | The Hollywood Revue of 1929 | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 1360 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant | |||||
1929 | Broadway | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 198 ft. | Universal |
Survives in a talking version and a silent version made for theaters without sound equipment. The talking version is missing the final reel, the color sequence, which does survive in the silent version. | |||||
1929 | Married in Hollywood | ![]() | Multicolor insert | Fox | |
Only final reel in Multicolor survives at UCLA Film and Television Archive. | |||||
1929 | Red Hot Rhythm | ![]() | Multicolor insert | Pathé Exchange | |
Only one number in color, the title song, survives. | |||||
1929 | This Thing Called Love | ![]() | Multicolor insert | Pathé Exchange | |
Lost film except for color sequence. | |||||
1929 | The Dance of Life | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 779 ft. | Paramount |
Extant in black-and-white. | |||||
1929 | Footlights and Fools | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 1183 ft. | First National-Warner Bros. |
Lost film. | |||||
1929 | His First Command | ![]() | Multicolor inserts | Pathé Exchange | |
Extant in black-and-white. Status of Multicolor sequences unknown. | |||||
1929 | It's a Great Life | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 1391 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. On DVD from Warner Archive Collection. | |||||
1929 | The Mysterious Island | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 8569 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant at UCLA. Complete Technicolor print was discovered in Prague, December 2013 and premiered at the 33rd Pordenone Silent Film Festival in October 2014. On DVD.[8] | |||||
1929 | Rio Rita | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 2680 ft. | RKO Radio Pictures |
Survives in a cut re-release copy with all color sequences. On DVD. | |||||
1929 | William Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 | ![]() | Multicolor inserts | Fox | |
Lost film. | |||||
1929 | The Great Gabbo | ![]() | Multicolor inserts | Sono Art-World Wide Pictures | |
Survives in black-and-white except for missing color musical number "The Ga-Ga Bird". On DVD. | |||||
1929 | Smiling Irish Eyes | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | First National Pictures | |
Lost film. Soundtrack discs survive at UCLA. | |||||
1930 | The Rogue Song | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 9565 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Lost film. Complete soundtrack extant on discs. Trailer and fragments preserved at UCLA. | |||||
1930 | The Life of the Party | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 7202 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Hold Everything | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 7280 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Survives in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | The Vagabond King | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 9413 ft. | Paramount |
Only complete copy restored by UCLA | |||||
1930 | Just for a Song | ![]() | Pathécolor sequences | Gainsborough Pictures | |
Lost film | |||||
1930 | Alf's Button | ![]() | Pathécolor sequences | British Gaumont | |
Lost film | |||||
1930 | Paramount on Parade | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | 2517 ft. | Paramount |
Plotless all-star revue. Most survives, but one black-and-white and one color sequence are missing, the color finale with Maurice Chevalier survives only in black-and-white, and the sound for two of the color sequences is missing. Restored by UCLA Film and Television Archive | |||||
1930 | Under a Texas Moon | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 7501 ft. | Warner Bros. |
First all-talking western shot entirely in color. Survives in a complete color copy. | |||||
1930 | Whoopee! | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 8681 ft. | United Artists |
Survives in at least one complete color copy. | |||||
1930 | The School for Scandal | ![]() | Raycolor feature | Albion Films | |
Only feature film photographed in this process. Lost film. | |||||
1930 | Elstree Calling | ![]() | Pathéchrome Inserts | British International Pictures | |
Extant at the British Film Institute. Co-directed by Alfred Hitchcock. | |||||
1930 | Hell's Angels | ![]() | Multicolor insert | 866 ft. | United Artists |
Color sequence and film survive complete. Scene filmed in Multicolor, printed by Technicolor | |||||
1930 | Knowing Men | ![]() | Talkicolor feature | United Artists Corporation | |
Second British sound feature in color. Lost film. | |||||
1930 | King of Jazz | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 9320 ft. | Universal |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | Chasing Rainbows | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 1249 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Black-and-white parts survive, color sequences are completely lost. | |||||
1930 | They Learned About Women | ![]() | Technicolor insert | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Survives in black and white only. | |||||
1930 | Good News | ![]() | Multicolor insert | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Color was used for the finale, which is now completely lost. The rest survives. | |||||
1930 | Madam Satan | ![]() | Multicolor Sequences | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Color was used for the airship party sequences, but survive only survive in black and white. | |||||
1930 | Showgirl in Hollywood | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 832 ft. | First National-Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Bride of the Regiment | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 7418 ft. | First National-Warner Bros. |
Picture lost. Soundtrack extant. | |||||
1930 | Puttin' On the Ritz | ![]() | Technicolor Insert | 953 ft. | United Artists |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Mammy | ![]() | Technicolor Inserts | 1497 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant. The first Al Jolson film with color. | |||||
1930 | Call of the Flesh | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 721 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Bright Lights | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 6416 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Children of Pleasure | ![]() | Technicolor insert | ~700 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Survives complete in black-and-white. Color sequences extant in sections. | |||||
1930 | General Crack | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 532 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Survives in a silent copy with no color sequences made for theaters without sound equipment. | |||||
1930 | The Melody Man | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 826 ft. | Columbia Pictures |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | Follow Thru | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 8383 ft. | Paramount |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | The March of Time | ![]() | Technicolor inserts | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Production never completed. Several musical sequences extant. | |||||
1930 | New Movietone Follies of 1930 | ![]() | Multicolor inserts | Fox | |
Extant. Only copy at UCLA. | |||||
1930 | The Florodora Girl | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 608 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | Mamba | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 6998 ft. | Tiffany Pictures |
Extant complete. First all-color all-talking feature which was not a musical. On DVD. | |||||
1930 | Sweet Kitty Bellairs | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 5846 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. On DVD. | |||||
1930 | Son of the Gods | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 442 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Song of the Flame | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 6501 ft. | Warner Bros. |
. | |||||
1930 | Song of the West | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 7189 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant. On DVD from Warner Archive Collection. | |||||
1930 | Viennese Nights | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 9191 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant, preserved at UCLA. | |||||
1930 | Golden Dawn | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 7546 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant in black-and-white only. Color fragment found circa 2015. | |||||
1930 | Peacock Alley | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 651 ft. | Tiffany |
Extant; color sequence is at the Library of Congress. | |||||
1930 | No, No, Nanette | ![]() | Technicolor Sequences | 3895 ft. | First National-Warner Bros. |
BFI National Archive holds a 35 mm incomplete nitrate print 160 ft. | |||||
1930 | The Lottery Bride | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 358 ft. | United Artists |
Color sequence survives at the George Eastman House. On DVD. | |||||
1930 | Lord Byron of Broadway | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 878 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | Leathernecking | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 1474 ft. | RKO |
Survives in Warner Bros. vault. | |||||
1930 | Hit the Deck | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 3772 ft. | RKO |
Lost film. | |||||
1930 | Dixiana | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 2006 ft. | RKO |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | The Cuckoos | ![]() | Technicolor insert | 833 ft. | RKO |
Extant. | |||||
1931 | Delicious | ![]() | Multicolor inserts | Fox | |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1931 | Woman Hungry | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 6119 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1931 | Manhattan Parade | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 6692 ft. | Warner Bros. |
16mm Safety color print (ca. 3200 ft) is held at UCLA. | |||||
1931 | 50 Million Frenchmen | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 6480 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. On DVD. | |||||
1931 | Kiss Me Again | ![]() | Technicolor feature | Warner Bros. | |
Extant only in black-and-white. On DVD. 2 fragments in color are held at Seaver Center | |||||
1931 | The Hawk | ![]() | Multicolor feature | Romantic Productions | |
Shot as the first feature entirely in Multicolor, it had a very limited release. Five years later using the new process Cinecolor it was re-edited and re-recorded as "Phantom of Santa Fe". On DVD. | |||||
1931 | The Runaround | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 5714 ft. | RKO |
Extant only in black-and-white, except for color first reel at Museum of Modern Art. On DVD. | |||||
1931 | Fanny Foley Herself | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 6699 ft. | RKO |
Complete copy at BFI under title 'Top of the Bill'. Technicolor trailer extant at George Eastman House. | |||||
1931 | Flying High | ![]() | Technicolor sequences | MGM | |
Extant in black and white. | |||||
1932 | Tex Takes a Holiday | ![]() | Multicolor feature | Argosy Productions Corporation | |
Final feature-length film shot entirely in Multicolor. Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1931 | Carnival | ![]() | Sequences In British Multicolor | British & Dominions Film Corporation | |
Unknown Status. | |||||
1932 | Doctor X | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 7048 ft | Warner Bros. |
Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1932 | The Girl from Calgary | ![]() | Magnacolor insert | Chardwick Productions | |
First reel was shot in color. Extant, status of color sequence is unknown. | |||||
1932 | The Death Kiss | ![]() | Hand-colored inserts | Sono Art-World Wide Pictures | |
Extant. Hand color by Gustav Brock. | |||||
1933 | Mystery of the Wax Museum | ![]() | Technicolor feature | 7184 ft | Warner Bros. |
Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1933 | Sairandhri | ![]() | UFacolor feature | Prabhat Film Company | |
First color film shot in India, but processed and printed in Germany. Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1934 | Radio Parade of 1935 | ![]() | Dufaycolor inserts | British International Pictures | |
Two sequences were filmed in Dufaycolor. Extant. | |||||
1934 | Adventure Girl | ![]() | Hand-colored fire scene | Van Beuren Studios | |
Extant. Hand color by Gustav Brock. | |||||
1934 | Sweden, Land of the Vikings | ![]() | Cinecolor feature | ||
First feature-length film in Cinecolor. On DVD. | |||||
1934 | The Cat and the Fiddle | ![]() | Technicolor, Process 4 insert | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Black-and-white with final reel in color. First use of three-strip Technicolor in a feature-length film. On DVD. | |||||
1934 | The House of Rothschild | ![]() | Technicolor, Process 4 insert | 20th Century Pictures / United Artist | |
Black-and-white with final sequence in color. | |||||
1934 | Hollywood Party | ![]() | Technicolor, Process 4 insert | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Black-and-white with animated cartoon sequence in color. | |||||
1934 | Kid Millions | ![]() | Technicolor, Process 4 insert | Samuel Goldwyn / United Artists | |
Black-and-white with "Ice Cream Factory" musical finale in color. | |||||
1934 | Seetha Kalyanam | ![]() | Hand-coloured film | Prabhat Film Company | |
Tamil language film. First hand-colored film in South India. Lost film. | |||||
1935 | Karnaval cvetov | ![]() | Russian two-color process feature | Mezhrabpomfilm | |
First Russian color film. Extant complete. On DVD. | |||||
1935 | Jeunes filles à marier | ![]() | Franciacolor feature | Paris Color Films | |
First French feature in natural color. Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1935 | Legong: Dance of the Virgins | ![]() | Technicolor Process 3 (two-color) feature | 5054 ft | DuWorld Pictures (US) / Paramount (intl) |
Produced by Constance Bennett and Henri de la Falaise. Feature-length documentary filmed entirely in two-color Technicolor, one of the last uses of the older process. Restored in 1999 by UCLA Film and Television Archive. On DVD. | |||||
1935 | The Little Colonel | ![]() | Technicolor, Process 4 insert | Fox | |
Black-and-white with one Technicolor sequence | |||||
1935 | Becky Sharp | ![]() | Technicolor, Process 4 feature | Pioneer Pictures / RKO | |
First feature-length film entirely in three-strip Technicolor. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | Kliou the Killer | ![]() | Technicolor, Process 3 (two-color) feature | 4917 ft | Bennett Pictures / DuWorld Pictures (US) |
Final two-color Technicolor feature. Extant only in black and white. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | The Trail of the Lonesome Pine | ![]() | Technicolor, Process 4 feature | Walter Wanger Productions / Paramount Pictures | |
First three-strip Technicolor feature filmed outdoors by natural light. | |||||
1936 | We're in the Legion Now! | ![]() | Magnacolor feature | George A. Hirliman Productions | |
Also known as The Rest Cure. Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | The Phantom of Santa Fe | ![]() | Cinecolor feature | Burroughs-Tarzan Enterprises | |
Filmed in Multicolor five years earlier as "The Hawk", re-edited version released in Cinecolor as "Phantom of Santa Fe". Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | La terre qui meurt | ![]() | Franciacolor feature | Paris Color Films | |
Also known as "The Land That Dies". Restored in 1992. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | Pagliacci | ![]() ![]() | UFAcolor inserts | Trafalgar Film Productions | |
Extant with color. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | Solovey-Solovushko | ![]() | Russian two-color Process feature | Mezhrabpomfilm | |
First Russian feature-length narrative film in color. Extant. | |||||
1936 | Bajo el sol de Loret | ![]() | Unknown color process feature | ||
Also known as "Under Loreto's Sun". First Peruvian color feature film. Extant. | |||||
1936 | The Devil on Horseback | ![]() | Hirlicolor feature | George A. Hirliman Productions | |
Long presumed lost until found in private collection in the 1980s. Complete in UCLA Film and Television Archive. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | The Bold Caballero | ![]() | Magnacolor feature | Republic Pictures | |
First "Zorro" film shot in color. Extant complete. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | Captain Calamity | ![]() | Hirlicolor feature | George A. Hirliman Productions | |
Extant complete. Released on DVD. | |||||
1937 | Kisan Kanya | ![]() | Cinecolor feature | Imperial Pictures | |
First Hindi color film made entirely in India. | |||||
1937 | The Wedding (Wesele księżackie w Złakowie Borowym) | ![]() | Agfacolor | Tadeusz Jankowski | |
First Polish color film (10 minutes, sound). Film (16 mm reel) survived in The National Museum of Ethnography in Warsaw.[9] | |||||
1938 | The Land of My Mother | ![]() | Eastman Kodak | Ève Curie and Romuald Gantkowski | |
Second Polish color film (37 minutes, sound). Film (35 mm reel) survived in The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London. Later Ève Curie added sound commentary about the Second World War.[10] |
See also
- Color motion picture film
- List of color film systems
- List of film formats
- List of lost films
- List of incomplete or partially lost films
- List of rediscovered films
- Multicolor
- Prizmacolor
References
- ^ Abel, Richard (1998) The Ciné Goes to Town: French Cinema, 1896-1914. University of California Press ISBN 9780520912915, p.576
- ^ McKernan, Luke (2009). ‘The modern Elixir of Life’: Kinemacolor, royalty and the Delhi Durbar, in Film History, Vol. 21, pp. 122–136, 2009.
- ^ McKernan, Luke (2018). Charles Urban: Pioneering the Non-Fiction Film in Britain and America, 1897-1925. University of Exeter Press. ISBN 978-0859892964.
- ^ a b "Film show in Covent Garden" (PDF). New York Times. 9 December 1912.
- ^ "Scala Theatre". Weekly Dispatch. 22 November 1914.
- ^ McKernan, Luke (2018). Charles Urban: Pioneering the Non-Fiction Film in Britain and America, 1897-1925. University of Exeter Press. ISBN 978-0859892964.
- ^ "List of 7200 Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films 1912-29" (PDF). Library of Congress. 2016.
- ^ http://www.cinetecadelfriuli.org/gcm/allegati/2014_CalendarioGCM_w3.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ https://ethnomuseum.pl/blog/o-roli-obserwatora-w-filmie-etnograficznym/
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "SIK 1068 - Land of my mother (35mm copy)". YouTube.
External links
- Timeline of Historical Film Colors
- Color Cinematography of the Silent Era
- Early color features filmography (1917-1935) from Wayback Machine