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
editThe 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
editYear | Title | Country | Color process | Length | Production company |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1903 | La Vie et la passion de Jésus Christ | France | 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 | Russia | hand-colored | Pathé Frères | |
Extant. Also known as The Dashing Merchant and The Happy-Go-Lucky Merchant. Not a feature film, since it only last 6 minutes. | |||||
1912 | With Our King and Queen Through India | United Kingdom | 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 | United States | 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 | United Kingdom | Éclair process | 7,000 feet | Joseph Menchen (personal project) |
First full-colour (hand-colored) dramatic feature film. Filmed in Austria in October 1912; hand-colored in Paris by seventy people;[4] UK release on 21 December 1912 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. 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 score recorded in 1932. | |||||
1914 | The World, the Flesh and the Devil | United Kingdom | Kinemacolor | Natural Color Kinematograph Company | |
First feature-length narrative film in natural color. Lost. | |||||
1914 | Little Lord Fauntleroy | United Kingdom | Kinemacolor | Natural Color Kinematograph Company | |
Lost film. Only black and white stills remain. | |||||
1914/15 | With The Fighting Forces of Europe | United Kingdom | 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 | United Kingdom | Kinemacolor inserts | Jury's Imperial Pictures | |
First British propaganda film. Extant. | |||||
1916 | Joan the Woman | United States | 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 | United States | 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 | United States | 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 | United States | Douglass Natural Color feature | Douglass Natural Color Film Inc. | |
Lost film. Only feature film made in this process. | |||||
1918 | Our Navy | United States | Prizma feature | Prizma | |
First feature film shot in Prizmacolor. | |||||
1920 | Treasure Island | United States | Hand coloring (Handschiegl?) | Paramount Pictures | |
Lost film. | |||||
1920 | Roman Candles | United States | Handschiegl Color Process inserts | Cineart | |
Prints exist. | |||||
1920 | Way Down East | United States | Technicolor insert | D.W. Griffith Productions | |
Extant in black-and-white only. | |||||
1921 | Bali the Unknown | United States | Prizma feature | Prizma Inc. | |
Five-reel documentary opened 27 February 1921 at Capitol Theatre in NYC. Considered lost.[7] | |||||
1921 | The Three Musketeers | United States | Handschiegl Color Process inserts | United Artists | |
Restored in 2022. | |||||
1922 | The Toll of the Sea | United States | 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 | United States | Handschiegl Color Process inserts | 188 ft. | Goldwyn Pictures |
Lost film. | |||||
1922 | The Glorious Adventure | United States/ United Kingdom |
Prizma feature | United Artists | |
Directed by J. Stuart Blackton. Extant at the British Film Institute. On DVD. | |||||
1922 | Flames of Passion | United Kingdom | Prizma insert | Astra Film | |
Directed by Graham Cutts. Lost film. | |||||
1922 | Foolish Wives | United States | Hand coloring inserts | Universal Pictures | |
Hand coloring by Gustav Brock. | |||||
1923 | Red Lights | United States | Handschiegl Color inserts | Goldwyn Pictures | |
Extant in black-and-white only. | |||||
1923 | The Ten Commandments | United States | Technicolor inserts, Handschiegl Color inserts | Paramount Pictures | |
Survives complete. Is on DVD. | |||||
1923 | Vanity Fair | United States | Prizma insert | Goldwyn Pictures | |
Directed by Hugo Ballin. Lost film. | |||||
1923 | The Virgin Queen | United Kingdom | Prizma insert | J. Stuart Blackton Productions | |
Directed by J. Stuart Blackton. Status unknown. | |||||
1923 | I Pagliacci | United Kingdom | Prizma insert | Napoleon Films | |
Starring Lillian Hall-Davis. Status unknown. | |||||
1923 | Maytime | United States | Technicolor insert | 200 ft. | B.P. Schulberg Productions |
Partially restored. | |||||
1924 | The Uninvited Guest | United States | Technicolor insert | Metro Pictures | |
Preservation status unknown. | |||||
1924 | Cytherea | United States | Technicolor inserts | 230 ft. | Technicolor / Goldwyn Pictures |
Lost film. First Technicolor film shot under artificial light. | |||||
1924 | Wanderer of the Wasteland | United States | Technicolor feature | 3854 ft. | Paramount |
First western in color. Lost film. | |||||
1924 | Venus of the South Seas | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor inserts | 34 ft. | Paramount |
Starring Bebe Daniels. Unknown status. | |||||
1924 | Greed | United States | 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 | United Kingdom | Friese-Greene Natural Color (formerly Biocolour) | Friese-Greene Productions | |
Unknown if a feature or short film. | |||||
1924 | Moonbeam Magic | United Kingdom | Friese-Greene Natural Color (formerly Biocolour) | Spectrum Films | |
Produced by Claude Friese-Greene. Status unknown, possibly at BFI. | |||||
1925 | Ben-Hur | United States | Technicolor inserts | 1029 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1925 | Cyrano de Bergerac | Italy/ France |
Pathéchrome feature | 9501 ft. | Unione Cinematografica Italiana |
Starring Pierre Magnier. Extant. | |||||
1925 | The Phantom of the Opera | United States | Technicolor inserts, Kelley Color /Handschiegl Color | 497 ft. | Universal Pictures |
One color segment survives. On DVD. | |||||
1925 | The Merry Widow | United States | Technicolor insert | 136 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Film survives, including two-minute color sequence. | |||||
1925 | Stage Struck | United States | Technicolor inserts | Paramount | |
Extant with color sequences. Restored by George Eastman House. Starring Gloria Swanson. | |||||
1925 | Pretty Ladies | United States | Technicolor insert | 597 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1925 | His Supreme Moment | United States | Technicolor inserts | 517 ft. | First National Pictures |
Lost film. | |||||
1925 | The Big Parade | United States | Applied color by Technicolor | 154 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Feature and color exists. On DVD. | |||||
1925 | So This Is Marriage | United States | Technicolor insert | 729 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Lost film. | |||||
1925 | The Splendid Road | United States | Handschiegl Color inserts | First National Pictures | |
Status unknown. | |||||
1925 | Seven Chances | United States | Technicolor insert | 275 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant with color. On DVD. | |||||
1925 | The King on Main Street | United States | Technicolor inserts | 105 ft. | Famous Players–Lasky |
Survives complete. | |||||
1925 | Lights of Old Broadway | United States | Technicolor inserts, Handschiegl Color Process inserts | Cosmopolitan Productions | |
Extant in Library of Congress. | |||||
1925 | Peacock Feathers | United States | Technicolor insert | 82 ft. | Universal Pictures |
Lost film. | |||||
1926 | Fig Leaves | United States | Technicolor insert | 969 ft. | Fox Film Corporation |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1926 | Beverly of Graustark | United States | Technicolor insert | 354 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | Monte Carlo | United States | Technicolor inserts | 1000 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | Into Her Kingdom | United States | Technicolor insert | 221 ft. | First National Pictures |
Lost Film. | |||||
1926 | The Yankee Señor | United States | Technicolor insert | 475 ft. | Fox |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | The Far Cry | United States | Technicolor insert | 807 ft. | First National Pictures |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | Hell's Four Hundred | United States | Technicolor insert | 321 ft. | Fox |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | The Open Road | United Kingdom | 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 | Italy | Pathéchrome feature | 12083 ft. | Società Italiana Grandi Films |
Extant. US Title: The Last Days of Pompeii On DVD. | |||||
1926 | Irene | United States | Technicolor inserts | 972 ft. | First National Pictures |
Survives complete with color sequences. | |||||
1926 | Beau Geste | United States | Technicolor inserts | Paramount Pictures | |
Extant. | |||||
1926 | The Flaming Forest | United States | Technicolor inserts | 203 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant at Library of Congress. | |||||
1926 | The American Venus | United States | Technicolor insert | 1574 ft. | Paramount |
Lost film. Two trailers, and brief clip of color insert, survive at the Library Of Congress. | |||||
1926 | Volcano | United States | Handschiegl Color inserts | Paramount Pictures | |
Extant at Library of Congress. Preserved by UCLA and Television and The Museum of Modern Art. | |||||
1926 | Mike | United States | 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 | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor inserts, Handschiegl Color inserts | 692 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Film extant, but color is incomplete. At Library of Congress . | |||||
1926 | The Joy Girl | United States | Technicolor insert | 285 ft. | Fox |
A copy may survive in the Museum of Modern Art film archive. | |||||
1926 | Flames | United States | Handschiegl Color inserts | Associated Exhibitors | |
One reel exists in the Library of Congress. | |||||
1926 | The Girl from Montmartre | United States | Handschiegl Color inserts | First National Pictures | |
Preserved by Warner Bros. from original negative and nitrate handschiegl print. | |||||
1927 | Long Pants | United States | Technicolor insert | 950 ft. | First National Pictures |
Extant. | |||||
1927 | White Pants Willie | United States | Technicolor insert | 533 ft. | First National Pictures |
Extant. | |||||
1927 | The Girl From Rio | United States | Technicolor insert | 125 ft. | Gotham Productions |
Extant. | |||||
1927 | Frisco Sally Levy | United States | Technicolor insert | 381 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1927 | The King of Kings | United States | Technicolor inserts | DeMille Productions / Pathé Exchange | |
Survives complete. Is on DVD. | |||||
1927 | Winners of the Wilderness | United States | Technicolor insert | 180 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
16mm print extant. Starring Joan Crawford. On DVD. | |||||
1927 | Annie Laurie | United States | Technicolor insert | 204 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant with color at the Library of Congress. | |||||
1927 | The Wizard | United States | Hand coloring | Fox | |
Lost film. | |||||
1927 | Napoléon | France | Keller-Dorian process sequences | Abel Gance / Gaumont | |
Extant. Keller-Dorian process proved to be impractical. | |||||
1927 | La revue des revues | France | Pathéchrome inserts | ||
Extant. | |||||
1928 | The Garden Of Eden | United States | Technicolor insert | 277 ft. | First National Pictures |
Extant. | |||||
1928 | The Actress | United States | Technicolor insert | 121 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1928 | Revenge | United States | Technicolor insert | 329 ft. | United Artists |
Lost film. | |||||
1928 | The Big Hop | United States | Technicolor insert | 500 ft. | Buck Jones Productions |
Lost film. | |||||
1928 | The Woman and the Puppet | France | Keller-Dorian process | ||
Extant. Directed by Jacques de Baroncelli | |||||
1928 | None but the Brave | United States | Technicolor insert | 549 ft. | Fox |
Unknown | |||||
1928 | The Wedding March | United States | Technicolor insert, hand coloring. | 294 ft. | Paramount |
Extant. Directed by Erich von Stroheim | |||||
1928 | Red Hair | United States | Technicolor insert | 57 ft. | Paramount |
Lost film. Color tests survive at UCLA Film and Television Archive. | |||||
1928 | Casanova | Germany | Pathéchrome insert | Ciné-Alliance / Pathé | |
Extant. Based on operetta by Ralph Benatzky. | |||||
1928 | The Viking | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor inserts | 332 ft. | Paramount |
Status unknown. | |||||
1928 | Court-Martial | United States | Technicolor insert | 473 ft. | Columbia Pictures |
Status unknown. | |||||
1929 | Redskin | United States | 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! | United States | 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 | United Kingdom | Pathéchrome sequences | British International Pictures | |
Extant at British Film Institute | |||||
1929 | A Romance of Seville | United Kingdom | 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 | United States | Technicolor insert | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Prints survive. | |||||
1929 | The Show of Shows | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor inserts | 270 ft. | Paramount |
Extant complete at UCLA. Broadcast master is in black-and-white. | |||||
1929 | Paris | United States | Technicolor inserts | 3645 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Picture lost except 3 fragments at Seaver Center. Soundtrack extant. | |||||
1929 | Gold Diggers of Broadway | United States | Technicolor feature | 9122 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Two incomplete reels and some short fragments extant. Complete disc soundtrack extant. Surviving reels on DVD. | |||||
1929 | Sally | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor insert | 897 ft. | Paramount |
Extant complete at UCLA. On DVD. | |||||
1929 | The Broadway Melody | United States | Technicolor insert | 307 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Technicolor sequence survives in black-and-white only. On DVD. | |||||
1929 | The Desert Song | United States | Technicolor insert | 306 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant in black-and-white only. | |||||
1929 | Sunny Side Up | United States | Multicolor inserts | Fox | |
Extant in black-and-white only. | |||||
1929 | The Hollywood Revue of 1929 | United States | Technicolor inserts | 1360 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant | |||||
1929 | Broadway | United States | 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 | United States | Multicolor insert | Fox | |
Only final reel in Multicolor survives at UCLA Film and Television Archive. | |||||
1929 | Red Hot Rhythm | United States | Multicolor insert | Pathé Exchange | |
Only one number in color, the title song, survives. | |||||
1929 | This Thing Called Love | United States | Multicolor insert | Pathé Exchange | |
Lost film except for color sequence. | |||||
1929 | The Dance of Life | United States | Technicolor insert | 779 ft. | Paramount |
Extant in black-and-white. | |||||
1929 | Footlights and Fools | United States | Technicolor inserts | 1183 ft. | First National-Warner Bros. |
Lost film. | |||||
1929 | His First Command | United States | Multicolor inserts | Pathé Exchange | |
Extant in black-and-white. Status of Multicolor sequences unknown. | |||||
1929 | It's a Great Life | United States | Technicolor inserts | 1391 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. On DVD from Warner Archive Collection. | |||||
1929 | The Mysterious Island | United States | 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 | United States | 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 | United States | Multicolor inserts | Fox | |
Lost film. | |||||
1929 | The Great Gabbo | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor inserts | First National Pictures | |
Lost film. Soundtrack discs survive at UCLA. | |||||
1930 | The Rogue Song | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor feature | 7202 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Hold Everything | United States | Technicolor feature | 7280 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Survives in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | The Vagabond King | United States | Technicolor feature | 9413 ft. | Paramount |
Only complete copy restored by UCLA | |||||
1930 | Just for a Song | United Kingdom | Pathécolor sequences | Gainsborough Pictures | |
Lost film | |||||
1930 | Alf's Button | United Kingdom | Pathécolor sequences | British Gaumont | |
Lost film | |||||
1930 | Paramount on Parade | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor feature | 7501 ft. | Warner Bros. |
First all-talking western shot entirely in color. Survives in a complete color copy. | |||||
1930 | Whoopee! | United States | Technicolor feature | 8681 ft. | United Artists |
Survives in at least one complete color copy. | |||||
1930 | The School for Scandal | United Kingdom | Raycolor feature | Albion Films | |
Only feature film photographed in this process. Lost film. | |||||
1930 | Elstree Calling | United Kingdom | Pathéchrome Inserts | British International Pictures | |
Extant at the British Film Institute. Co-directed by Alfred Hitchcock. | |||||
1930 | Hell's Angels | United States | Multicolor insert | 866 ft. | United Artists |
Color sequence and film survive complete. Scene filmed in Multicolor, printed by Technicolor | |||||
1930 | Knowing Men | United Kingdom | Talkicolor feature | United Artists Corporation | |
Second British sound feature in color. Lost film. | |||||
1930 | King of Jazz | United States | Technicolor feature | 9320 ft. | Universal |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | Chasing Rainbows | United States | Technicolor insert | 1249 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Black-and-white parts survive, color sequences are completely lost. | |||||
1930 | They Learned About Women | United States | Technicolor insert | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Survives in black and white only. | |||||
1930 | Good News | United States | Multicolor insert | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Color was used for the finale, which is now completely lost. The rest survives. | |||||
1930 | Madam Satan | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor insert | 832 ft. | First National-Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Bride of the Regiment | United States | Technicolor feature | 7418 ft. | First National-Warner Bros. |
Picture lost. Soundtrack extant. | |||||
1930 | Puttin' On the Ritz | United States | Technicolor Insert | 953 ft. | United Artists |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Mammy | United States | Technicolor Inserts | 1497 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant. The first Al Jolson film with color. | |||||
1930 | Call of the Flesh | United States | Technicolor insert | 721 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Bright Lights | United States | Technicolor feature | 6416 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Children of Pleasure | United States | Technicolor insert | ~700 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Survives complete in black-and-white. Color sequences extant in sections. | |||||
1930 | General Crack | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor insert | 826 ft. | Columbia Pictures |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | Follow Thru | United States | Technicolor feature | 8383 ft. | Paramount |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | The March of Time | United States | Technicolor inserts | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Production never completed. Several musical sequences extant. | |||||
1930 | New Movietone Follies of 1930 | United States | Multicolor inserts | Fox | |
Extant. Only copy at UCLA. | |||||
1930 | The Florodora Girl | United States | Technicolor insert | 608 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | Mamba | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor feature | 5846 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. On DVD. | |||||
1930 | Son of the Gods | United States | Technicolor insert | 442 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1930 | Song of the Flame | United States | Technicolor feature | 6501 ft. | Warner Bros. |
. | |||||
1930 | Song of the West | United States | Technicolor feature | 7189 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant. On DVD from Warner Archive Collection. | |||||
1930 | Viennese Nights | United States | Technicolor feature | 9191 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant, preserved at UCLA. | |||||
1930 | Golden Dawn | United States | Technicolor feature | 7546 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant in black-and-white only. Color fragment found circa 2015. | |||||
1930 | Peacock Alley | United States | Technicolor insert | 651 ft. | Tiffany |
Extant; color sequence is at the Library of Congress. | |||||
1930 | No, No, Nanette | United States | Technicolor Sequences | 3895 ft. | First National-Warner Bros. |
BFI National Archive holds a 35 mm incomplete nitrate print 160 ft. | |||||
1930 | The Lottery Bride | United States | Technicolor insert | 358 ft. | United Artists |
Color sequence survives at the George Eastman House. On DVD. | |||||
1930 | Lord Byron of Broadway | United States | Technicolor insert | 878 ft. | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | Leathernecking | United States | Technicolor insert | 1474 ft. | RKO |
Survives in Warner Bros. vault. | |||||
1930 | Hit the Deck | United States | Technicolor insert | 3772 ft. | RKO |
Lost film. | |||||
1930 | Dixiana | United States | Technicolor insert | 2006 ft. | RKO |
Extant. | |||||
1930 | The Cuckoos | United States | Technicolor insert | 833 ft. | RKO |
Extant. | |||||
1931 | Delicious | United States | Multicolor inserts | Fox | |
Extant only in black-and-white. | |||||
1931 | Woman Hungry | United States | Technicolor feature | 6119 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1931 | Manhattan Parade | United States | Technicolor feature | 6692 ft. | Warner Bros. |
16mm Safety color print (ca. 3200 ft) is held at UCLA. | |||||
1931 | 50 Million Frenchmen | United States | Technicolor feature | 6480 ft. | Warner Bros. |
Extant only in black-and-white. On DVD. | |||||
1931 | Kiss Me Again | United States | Technicolor feature | Warner Bros. | |
Extant only in black-and-white. On DVD. 2 fragments in color are held at Seaver Center | |||||
1931 | The Hawk | United States | 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 | United States | 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 | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor sequences | MGM | |
Extant in black and white. | |||||
1932 | Tex Takes a Holiday | United States | Multicolor feature | Argosy Productions Corporation | |
Final feature-length film shot entirely in Multicolor. Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1931 | Carnival | United Kingdom | Sequences In British Multicolor | British & Dominions Film Corporation | |
Unknown Status. | |||||
1932 | Doctor X | United States | Technicolor feature | 7048 ft | Warner Bros. |
Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1932 | The Girl from Calgary | United States | Magnacolor insert | Chardwick Productions | |
First reel was shot in color. Extant, status of color sequence is unknown. | |||||
1932 | The Death Kiss | United States | Hand-colored inserts | Sono Art-World Wide Pictures | |
Extant. Hand color by Gustav Brock. | |||||
1933 | Mystery of the Wax Museum | United States | Technicolor feature | 7184 ft | Warner Bros. |
Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1933 | Sairandhri | India | 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 | United Kingdom | Dufaycolor inserts | British International Pictures | |
Two sequences were filmed in Dufaycolor. Extant. | |||||
1934 | Adventure Girl | United States | Hand-colored fire scene | Van Beuren Studios | |
Extant. Hand color by Gustav Brock. | |||||
1934 | Sweden, Land of the Vikings | United States | Cinecolor feature | ||
First feature-length film in Cinecolor. On DVD. | |||||
1934 | The Cat and the Fiddle | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor, Process 4 insert | 20th Century Pictures / United Artist | |
Black-and-white with final sequence in color. | |||||
1934 | Hollywood Party | United States | Technicolor, Process 4 insert | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
Black-and-white with animated cartoon sequence in color. | |||||
1934 | Kid Millions | United States | Technicolor, Process 4 insert | Samuel Goldwyn / United Artists | |
Black-and-white with "Ice Cream Factory" musical finale in color. | |||||
1934 | Seetha Kalyanam | India | Hand-coloured film | Prabhat Film Company | |
Tamil language film. First hand-colored film in South India. Lost film. | |||||
1935 | Karnaval cvetov | Soviet Union | Russian two-color process feature | Mezhrabpomfilm | |
First Russian color film. Extant complete. On DVD. | |||||
1935 | Jeunes filles à marier | France | Franciacolor feature | Paris Color Films | |
First French feature in natural color. Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1935 | Legong: Dance of the Virgins | United States | 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 | United States | Technicolor, Process 4 insert | Fox | |
Black-and-white with one Technicolor sequence | |||||
1935 | Becky Sharp | United States | Technicolor, Process 4 feature | Pioneer Pictures / RKO | |
First feature-length film entirely in three-strip Technicolor. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | Kliou the Killer | United States | 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 | United States | 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! | United States | Magnacolor feature | George A. Hirliman Productions | |
Also known as The Rest Cure. Extant. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | The Phantom of Santa Fe | United States | 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 | France | Franciacolor feature | Paris Color Films | |
Also known as "The Land That Dies". Restored in 1992. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | Pagliacci | Italy/ United Kingdom |
UFAcolor inserts | Trafalgar Film Productions | |
Extant with color. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | Solovey-Solovushko | Soviet Union | Russian two-color Process feature | Mezhrabpomfilm | |
First Russian feature-length narrative film in color. Extant. | |||||
1936 | Bajo el sol de Loret | Peru | Unknown color process feature | ||
Also known as "Under Loreto's Sun". First Peruvian color feature film. Extant. | |||||
1936 | The Devil on Horseback | United States | 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 | United States | Magnacolor feature | Republic Pictures | |
First "Zorro" film shot in color. Extant complete. On DVD. | |||||
1936 | Captain Calamity | United States | Hirlicolor feature | George A. Hirliman Productions | |
Extant complete. Released on DVD. | |||||
1937 | Kisan Kanya | India | Cinecolor feature | Imperial Pictures | |
First Hindi color film made entirely in India. | |||||
1937 | The Wedding (Wesele księżackie w Złakowie Borowym) | Poland | 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 | Poland | 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
editReferences
edit- ^ 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]
- ^ "O roli obserwatora w filmie etnograficznym 1 : Państwowe Muzeum Etnograficzne w Warszawie".
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "SIK 1068 - Land of my mother (35mm copy)". YouTube. 28 November 2017.