A Northwest broadcast historian, Craig Adams has uncovered some info that I have not heard of before, that some 1961 NBC "color" broadcasts were only "tinted".... He states:

"The only mention found was in a short article in "The Oregonian", August 23, 1961. It would be interesting to know if the person who released the information below was later chastised:

[MORE COLOR PLANNED] "NBC is gearing to not only expand the number of color series next Fall but also to inject some color into its black and white series. Scheduled tint filmings are three Joey segments and three Wagon Train episodes."

There were in fact six episodes of each that premiered in the tinted format in the 1961-62 season. Interesting enough, the tinted episodes repeated, were scene in back & white later in the season. An indication the ploy had not been successful. "

Anybody here have any info on these "tinted" programs? Did NBC use a sepia peacock?

jr

I think tinted means only CERTAIN episodes were shot in full color and the rest of the series were in black and white.

It don't make sense to use a bunch of expensive equipment to make a show appear in sepia tinted monochrome on color sets.

If NBC used this dodge at all to make certain programs appear to have been filmed in color, it was probably just a stopgap measure until the network completed its full-color conversion in the mid-1960s. I personally have no idea just when NBC actually began 100-percent colorcasting (aside from seeing their "Full-Color Network" promos), as my family did not even have color TV until some time in the '70s.

Never heard of this. Sounds like BS to me, but wouldn't put it past RCA/NBC...

I think tinted means only CERTAIN episodes were shot in full color and the rest of the series were in black and white.



This. The color filming and broadcast of only certain episodes of otherwise black & white series goes way back to the fifties, particularly by NBC. Likewise there are examples of the odder practice of black & white broadcast of color film in the color TV era by color-indifferent CBS. My Friend Flicka was filmed in color, yet broadcast in black & white in 1956-57. It wasn't until the following that season NBC broadcast the reruns in color.

As far as what happened in 1961-62, maybe the 'executive decision' to halt any more one-off color broadcasts of black & white shows was so sweeping that it ended up including reruns of episodes already filmed.

I should have posted more info, but I couldn't get the quote box to work on the little old Asus eee 700 that I was using at the time. Craig Adams went on to list specific programs that were "tinted"
The tinted episodes broadcast were:

October 4, 1961 "Wagon Train" The Kitty Allbright Story, starring: Polly Bergen.
October 4, 1961 "The Joey Bishop Show" Domestic Relations.

November 1, 1961 "Wagon Train" The Jenna Douglas Story, starring: Carolyn Jones.
November 1, 1961 "The Joey Bishop Show" Five Brides For Joey.

November 15, 1961 "Wagon Train" The Mark Miner Story, starring: Barbara Parkins.
November 15, 1961 "The Joey Bishop Show" Charity Begins At Home.

February 7, 1962 "Wagon Train" The Lonnie Fallon Story, starring: Gary Clarke.
February 7, 1962 "The Joey Bishop Show" Double Exposure.

February 21, 1962 "Wagon Train" The Daniel Clay Story, starring: Claude Rains.
February 21, 1962 "The Joey Bishop Show" Very Warm For Christmas.

March 14, 1962 "Wagon Train" The Amos Billings Story, starring: Paul Fix.
March 14, 1962 "The Joey Bishop Show" That's Show Biz.

Eventually these two shows were shot in color. The retooled Joey Bishop Show debuted in color on NBC September 15, 1962 with the episode: The Honeymoon. "Wagon Train" was shot in color, in its 90 minute format on ABC, beginning September 16, 1963 with the episode: The Molly Kincaid Story, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Carolyn Jones & Fabian.


He indicated that the '61-'62 Wed night NBC "color" schedule was as follows:
7:30pm "Wagon Train" 60 minutes.
8:30pm "The Joey Bishop Show" 30 minutes.
9:00pm "Kraft Music Hall Presents: The Perry Como Show" 60 minutes.
10:00pm "The Bob Newhart Show" 30 minutes.
10:30pm "David Brinkley's Journal" 30 minutes.

This seems to me to be pretty specific information from a reliable historian, indicating that the Wed night NBC "full color" lineup was not quite as advertised. :scratch2:

jr

One Hazel tv episode was shot in color in the 1962 season, it was about Hazel getting a new color tv to replace her old 10" Emerson table set. She paid what she was saving, and Mr. Baxter paid the difference for the color model.

One Hazel tv episode was shot in color in the 1962 season, it was about Hazel getting a new color tv to replace her old 10" Emerson table set. She paid what she was saving, and Mr. Baxter paid the difference for the color model.

And George bought a set similar to my CTC-10 only with a remote before the show ended.

I have this show on 16mm. Its faded pretty pink.

It's show #6, and is titled "What Shall We Watch Tonight?" 1-5 shot B/W, and 7-35 are B/W, also.

They didn't have the technology to colorize programs and movies like they do today. The word tint was used to refer to programs in color. I seen the majority of these shows and they are all in full color.

One way they could have done "tinted" B&W would be to play the B&W footage in a color telecine, and misadjust the color balance. Cut back on the blue, and increase the red a little, and you would get a tinted video stream. You could change the tint for various scenes, say yellowish for outdoor sunlit scenes, blueish for rainy days, pink for lovers kissing (this is terrestrial broadcast of course ;) ) and so on.

When I worked for an independent TV station... Remember those? No affiliation with a network of anykind?

Our home-made video switcher that we used for broadcast would hang up sometimes, and leave the chroma turned on while we were broadcasting a black and white film. We'd get some really interesting color artifacts, depending on the age of the camera tubes in our film chain.

There was a key on the switcher to kill chroma. It worked when it wanted to... Those were the days.

We eventually bought a brand new Grass Valley brand switcher, and we thought it would be installed overnight. Didnt happen that way, either.

I remember NBC going color, but I dont remember ever hearing of B/W shows being tinted for broadcast.

I seen the majority of these shows and they are all in full color.

Interesting! do you recall the specific episodes mentioned in post 6 as being in full color ? or a more general recollection of the series?

jr

In this context, the word "tint" means programs shot and broadcast in color, as opposed to black and white, which is what these series mentioned above were usually done in. It was a chance for NBC to showcase color in some of their regular black and white series. It seems to me that the use of the word "tint" by the oiginal author of the newspaper article in 1961 was a poor choice of words.

And George bought a set similar to my CTC-10 only with a remote before the show ended.

I have this show on 16mm. Its faded pretty pink.

It's show #6, and is titled "What Shall We Watch Tonight?" 1-5 shot B/W, and 7-35 are B/W, also.

I was going to mention George's new tv as well, but I didn't want to get too wordy. I didn't need many clues as to the actual make of the sets in the showroom, and the ones that Hazel and George ended up with. Most of the time I think George had a nice Zenith B&W console. Their stereo was a Zenith for the first couple of seasons. A shame about your 16mm film too, I found a Magnavox, Motorola, and Maytag YouTube entry, the Magnavox ads are washed out pink now as well. Motorola looked a tad better, and Maytag was tolerable. But then of course, they had no idea people would want to see these things 40 some years into the future!

I was going to mention George's new tv as well, but I didn't want to get too wordy. I didn't need many clues as to the actual make of the sets in the showroom, and the ones that Hazel and George ended up with. Most of the time I think George had a nice Zenith B&W console. Their stereo was a Zenith for the first couple of seasons. A shame about your 16mm film too, I found a Magnavox, Motorola, and Maytag YouTube entry, the Magnavox ads are washed out pink now as well. Motorola looked a tad better, and Maytag was tolerable. But then of course, they had no idea people would want to see these things 40 some years into the future!

When I got the film, it was brand new and beautiful.

Dats OK. I get wordy all the time.

I should have posted more info, but I couldn't get the quote box to work on the little old Asus eee 700 that I was using at the time. Craig Adams went on to list specific programs that were "tinted"


He indicated that the '61-'62 Wed night NBC "color" schedule was as follows:


This seems to me to be pretty specific information from a reliable historian, indicating that the Wed night NBC "full color" lineup was not quite as advertised. :scratch2:

jr

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050073/ Here is the scoop in wagon train.

As mentioned, the word "tinted" was a catchy way for color TV related articles to discribe color TV shows in the 50's & early 60's. Many instances of NBC having special "color nights" or several one off color episodes of certain programs for a "color week." This as a promotional tie-in with RCA, which owned the NBC Network and provided RCA major advertising for their color sets in newpaper & magazine ads both for the network and RCA dealers.
The Antenna TV channel aired the 1962 Hazel one off color episode not long ago and I did record it to DVD. It was a pristine color print.

-Steve D.

I have this episode on the first season Hazel DVD and it looks fantastic. I always wondered how this episode got made in color and was not either the pilot or season finale of this series. Hazel was filmed entirely in color from the second season on. I believe that "tinted" was a common slang expression of the day to refer to anything broadcast in color.

This. The color filming and broadcast of only certain episodes of otherwise black & white series goes way back to the fifties, particularly by NBC. Likewise there are examples of the odder practice of black & white broadcast of color film in the color TV era by color-indifferent CBS. My Friend Flicka was filmed in color, yet broadcast in black & white in 1956-57. It wasn't until the following that season NBC broadcast the reruns in color.

As far as what happened in 1961-62, maybe the 'executive decision' to halt any more one-off color broadcasts of black & white shows was so sweeping that it ended up including reruns of episodes already filmed.
The Lucy Show began color filming with it's second season (1963-64), but continued to be shown by CBS in black-and-white until the fall of 1965. This due to CBS's resistance to color, which would benefit rival network NBC. The DVDs of The Lucy Show's early color episodes have been fully restored and look spectacular in color.

I have this episode on the first season Hazel DVD and it looks fantastic. I always wondered how this episode got made in color and was not either the pilot or season finale of this series. Hazel was filmed entirely in color from the second season on. I believe that "tinted" was a common slang expression of the day to refer to anything broadcast in color.

Leslie,

As I mentioned in my post and David Roper went on to explain, this was done to promote the sale of color tv's to the public. NBC generally taking the lead in this. In the peticular "Hazel" season one color episode you cite. Maid Hazel's employer offers to replace Hazel's old B&W TV w/another new low cost B&W. At the TV store Hazel spots a color set and offers to split the cost with her employer George Baxter. The deal is done and Hazel has a color set in her room. A constant stream of neighbors & friends invade the Baxter household to watch color TV. In this instance, the NBC show "Perry Como" which was broadcast in color each week. And so the plot goes on. In the end George Baxter also buys a new color console for the living room. A perfect script for promoting color TV in a one off color episode of the 1962 season. I also have the box set of the entire "Hazel" series that includes this color episode. The show is from
a beautiful color print transfer and looks stunning
compared to the B&W episodes aired that season.

-Steve D.

Leslie,

As I mentioned in my post and David Roper went on to explain, this was done to promote the sale of color tv's to the public. NBC generally taking the lead in this. In the peticular "Hazel" season one color episode you cite. Maid Hazel's employer offers to replace Hazel's old B&W TV w/another new low cost B&W. At the TV store Hazel spots a color set and offers to split the cost with her employer George Baxter. The deal is done and Hazel has a color set in her room. A constant stream of neighbors & friends invade the Baxter household to watch color TV. In this instance, the NBC show "Perry Como" which was broadcast in color each week. And so the plot goes on. In the end George Baxter also buys a new color console for the living room. A perfect script for promoting color TV in a one off color episode of the 1962 season. I also have the box set of the entire "Hazel" series that includes this color episode. The show is from
a beautiful color print transfer and looks stunning
compared to the B&W episodes aired that season.

-Steve D.

So the B/W shows from season 1 dont look so good? I remember being told by Columbia Pictures TV that their 16mm B/W's were printed from a well-worn printing negative even back in the 1970's.

I hope they went back to the original show titles for the DVD release. The syndication titles were Hazel getting out of the car with groceries, Don DeFore laughing at something, with his wife coming out and laughing, only to find little Harold up in the tree throwing confetti, and then Hazel goes in the house.... The Ford titles were better, and I had the Galaxie kiddy car that Harold had, too!!

And what about Ted Turner's attempts at "colorizing" b&w television shows? That stunt goes back to the '80s, IIRC. I don't know how many programs were actually colorized before Turner stopped (or was ordered by the production companies and/or networks to stop) the experiment. However, I do know some purists were all but furious over Turner's colorizing of classic b&w TV programs. Thankfully, the experiment ended, again IIRC, by the end of the decade.

Ted could color anything he wanted to. He OWNED the shows and movies. He still controls these shows, and movies.

I still prefer B/W originals over colorized stuff. I still see Gilligans Island colorized episodes... A TV station I worked for back in the day refused to run the B/W Gilligans, along with the B/W Jeannie shows, and Bewitched. Stupid idea, if you ask me.

My parents did not own a color TV. My first color set was purchased out of high school in fall of 1965, coinciding with the 65/66 season when the three networks went 100% color in prime time. I do remember seeing some very early episodes of "Superman" in the faux color.

I just watched the Hazel episode that she bought the new Color Tv. Also a later one where the Tv was acting up for George and it was his Heating pad. Nice shots of the set and also I never seen a tech quite like the one that was performing service on the set.

Someone post a link to the HAZEL color episode.

Or, use mine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKyfAQ4uYvE&feature=related

I didnt watch the whole show, but I did watch thru the opening titles. My 16mm print uses the awful generic syndication title.

The color is lovely, like my print was when I got it many moons ago...

Screen Gems (aka Columbia Pictures Television) did some beautiful photography in its day. They won emmy awards for their production work.

But that script, geez. A few lines were flubbed as well. Interesting. The last time I saw a HAZEL episode with Whitney Blake I was 8.

I havent seen Hazel on TV since 1981... Thats when the station I worked for stopped running it. We had a library of brand new prints. Beautiful and in great condition, except for the B/W episodes, some of which looked like they were dupes.

I had forgotten how cute Whitney Blake was. She looked so old to me when I was a kid. Now she looks so young on HAZEL. Her daughter of course is Meredith Baxter.

I have a 35mm TV show episode that she guested on in 1960. They played her up as a knockout beauty there, too.

My parents did not own a color TV. My first color set was purchased out of high school in fall of 1965, coinciding with the 65/66 season when the three networks went 100% color in prime time. I do remember seeing some very early episodes of "Superman" in the faux color.

If you are referring to the 1950's "The Adventures of Superman" they were shot in actual color from 55-58, the earlier seasons were B&W.

I have the DVD sets and the Color episodes do have a colorized look to them, I suspect because the negatives have faded over time.

...Yeah, as if somebody as dorky as Don Defore could have EVER scored an Uberbabe like Whitney Blake in real life...He'd had trouble even landin' a "Hazel"...(grin)

I have a 35mm TV show episode that she guested on in 1960. They played her up as a knockout beauty there, too.

Could that 1960 35mm episode possibly be "Pete's Personality Change" from the old CBS series "Pete and Gladys"? I have that episode on a custom-made 18 episode DVD set from that series that I purchased on ioffer 4 years ago. Whitney Blake was as gorgeous on that show as she was on Hazel. The gag was that Pete (Harry Morgan) had to see a psychiatrist to find out why his sales were down. (He sold insurance). The psychiatrist's name was Agatha Henderson, and Pete didn't want to be analyzed by an old battle-axe in bloomers and then in walks Whitney! LOL.

Could that 1960 35mm episode possibly be "Pete's Personality Change" from the old CBS series "Pete and Gladys"? I have that episode on a custom-made 18 episode DVD set from that series that I purchased on ioffer 4 years ago. Whitney Blake was as gorgeous on that show as she was on Hazel. The gag was that Pete (Harry Morgan) had to see a psychiatrist to find out why his sales were down. (He sold insurance). The psychiatrist's name was Agatha Henderson, and Pete didn't want to be analyzed by an old battle-axe in bloomers and then in walks Whitney! LOL.

You win the prize, Leslie! I was a major fan of the old December Bride TV series with neighbors Pete Porter, and his unseen wife, Gladys. When the spin-off series debuted, we got to see Cara Williams as Gladys, a perfectly likeable person, unlike her unseen hilarious charactor on Dec. Bride.

My P&G shows are beautiful. Unfortunately, none have commercials.

You win the prize, Leslie! I was a major fan of the old December Bride TV series with neighbors Pete Porter, and his unseen wife, Gladys. When the spin-off series debuted, we got to see Cara Williams as Gladys, a perfectly likeable person, unlike her unseen hilarious charactor on Dec. Bride.

My P&G shows are beautiful. Unfortunately, none have commercials.
I remember watching "Pete and Gladys" at my Grandma's house on Monday nights. I always liked the show, but after the morning reruns on CBS ended in 1964, the show was not seen in Chicago again, except for a very brief run on CBS in April, 1967 during an AFTRA strike. Some of the shows in my DVD have original commercials and sponsor bumpers. Perhaps the best ones are the "integrated" spots for Carnation Milk. Carnation was the main sponsor every other week, and the main commercial came at the end of the show, with Cara Williams and Harry Morgan, and the spot was written as to tie in with the story just presented, like a "tag" scene from the evening's story. I loved December Bride too, it's a shame that these shows are just locked away in Paramount's vault(with the exception of your 35mm copies!). I think people would enjoy seeing a funny show that hasn't been run to death.

I was told years ago that December Bride is tangled up in copyright issues. Parke Levy created it, Desi Arnaz produced and filmed it for Desilu, and CBS owned the shows.

My 35mm's were from the daytime runs, with cut footage wound onto the end of the reel. Of course, I put the footage back where it was supposed to go!! The daytime version was cut by one minute for more commercial time.

I was home from school sick (strep throat) and watching "Pete and Gladys" on my parents portable Zenith in their bedroom on the Friday morning of Nov. 22, 1963 when the "Bulletin" from CBS News came on about the assassination of JFK. I'll never forget that.. The East Coast got The Edge Of Night or whatever it was but us West Coast folk got "Pete and Gladys" forever impacted in our memories along with the death of the President. A very weird combination..

I was told years ago that December Bride is tangled up in copyright issues. Parke Levy created it, Desi Arnaz produced and filmed it for Desilu, and CBS owned the shows.

My 35mm's were from the daytime runs, with cut footage wound onto the end of the reel. Of course, I put the footage back where it was supposed to go!! The daytime version was cut by one minute for more commercial time.

Those 35mm prints must look awesome! The prints used for my DVD are taken from 16mm and show some occasional signs of age (jumping due to broken sprocket holes and such), but this does not impair my enjoyment of the show. The DVD also came with 2 "bonus" episodes of December Bride. The gentlemen who sold me the set used to post many old and obscure series, but has been inactive on ioffer for several years now. I posted on SitcomsOnLine that I had done a copyright search on P&G, and I was informed that due to new copyright laws, P&G wouldn't be completely out of copyright until 2057! At which time I would be 105!

I was home from school sick (strep throat) and watching "Pete and Gladys" on my parents portable Zenith in their bedroom on the Friday morning of Nov. 22, 1963 when the "Bulletin" from CBS News came on about the assassination of JFK. I'll never forget that.. The East Coast got The Edge Of Night or whatever it was but us West Coast folk got "Pete and Gladys" forever impacted in our memories along with the death of the President. A very weird combination..
I was in school on that fateful day and we were dismissed for the day after the news broke. I was supposed to go to confirmation class for the Episcopal Church that afternoon, But Father Gracia cancelled that as well. It's funny that all people's memories of that day are imperishable. I remember it so clearly. When I got home I remember my Mother and our neighbor Carol O'Dea sitting in silence watching the events unfold on our set.

I've got alot of stuff on 16mm and 35mm. I dont run anything on any projector until it has been checked, and inspected. There's no reason that your P&G copies should be jumping, other than the seller not checking his prints.

In the case of a 35mm print, alot of footage can be damaged FAST. 35 runs at 90 FEET per minute!

I've got alot of stuff on 16mm and 35mm. I dont run anything on any projector until it has been checked, and inspected. There's no reason that your P&G copies should be jumping, other than the seller not checking his prints.

In the case of a 35mm print, alot of footage can be damaged FAST. 35 runs at 90 FEET per minute!

These 16mm prints were transferred to DVD via VHS tape an undetermined number of years ago. I have no idea where or when the seller got his copies, but they do look light years better than some bootlegs I've seen of, say, "Our Miss Brooks", which have been taken from 80's VHS tapes of Channel 50 (Chicago) broadcasts which have snippets of old commercials, Channel 50 voice-overs during the credits, and a picture almost completely washed out in white. "Miss Brooks" is another great old sitcom which seems to be tied up as regard to the rights, although I have a public-domain disc containing 3 episodes which must have slipped through the cracks of pretty good quality.

Back to the original topic:

Republic Pictures used to own BONANZA before the Paramount takeover. They pulled the original camera negatives from cold storage and made new print negatives from them. Thats why Bonanza looks so good today. Bonanza was shot on Eastman film, and the processing was done by Consolidated Film Industries (CFI) Some have claimed that it was shot in Technicolor, but it was not. Never.

The show, Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color was shot in Technicolor, and thats why they seemed to POP on the screen. I've seen a couple of Technicolor prints of the shows, and they are stunning, after all these years. Eastman stuff before 1983 simply fades to pink over time.

If you are referring to the 1950's "The Adventures of Superman" they were shot in actual color from 55-58, the earlier seasons were B&W.

I have the DVD sets and the Color episodes do have a colorized look to them, I suspect because the negatives have faded over time.


Okay. Yes the Superman episodes I was referring to had that colorized look, kinda like Shirley Temple colorized films, only I saw these in the late 50's on friends color sets. (It may have been in early 60's, looked like only two colors, faded red and blue.)

Yes, Superman had at least 3 seasons of color episodes. We had a library of film prints when I worked in TV eons ago.

Here is an example of the color I saw, except my memory is that the red was much more faded. My impression was thinking this was a strange black and white show with a funny tint.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3013/2169/1600/colortst.jpg

That looks like it could be a really faded print.

That looks like it could be a really faded print.

Yup. I found a U Tube video of a promo clip from the 1957 season, screen grab just after Superman "flies" though the window and just before bullets bounce off his chest. LOL :-) This is color quality I remember seeing.174591

Seems like I remember it being rather "Uneven"-Sometimes the color was WAY too saturated, sometimes, it was really washed out...Face tones tended to be orangy, & Noel Niell's hair was FIRE-ENGINE red...The whole thing seemed like a bunch of 15-yr old 1957-style nerds "playing" at "Color Television"...

Here is an example of the color I saw, except my memory is that the red was much more faded. My impression was thinking this was a strange black and white show with a funny tint.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3013/2169/1600/colortst.jpg

The multi-color card Superman is holding was, in the old 3 strip Technicolor days, called the "Lilly." It was held up in front of the film camera each time a new roll of film was loaded into the magazine. The color card or "Lilly," much like video color bars for setting up electronic color TV cameras, was used in processing the film and provided a guide for the color lab.

-Steve D.

The multi-color card Superman is holding was, in the old 3 strip Technicolor days, called the "Lilly." It was held up in front of the film camera each time a new roll of film was loaded into the magazine. The color card or "Lilly," much like video color bars for setting up electronic color TV cameras, was used in processing the film and provided a guide for the color lab.

-Steve D.

Very interesting.

The recent low fade TV prints of Superman were beautiful. Their owner has done alot to make the shows look vastly better.

You'll note on SUPERMAN color shows, the color is fine unless there is a fade or dissolve and whatever shots are the "before & after" are much degraded due to the disintegration of the opticals. So, the color varies within a show for every shot that is NOT hard edited...

:boring:

You often see the image degrade as an optical effect starts and ends. It depends on how much effort the lab put into their work.

I've seen color prints where the colors would shift to green or purple at the shot changes. It depends on the labwork.

I've been in the film business for about 38 years. I've handled thousands of miles of 16mm and 35mm films, negatives, sound negatives... You name it.

I recall reading an article in college discussing Superman, The Lone Ranger, & the Cisco Kid. All had color episodes. The article talked about the fact that Fredrick Ziv, I think the distributor, found that he could shoot 16mm color for about the same price as 35mm B&W. Thinking that there was going to be a huge demand color programming, he decided to shoot the shows in color.... way ahead of his time. I remember seeing all three shows in color on WGN on Sunday mornings back in the 70's.

Probably used a lower cost color negative stock as opposed to shooting high-end Technicolor.

...And NOT having to deal w/ol' Natalie Kahlmus...That woulda been worth a lot, right there. Every thing I've read about her, she must have been a Fire-Horse on Wheels...(grin)

Eastmancolor was the preferred inexpensive stock back then.

I used to see commercial 'spots' printed on Technicolor film stock, and Kodachrome stock, too.

I dont recall color Lone Ranger shows. The ZIV shows went color early-on. My TV station had library prints of MANY TV series... New prints, and they were stunning for the most part.

EDIT: There were color Lone Ranger shows. Eastmancolor.

You must give Natalie Kalmus credit where it is due. In the early days, it was thought that "garish" Technicolor would be hard on the eyes. Being the wife of Herbert T Kalmus, Technicolor's inventor, she saw what hot colors could do. You gotta admit though, films produced during her tenure were lovely.

Yeah, Bruce, they were a PAIR...Of WHAT, I dunno, but they were a Pair, alrite...And, yeah, Nat DID see to it that Technicolor's high standards were religiously & strictly followed. We used the same basic principles in 4-color process printing. Still used today, as for as I know, for the simple reason-It WORKS.

Yeah, Bruce, they were a PAIR...Of WHAT, I dunno, but they were a Pair, alrite...And, yeah, Nat DID see to it that Technicolor's high standards were religiously & strictly followed. We used the same basic principles in 4-color process printing. Still used today, as for as I know, for the simple reason-It WORKS.

"Glorious Technicolor" by Fred E. Basten, 1980, makes for an interesting read for the history of Tech. I picked up a copy at a used book store for $12.00.

Technicolor used Yellow, Cyan, and Magenta as its primary colors, with a B/W contrast on the base print. Thats why the soundtrack is nearly always black and white on a Technicolor print. They used cyan soundtracks early on, but they could never get past the low quality of the playback.

Technicolor has a very interesting history. I've got the book, Glorious Technicolor, in my collection library.

As of right now, I have 185 Technicolor prints in my collection. They are as beautiful today as the day they were printed... some are over 50 years old!!

"Glorious Technicolor" by Fred E. Basten, 1980, makes for an interesting read for the history of Tech. I picked up a copy at a used book store for $12.00.

I have that hard to find book as well. Great history of the Technicolor Co. up to the 1980 publishing date. It does mention that Natalie Kalmus became such a pain in the a** to producers, directors and DP's, she was finally shipped off to Technicolor in the U.K.

-Steve D.

Technicolor used Yellow, Cyan, and Magenta as its primary colors, with a B/W contrast on the base print. Thats why the soundtrack is nearly always black and white on a Technicolor print. They used cyan soundtracks early on, but they could never get past the low quality of the playback.

Technicolor has a very interesting history. I've got the book, Glorious Technicolor, in my collection library.

As of right now, I have 185 Technicolor prints in my collection. They are as beautiful today as the day they were printed... some are over 50 years old!!

Your film collection sounds fabulous! Since you have worked in the Television industry, I dare say there is probably a very interesting book in you just waiting to be written!

My first TV job: An independent station in a southern city.

Sometimes, we were amazed that the transmitter was still running at the end of the day.

When the studio to transmitter microwave link would go down, I'd run tapes out to the transmitter site, start the tapes and the engineer would switch from the stand by slide to the tape. I loved seeing stuff I copied on the air.

The station paid me to spot check features before air time. So, every night, I'd take usually 2 features home and screen them with my Pageant AV-255S built in 1959. I had a long living room-dining room, and it was a perfect 10 foot image on a smooth white wall!!

When I worked there, 90% of programming was film. 6AM to 2AM. There were two of us doing film inspections.

My boss was a photographic genius. He taught me. It sunk in. Here I am.

Thats the book.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program, on NBC

Here is an example of the color I saw, except my memory is that the red was much more faded. My impression was thinking this was a strange black and white show with a funny tint.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3013/2169/1600/colortst.jpg

Thanks for posting that picture with the test card - I have been trying to find anyone who knows what colors were used on the Technicolor Lilly. Were they always the same, or changed for different productions?
This image may not answer it, but it's the closest thing I have seen.

It's hard to believe Superman was shot on 3-strip, but
1) I wonder if that is a real Technicolor lilly
2) (in case prints were made on dye imbibition, which I also wonder about for a TV series); or
3) maybe it's an adaptation of the lilly idea for processing of Kodak film.

My first TV job: An independent station in a southern city.

Sometimes, we were amazed that the transmitter was still running at the end of the day.

When the studio to transmitter microwave link would go down, I'd run tapes out to the transmitter site, start the tapes and the engineer would switch from the stand by slide to the tape. I loved seeing stuff I copied on the air.

The station paid me to spot check features before air time. So, every night, I'd take usually 2 features home and screen them with my Pageant AV-255S built in 1959. I had a long living room-dining room, and it was a perfect 10 foot image on a smooth white wall!!

When I worked there, 90% of programming was film. 6AM to 2AM. There were two of us doing film inspections.

My boss was a photographic genius. He taught me. It sunk in. Here I am.

Thats the book.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program, on NBC
We could have used you here in Chicago during the sixties. Our first UHF station used to run "Our Miss Brooks" and "December Bride" back-to-back, from 16mm prints. Once, the "Bride" print had the middle and end sequences mixed-up on the reel. Apparently no one inspected that print. Also, you could hear the projector clacking away while the muddy sound came through, as though a mic had been placed by the projector speaker. (That was a standard feature of that station). Does anyone remember "Science Fiction Theater"? that show , in it's first season, had the introduction (by Truman Bradley) and the closing in black-and-white, while the main story was presented in color. In the second season, the show was completely black-and-white.

Thanks for posting that picture with the test card - I have been trying to find anyone who knows what colors were used on the Technicolor Lilly. Were they always the same, or changed for different productions?
This image may not answer it, but it's the closest thing I have seen.

It's hard to believe Superman was shot on 3-strip, but
1) I wonder if that is a real Technicolor lilly
2) (in case prints were made on dye imbibition, which I also wonder about for a TV series); or
3) maybe it's an adaptation of the lilly idea for processing of Kodak film.

No. 3 is the correct answer!

No. 3 is the correct answer!

Do you or anyone recognize the card? Who supplied it? What is the text/logo that appears on it?

I can guarantee that Superman, the TV series, was not shot in Technicolor.

We could have used you here in Chicago during the sixties. Our first UHF station used to run "Our Miss Brooks" and "December Bride" back-to-back, from 16mm prints. Once, the "Bride" print had the middle and end sequences mixed-up on the reel. Apparently no one inspected that print. Also, you could hear the projector clacking away while the muddy sound came through, as though a mic had been placed by the projector speaker. (That was a standard feature of that station). Does anyone remember "Science Fiction Theater"? that show , in it's first season, had the introduction (by Truman Bradley) and the closing in black-and-white, while the main story was presented in color. In the second season, the show was completely black-and-white.

I remember Science Fiction Theatre.

We got syndicated prints (like December Bride and Our Miss Brooks) that were all put together wrong fairly often. Some TV stations could care less how they handled the films when they returned them to the distributor.

I vividly remember a Dick Van Dyke show that had a section spliced in upside down, and backwards sound. It never happened again, either.

I can guarantee that Superman, the TV series, was not shot in Technicolor.

I've been curious as to what color processes were used on some of these early shows. Screen Gems shows usually credit Pathe (Eastman). Universal is the only studio (to my knowledge) to employ Technicolor. Who did the color on, say, "The Lucy Show"? The restored DVDs look superb. How about "The Joey Bishop Show"? I saw a DVD of this and the color was not the greatest. Early shows like "Superman", "The Cisco Kid" and "Science Fiction Theater" were not really high-budget productions. Could they have utilized Cinecolor? By the late forties it was a three-color process. Or Republic's similar Trucolor? Were there any other lower-budget color processes available then?

All of the color prints of The Lucy Show I've handled were processed by Consolidated Film Industries (CFI) Laboratories of Hollywood, along with the B/W shows. They did the labwork for I Love Lucy, too.

Universal did use Technicolor, but by the 1970's the prints we got of their TV shows were on Eastmancolor stock, as Technicolor stopped the IB process in 1975.

Superman, The Cisco Kid, and Science Fiction Theatre were shot in Eastmancolor.

Trucolor was by Consolidated Film Industries. Printed on Eastman film stock.

EDIT: Changed the ending date for Technicolor from 1972 to 1975. Thats what I get for using my memory!!

By the 1950's, NO FILM was shot in the original Technicolor 3-strip separate b/w negative for each color camera system. Eastman color negative was used for just about everything. Technicolor (for Color by Technicolor) productions would then make separation masters from the Eastman negative, for making Technicolor prints by their exclusive IB process. It was the quality of the dyes in the prints that "made" technicolor so nice. Later Technicolor became just another (but high quality) lab for Kodak films. Therefore you can have the situation where the original Eastman color camera negatives are faded into oblivion, yet have perfect beautiful Technicolor IB prints still around.

Universal's "Foxfire" produced in 1954 and released in 1955 was the last American made film shot in 3 strip Technicolor*. However, in 1975
Technicolor processed its last domestic film in the 3 strip process (a re-print order of Disney's "Swiss Family Robinson") and closed its dye transfer plant in Hollywood*. The term "Color by Technicolor" in the credits ment that Technicolor handled all stages of the lab work. "Print by Technicolor" indicated that Technicolor was only responsible for the final-release prints.
Today, the word "Technicolor" generally appears alone in the credits.

*Source: "Glorious Technicolor" by Fred E. Basten.

-Steve D.

Universal's "Foxfire" produced in 1954 and released in 1955 was the last American made film shot in 3 strip Technicolor*. However, in 1975
Technicolor processed its last domestic film in the 3 strip process (a re-print order of Disney's "Swiss Family Robinson") and closed its dye transfer plant in Hollywood*. The term "Color by Technicolor" in the credits ment that Technicolor handled all stages of the lab work. "Print by Technicolor" indicated that Technicolor was only responsible for the final-release prints.
Today, the word "Technicolor" generally appears alone in the credits.

*Source: "Glorious Technicolor" by Fred E. Basten.

-Steve D.

Thanks, Steve. I updated my previous post with the year 1975.