We had a prompt four years ago for which the prompt was "compare and contrast." It was there that I talked about the Contrast and Brightness buttons on old black-and-white TV’s, and it’s for that post that I created the above graphic, which showed what EIA color bars looked like on a black-and-white TV set.
There’s been a push to take movies and TV shows that were filmed in black-and-white and colorize them. I think that’s a waste of time. I Love Lucy doesn’t get any funnier because it’s in color, nor does The Andy Griffith Show or You Bet Your Life. The color episodes of "Lucy" that CBS shows this time of the year are more annoying than funny, because the colors aren’t natural. Lucy’s hair is a funny shade of red, like they looked at an old ad for Phillip Morris cigarettes in a magazine and tried to match that color. Well, color in magazines fades over time and changes. They could have used her hair color from the movie Fancy Pants. While it wouldn’t have been as red, it would have at least been more natural.
Lucy used to be a blonde, by the way. Just thought I’d mention it.
Linda Hill runs Stream of Consciousness Saturday every week. Now a word about Tickle, an antiperspirant made for women by Bristol-Myers.
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
Oh, my gosh, John, you find the funniest things! I haven’t seen that clip of Lucy before, it’s great. I don’t know if I remember seeing that commercial for Tickle, but I do remember having some when I was a teenager. That’s quite the commercial…!
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They don’t make commercials like they used to, do they?
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No, they don’t. I showed it to Mr. and he just shook his head! Then we watched a bunch of the recommended Gene Krupa videos you shared.
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I don’t like colorized black and white movies or TV shows. Like you mentioned in your comment, they are more a distraction than an enhancement.
I just researched Lucy’s natural hair color and one source said she was a natural blonde and another stated she was a natural brunette so who knows. Anyway, Lucy was not a natural redhead, and according to a Huffpost article, she was urged by MGM to dye her hair red, which was described by her hairstylist as “golden apricot”. She was one of a kind and greatly missed.
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I love black-and-white films – in fact, I’m gearing up for my annual It’s a Wonderful Life viewing. After a while, I forget there’s no colour, I think my brain adds it in anyway!
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Exactly. You don’t need to see a green tree to know that trees are green, etc. Color is a nice-to-have, but not essential. I think we just get spoiled after a while.
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I don’t know why this is, but being raised during black and white TV makes me relish in color. I don’t much like colorized black and white, but I find movies that are black and white boring and I end up getting up and wandering away. I know a lot of people love the classic look. But I want my DaMaggio carrot greens Green.
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I can see that… It’s all a matter of taste. My in-laws bought a color TV when you couldn’t get B&W any more, but turned the color off, because they weren’t used to it. I think at some point we’ll have TV’s that are able to add color to B&W shows and films for those who want it. Choice is a very good thing indeed…
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I do think it is interesting to see how others see that progression. It is also interesting to see the younger people who find B&W sophisticated.
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Coloring old black and white movies seems like trying to rewrite history. My mom, who was a soft redhead, loved Lucy and admired her zany humor. Mom always said my hair was strawberry blonde.
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Lucy was an admirable woman. Under that zany character was a shrewd businesswoman who ran Desilu Studios and a faithful friend who made sure that William Frawley had work in his later years.
Strawberry blonde?
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I guess strawberry blonde refers to a reddish blonde. My hair was lighter then.
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I was wondering, because your hair (at least in pictures) is about as red as my Holton cousins. We have a lot of redheads on that side of the family. Mom said I should have been one of them….
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Maybe I was out in the sun more back then. Perhaps you have the soul of a redhead. đŸ™‚
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Like I said, a lot of my Holton cousins are gingers, and I got the complexion and evidently red highlights as well (and my facial hair was red), so I almost qualify.
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Ted Turner started colorizing B&W classics like Casablanca. Horrible idea. Finally Jane Fonda, his wife at the time, talked him out of the project. Too bad nobody talked both of them out of doing the ‘Tomahawk Chop’ during the 91 World Series.
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I remember he was all gung-ho on the colorization at one point. I’m glad Jane changed his mind.
I learned that the “Tomahawk Chop” came from Florida State, and people here started doing it when Deion Sanders (an FSU grad) was playing here. I’m surprised it’s lasted as long as it has.
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I have been watching Bewitched again. When it switched to color, all their teeth had a blue gray tint to them. So distracting!
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I never noticed the blue teeth thing myself.
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I have to admit two truths. Lucy’s hair was a strange red that always reminded me of my mom. I have no memory of that deodorant whatsoever. Your clip of Lucy was awesome.
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Lucy reminds me a lot of my mother. They both had that “two packs of Chesterfields a day” voice…
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What a treat to see both Bob Hope and Lucy in the clip. Now if I could just find a way to say “hey pantywaist“ in polite conversation. That would make my day. đŸ¤£. Another great post John.
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Two of the best entertainers ever, in my opinion.
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Here too a few old Hindi movies were made into colour ones, but they were not well received. Black and white photos or movies have their own charm.
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Color doesn’t really add anything to a movie, especially classic movies that are well-known in black-and-white. The color becomes more of a distraction than an enhancement.
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Interesting post John, I wonder why they chose red if Lucy was blonde?
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She was a blonde in some of her early films (including a couple of Three Stooges shorts). Whether red was its natural color and she bleached it blonde early on, or if it was naturally blonde and she colored it, I’m not sure…
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Either way she was a beauty đŸ’œ
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