Multicolor is a subtractive two-color motion picture process. Multicolor, introduced to the motion picture industry in 1929, was based on the earlier Prizma Color process, and was the forerunner of

Cinecolor Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two-color motion picture process that was based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and the 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel an ...

. For a Multicolor film, a scene is shot with a normal camera capable of bipacking film. Two black-and-white 35mm film negatives are threaded bipack in the camera. One records the color red (via a dyed panchromatic film), and the other, blue (

orthochromatic In chemistry, orthochromasia is the property of a dye or stain to not change color on binding to a target, as opposed to ''metachromatic'' stains, which do change color. The word is derived from the Greek '' orthos'' (correct, upright), and chr ...

). In printing, duplitized stock is exposed and processed with one record on each side. In a tank of toning solution, the film is floated upon the top of the solution with the appropriate chemical. The cyan record is toned a complementary red with a copper ferrocyanide solution, and the red being toned blue/cyan with ferric ferrocyanide solution. Multicolor enjoyed brief success in early sound pictures. The following features included sequences in Multicolor: '' Red Hot Rhythm'' (1929), '' His First Command'' (1929), '' This Thing Called Love'' (1929) '' Sunny Side Up'' (1929), '' Married In Hollywood'' (1929), '' Fox Movietone Follies of 1929'' (1929), '' The Great Gabbo'' (1929), '' New Movietone Follies of 1930'' (1930), '' Good News'' (1930), '' Madam Satan'' (1930) and '' Delicious'' (1931). All of these features were produced by

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox (producer), William Fox. It was the corporate successor to ...

except ''The Great Gabbo'' ( Sono Art-World Wide Pictures), ''Red Hot Rhythm'' ( Pathé), ''His First Command'' ( Pathé), ''This Thing Called Love'' ( Pathé), ''Good News'' (

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

) and ''Madam Satan'' (

). A sequence in '' Hell's Angels'' (1930) was filmed in Multicolor, but printed by

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

, as Multicolor could not yet supply as large a demand of printings in such a short amount of time. Multicolor was also utilized in several cartoons of the era. A 15-second, behind-the-scenes clip in Multicolor of the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...

filmed on the set of '' Animal Crackers'' (1930) exists as part of a Cinecolor short subject entitled ''Wonderland of California''. The first feature filmed entirely in Multicolor was '' The Hawk'' (1931), which was re-released five years later in Cinecolor as '' Phantom of Santa Fe''. In 1932, the next (and final) all Multicolor feature, '' Tex Takes A Holiday'' (1932), was released.

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

was an early investor of Multicolor's Rowland V. Lee and William Worthington. The Multicolor plant closed in 1932 and their equipment was bought by

in 1933.

References

{{reflist Audiovisual introductions in 1929 Film and video technology Motion picture film formats

See also

References