Multicolor is a subtractive two-color motion picture process. Multicolor, introduced to the

motion picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

industry in 1929, was based on the earlier

Prizma Color The Prizma Color system was a color motion picture process, invented in 1913 by William Van Doren Kelley and Charles Raleigh. Initially, it was a two-color additive color system, similar to its predecessor, Kinemacolor. However, Kelley eventual ...

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

bipack In cinematography, bipacking, or a bipack, is the process of loading two reels of film into a camera, so that they both pass through the camera gate together. It was used both for in-camera effects (effects that are nowadays mainly achieved via o ...

ing film. Two

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

35mm film 35 mm may refer to: Film * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film 35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on ...

negatives are threaded bipack in the camera. One records the color red (via a dyed

panchromatic A panchromatic emulsion is a type of photographic emulsion that is sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light, and produces a monochrome photograph—typically black and white. Most modern commercially available film is panchromatic, and the t ...

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 ''Red Hot Rhythm'' (1929) is an American pre-Code early sound musical film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Alan Hale Sr., Kathryn Crawford, Walter O'Keefe, and Josephine Dunn. As originally released by Pathé Exchange, the film featured ...

'' (1929), '' His First Command'' (1929), '' This Thing Called Love'' (1929) '' Sunny Side Up'' (1929), ''

Married In Hollywood ''Married in Hollywood'' is a 1929 American All-Talking pre-Code musical film directed by Marcel Silver. This lavishly produced film featured color sequences in the Multicolor process. The film is based on two Oscar Straus operettas. Plot A ...

'' (1929), ''

Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 ''Fox Movietone Follies of 1929'', also known as ''Movietone Follies of 1929'' and ''The William Fox Movietone Follies of 1929'', is an American sound ( All-Talking) Pre-Code musical film released by Fox Film Corporation. This lavishly produced ...

'' (1929), ''

The Great Gabbo ''The Great Gabbo'' is a 1929 American Pre-Code early sound musical drama film directed by James Cruze, based on Ben Hecht's 1928 short story "The Rival Dummy", and starring Erich von Stroheim and Betty Compson. The film features songs by Lynn C ...

'' (1929), ''

New Movietone Follies of 1930 ''New Movietone Follies of 1930'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical film released by Fox Film Corporation, directed by Benjamin Stoloff. The film stars El Brendel and Marjorie White who also costarred in Fox's '' Just Imagine'' in 1930. The f ...

'' (1930), '' Good News'' (1930), ''

Madam Satan ''Madam Satan'' or ''Madame Satan'' is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film in black and white with Multicolor sequences. It was produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starred Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Lillian Roth, and ...

'' (1930) and ''

Delicious Delicious may refer to: Fruits * Golden Delicious, a cultivar of apple * Red Delicious, several cultivars of apple Other * ''Delicious'' (1931 film), a Hollywood musical * ''Delicious'' (2021 film), a French film * ''Delicious'' (TV series), ...

'' (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 Sono Art-World Wide Pictures was an American film distribution and production company in operation from 1927 to 1933. Their first feature film was '' The Rainbow Man'' (1929), while one of their most prominent was '' The Great Gabbo'' (1929) star ...

), ''Red Hot Rhythm'' (

Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

), ''His First Command'' (

), ''This Thing Called Love'' (

), ''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 An animal cracker is a particular type of cracker (food), cracker, baked in the shape of an animal, usually an animal either at a zoo or a circus, such as a lion, a tiger, a bear, or an elephant. The most common variety is light-colored and sli ...

'' (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