This is a topic I’ve discussed in earlier incarnations of SCS, but it’s still nagging at my mind, so I think it’s worthy of another post, not to mention I’ve found another example of it recently. I’ve always assumed silent movies are black and white by default and although one copy of Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens in my collection most definitely is not, I still make that assumption. Silent = black and white, and all but two in my collection follow that assumption to the letter…so far. I watched Douglas Fairbanks’ 1924 version of The Thief of Bagdad a couple of weeks ago and was surprised to find another silent movie with color.

Why? I’ve discussed this with a couple of people and can’t find an explanation I can accept. Colorized, thanks to Ted Turner’s evil plot to eradicate the world of anything as dull as a black and white film? I really don’t think that’s it at all; the color found here simply doesn’t look like a clumsy and poor job of it, as is so evident in movies coming from Turner’s mad laboratory. It’s too natural to be Turner’s Frankenstein, too even, and frankly, too professional.

There’s definitely something about these color silent films (perhaps they were lovingly and painstakingly hand-tinted? But why and by who?) I find enchanting, as evidenced by the sheer number of screen captures I’ve posted to flickr (here and here). I suppose one day I’ll find a little time to do some research on the internets, but for now, I almost prefer not to know anything more definite about it.

Up next in what I’ll call Film Obscuria will be title shots and opening credit sequences.