Tweet Color from Black-and-White: colorized photos

Here's that Rough House Rosie fit-for-a-calendar shot I promised:

I love how they left the one on the far left outside the umbrella! Poor gal!


Martie

So, if the girl on the left gets rained on, will she turn back to black & white?

Here's that Rough House Rosie fit-for-a-calendar shot I promised:

I love how they left the one on the far left outside the umbrella! Poor gal!


Martie

So, if the girl on the left gets rained on, will she turn back to black & white?

Oops, looks like it rained!

Here's that Rough House Rosie fit-for-a-calendar shot I promised:

I love how they left the one on the far left outside the umbrella! Poor gal!


Martie

So, if the girl on the left gets rained on, will she turn back to black & white?

Oops, looks like it rained!

Damn! Faulty iPad coloring tools!
Ah! But her shoe-straps still carry a hint of gold! Yes! The paint is at least partially of good quality!

Martie

[Christopher Jacobs]

Why does this make me want to watch PLEASANTVILLE again?

Apologies for my long absence and for only one colorization during that time, but I was very busy with school and at home.
Anyway, here it is, Clara from Children of Divorce:


If only I could wake up that refreshed...
I think I made her hair a little too red.

Martie

Martie,

I haven't posted anything all week long either. Here is some new stuff this evening.



Betty Compson with Short Curly Bob from 1925




Norma Shearer in Costume for A SLAVE TO FASHION (1925)




James Hall and Vilma Banky


A partial Talkie, this rare Goat-Gland Silent directed by Victor Fleming survives in incomplete form at the Library of Congress. Would love to be able to see this movie.



Cooper and Velez-"A Backwoods Romance" from WOLF SONG (1929)

Gagman,
I like the Norma Shearer one best of all. The Lupe Velez one is pretty good, too. Why must a film be incomplete/lost if it looks interesting?
This is gonna seem rather silly and obvious, but was that really Betty Compson's signature? If so, she had lovely handwriting! What happened to the leaves on Betty's top? There are only chunks of green.

Martie

Martie,

As far as I can tell those are not leaves? Some sort of Ribbon fabric. I used Picture It on the Betty Compson photo and no Photoshop, so it has a little different cast to it.



Wallace Reid and Bebe Daniels Circle 1921



"Cold Hands and Warm Hearts"




"We Be Sinners Hester Pryne! Sinners!"




Vilma- "Evenings Beauty"

Martie and Gagman,

You two make me feel like a slacker. In my defense, let me point out that I've been busy publishing another book on Amazon, this time about classical music. At any rate, I've pulled these glass slides out from deep storage and I haven't published or posted them yet.



I got my crayons and added some color to the original. What do you think?


These are untouched by yours truly:

Here's another unpublished one from DRACULA (1931). That's director Tod Browning on the left, Lugosi of course, and the dapper gentleman next to him is publisher and Broadway producer Horace Liveright. He produced the Dracula play in 1927 but was broke by the time this photo was taken. He died a few years later. Anybody know who's the fellow on the right?

Since there's a new bio on Mae Murray coming out, I think this glass slide is timely. I could have posted over in "Talking About Silents" but it's worth making the trip to this side of N'ville for it.

Here's another unpublished one from DRACULA (1931). That's director Tod Browning on the left, Lugosi of course, and the dapper gentleman next to him is publisher and Broadway producer Horace Liveright. He produced the Dracula play in 1927 but was broke by the time this photo was taken. He died a few years later. Anybody know who's the fellow on the right?

Bob,

I really like the DRACULA still. It's subtle and not to vivd or overdone. Looks like genuine color. Thanks for posting all the the glass slides. Did you see the Dolores Del Rio Lobby-cards a couple pages ago?

Here a shot of Corinne Griffith from a film I have forgotten the title of. I like this photo, but she is highly overdressed. Maybe her suitors thought so to and that is why she is all by herself. Needs to Pep it up a little.



Corinne-"A Lonely Table"

Bob,

Ah Ha! A New photo find of Colleen Moore! I am loving this one. Looks to be from FLAMING YOUTH.



"Boudoir Darling"


Another production still for STREET ANGEL, I think? This is one of my favorites.




Valentino and Rambova. This was done some time ago, back in 2008. No logo even. I'll see if I can find the old file.

Things have been colorless on this thread in the last few days so here's a couple of new photos:


W.C. Fields and Mae West on the set of MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (1940)


Will Rogers broadcasting circa 1934

Bob,

Those are great. The only thing I would change is the bright purple banners in the background. They are distracting in the Fields and West shot. Other than that very nice work.

This I believe is Wallace Reid and Gloria Swanson. Though it almost looks more like Edward Everett Horton!



"Don't Hoist Your Wife"




Coop and Lupe-"Stare Down!"




Anita And Joan-"Jazz Age Angels"





Loretta, Janet, and Constance

Er, I'm afraid the connector on my iPad may be broken, or it's the laptop, because it doesn't want to transfer. D'oh!

Don't expect any new colorizations for a day or two (or maybe more...). When I get it fixed I'll post as soon as possible.
This is the picture I colorized in its monochrome form. Who wants to take a gander at it while I fix my stuff so I can post my take on it?



I've never seen this one before. She looks sensational!

Martie

Martie,

All I can say is WOW!!!!!!! I'll take a crack at it certainly. Meantime, Here are some Lobby-cards. A lost Lewis Stone feature of 1926. A couple for DIAMOND HANDCUFFS (1928) with Eleanor Boardman and Lawrence Gray. Also Lillian Gish ANNIE LAURIE (1927).

Diamond Handcuffs? I love that title.
As for Don Juan's 3 Nights... no comment.

Martie

Martie,

Here are a couple of Lupe you will like.



"Welcome To My Wigwam"




"Dagger Eyes!" (You know some guys bound to Drop Dead!)




Mary Brian- "Glorious Gams!"

Gagman,
Those are great. I love the Dagger Eyes one in particular, though!
Lupe sure had a piercing stare!

Martie

Martie,

OK, here you go. My first effort. See what you think? I adjusted the hair so it was a little more Reddish now.




"BOWDAZZLED!"

Martie,

OK, here you go. My first effort. See what you think?



"BOWDAZZLED!"

Looks nice! I see we both interpreted the flowers on the tarp as sunflowers (the way you colored them makes it look like sunflowers, anyway).
I feel bad griping as much as the next person, but her hair doesn't look red. More like a full-blown brunette.

Martie

Now that the semester is over, I can spend a little more time on my color transfers. Here's a color transfer of a still I have from "Are Parents People?"

"Are Parents People?"

Well, are they?


Martie

Excellent job, Caesar. The only thing I can suggest is a boost to the contrast and brightness like this:

Martie,

Another Backstage still from ROUGH HOUSE ROSIE. Lordy, how I want this film to be found! So much happens in the movie. This one took forever to work on, and is still kind of unfinished.




"Busy Dressing Room!"

Bob, Caesar,

ARE PARENTS PEOPLE? is a big favorite of mine. Nice still I had not seen before. Good work guys.

Made a few minor adjustments though. See what you think. Didn't change Betty's eye color to blue, since Florence is supposed to be her Mother. That could cast dispersions! Ha, Ha!

Mary Brian- "Glorious Gams!"

Very nice! Just a touch of blue bleeding where it doesn't belong and in the original b/w photo the shoes really look black to me. To think that's about the most skin I've seen in a Mary Brian still (there are a few, more scantily-clad women who are purported to be her on the net, but are really not).

After seeing this poster for Don Juan's Three Nights, I looked up information on the movie. According to IMDb, Henry Hobart Productions was the production company for this movie and two other silent movies distributed by First National Pictures.

1926 Don Juan's Three Nights
1927 The Crystal Cup
1927 No Place to Go

The next movie Hobart produced, Sailors' Wives (1928), was a First National picture. No more Henry Hobart productions. When Warner Bros. took over First National in September 1928, Hobart seems to have been given the heave-ho. He managed to land at RKO in 1929, which kept him very busy as a producer and associate producer through 1931, when he falls off the IMDb database after the movie High Stakes. That August 18, 1931 release was also the final movie for Mae Murray.

Hobart died in 1951. His wife, actress Olive Tell, also died in 1951. An IMDb mini-biography states she died of heart failure on June 8, 1951. Wikipedia indicates the actress died in Bellevue Hospital from a fractured skull suffered at her residence in the Dryden Hotel at 150 East 39 Street, NYC. When I first read the cause of death, heartless person that I am, I could only think of that Henny Youngman joke where the guy describes how his three wives died. [“My first wife died from eating poison mushrooms. Strangely enough, my second wife also died of eating poison mushrooms.” Henny then asks what was the cause of death for the guy’s third wife. He answers, “Fractured skull. She wouldn’t eat the. . .” I know, I wrote the joke wrong.]

The record seems to show that Henry Hobart arrived in Hollywood like a ball of fire. Even after he lost his independent studio nameplate, he continued to produce “A” movies for First National utilizing the studio’s top stars and directors. He married Hollywood actress Olive Tell and the future looked bright for him. In the space of 5 years, with help from the Depression, Hobart’s Hollywood career was over.

I wonder if there is a back story to the timing of Olive Tell’s death.

Since Don Juan's Three Nights has been mentioned, I thought that I would start work on a few stills I picked up cheaply from this film a few months ago. I'm not satisfied with my work on the first. I still consider it a work in progress.

This is a moment that Judge Hardy neglected to tell Andy about in their man-to-man talks.

Little Caesar,

I think it looks pretty good. What a great still. I'd never even heard of the movie until a week ago or so. Amazed that you have some photos in your personal collection. But remember Lewis Stone is still a fairly young man here. His hair would probably not be that Gray at the time. Then again he does appear Gray in A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS and WILD ORCHIDS so who knows? His hair doesn't seem to be as White in CONFESSIONS OF A QUEEN (1924).

A portrait for Mother's Day of Claire Windsor and her Son. I have forgotten his name? I think it is Billy? I did not sign Giant here, since it already has a big logo that I was not able to remove.




A few minor tweaks. Is that Shirley Mason? I don't really know her at all. Why is she so grumpy? I tried to follow Lewis hairline a little more closely, and also attempted to add a touch more color to it. Including the eyebrows so he didn't look a hundred years old. Did not change any of your other primary schemes.