MovieChat Forums > The Twilight Zone (1959) Discussion > Black and white?

Black and white?

posted 5 years ago by enriquesingh (1812)
14 replies | jump to latest

Was shooting the show in black and white a budget or creative decision?

From the brief research I was able to make there were already some shows being shot in color by the time, but I guess not many people had color tvs and it would be more expensive to shoot in color than b&w.

It helps a lot with the atmosphere of the The Twilight Zone.

I wonder if Serling were still alive today and was in charge of the new revival if he would choose color or b&w... what do you think?

[–] g-bone (566) 5 years ago

It was for budget and as you said, not everyone had color TV's at this time.

I think I read somewhere that the producer thought they would be going overboard if they did the revival in b & w. They wanted to honor the original and not copy it.

[–] TimMC (9143) 5 years ago

The first color television show broadcast in America was Dragnet, a popular show about a stone-faced police sergeant named Friday . Dragnet was broadcast in color in 1953. The second program broadcast in color was the Tournament of Roses Parade in early 1954.

Before reading this I would have guessed 1958 - 1960.

[–] strntz (12669) 5 years ago

Budget for the win.

Color was extremely costly in the early 60s, and TZ operated on a shoestring budget in any case as most episodic TV shows did.

If you look at the most popular TV shows at the time, most started out in B&W: Andy Griffith, Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Jeannie, Gunsmoke, Bewitched, etc. As the price of color dropped and demand for color programming increased, shows that stayed on the air like those listed did finally switch to color.

Would TZ have switched to color if it remained on the air? I don't know. Creepy sci-fi stories don't suffer at all in B&W, but I don't know if people appreciated B&W the way we do now.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

They would have been forced into it if they had remained on the air into the 1966-1967 season. CBS put out an edict that everything had to be in color from then on.

[–] strntz (12669) 5 years ago

Didn't know that. Thanks.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

My source was a Perry Mason anniversary DVD. They interviewed Barbara Hale about the infamous color episode. She said that it was done because at the time they didn't know whether or not they would do a tenth season in 1966. CBS forewarned them that they would have to switch to color if they did. The episode was a trial run for future color filming.

[–] [email protected] (1732) 5 years ago

Yes, it was for budget - mainly. But don't kid yourself. Most DPs at that time (and even many now) recognized
that black-and-white was not only NOT inferior to color, this show benefited from it.

[–] Owlwise (1535) 5 years ago

Agreed! B&W added immeasurably to the atmosphere of this fine series; color would only have diminished it.

[–] bigbadwolf666 (4707) 5 years ago

But how would you know if you never tried It? All shows today are in color.

[–] Owlwise (1535) 5 years ago

Because of having seen countless B&W TV shows & films from the past decades, particularly where visceral emotional atmosphere, psychological tone, and depth of shadow & contrasting light contribute to the power of the story. Its primal source of German Expressionism retains that eerie power to this day.

Even if all shows today are in color, some occasionally opt to go for B&W at times for the certain effect that only B&W can bring. It's not an outmoded style in the least, especially for artistic purposes. Just because something is the latest style & technological advance, doesn't necessarily mean that it's to be preferred in every case. Or that earlier styles are suddenly worthless.

I also note that more than a few current TV shows & films use computers to wash out as much of the color as possible, in order to get a sort of B&W effect … not always successfully, I'll admit. :)

Just my own very personal take on it, of course.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Indeed.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Indeed.

[–] Keelai (35269) 5 years ago

Color TV in the 50s and early sixties were rare. As more people bought them, more shows began to transition to color. My family didn't get their first color set until the mid-late sixties.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

[deleted]