Photo caption: Irene Morra, a film editor with Fox Film Corporation in 1934, inspects a reel of film.

Source: National Archives

Technicolor Corporation was founded in 1917 and the company was supported in its efforts by all the major studios.

At this time, the process was a two-color one, but by 1933 Technicolor had advanced to a three-color process.  The first two-color process film was The Toll of the Sea in 1922.  Walt Disney produced the first film using the three-color process, the animated cartoon Flowers and Trees, in 1932.  The first full-length feature shot in three-color process was Becky Sharp in 1935.

Black-and-white film remained the medium of choice for most filmmakers, especially since IA cameramen and lighting technicians were refining their art so quickly and skillfully that black-and-white films had much more emotional impact and depth than the early color movies.