Flora Holland

From its birth in the 1880s, movies were predominantly monochrome. Contrary to popular belief, monochrome does not always mean black-and-white; it means a movie shot in a single tone or color. Since the cost of tinted film bases was substantially higher, most movies were produced in black-and-white monochrome. Even with the advent of early color experiments, the greater expense of color meant films were mostly made in black-and-white until the 1950s, when cheaper color processes were introduced. By the 1960s, color became by far the dominant film stock. In the coming decades, the usage of color film greatly increased, while monochrome films became scarce.