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Technicolor Monopack / Kodachrome Professional Type 5267 / Eastman Monopack 7267

Description

During the 1940s Kodachrome was used as camera material for films that were blown up to 35mm Technicolor projection prints. Technicolor used this technology from 1942 until the mid-1950s when Eastman Kodak introduced the Eastmancolor negative-positive system. Like Eastmancolor, Kodachrome was a chromogenic color system, and it could be used in a normal camera, without the Technicolor beam split system. This increased the possibilities for outdoor scenes, for example in non-fiction films. An important number of documentaries was produced this way during the 1940s and the early 1950s, like for example, Walt Disney’s True-Life Adventures series of which four won Academy Awards (Pope 2016, 76). Occasionally, Kodachrome was even used as camera material for feature films. For example, Gert Koshofer explains that the outdoor scenes in Lassie Come Home (USA 1943, Fred M. Wilcox) were filmed in Kodachrome. Another feature that was made this way was Thunderhead. Son of Flicka (USA 1945, Louis King), which was entirely filmed in Kodachrome.
Technicolor never mentioned the name Kodachrome when referring to the technology used in its communications to the press and stock holders. Instead it used descriptions such as ‘an experiment in monopack’, ‘the Monopack procedure’ and even ‘Technicolor Monopack’ for the system used. But no matter how it was called, the technology was very probably the same, especially since in its Annual Report from 1944 Technicolor also mentioned the need to collaborate with the Eastman Kodak Company “…so that the Technicolor monopack process may gradually supersede the present Technicolor 3-strip process and thus eliminate the necessity of special Technicolor cameras (Gundelfinger 1944, 68).”
The 16mm material camera material used for Technicolor Monopack was Kodachrome Professional Type 5267 that was introduced in 1942. Dive Bomber (USA 1941, Michael Curtiz) was filmed with 35mm Kodachrome material. However, Kodachrome was unsuccessful as 35mm material. It was too expensive, and the emulsion was a bit uneven, which was still acceptable for 16mm, but became disturbing on 35mm.

Secondary Sources

Anonymous (na): The New Kodachrome. Rochester, pp. 56–72, on pp. 60–63 View Quote, on p. 66 View Quote and on p. 70. View Quote

Basten, Fred E. (1980): Glorious Technicolor. The Movies’ Magic Rainbow. South Brunswick: Barnes, on pp. 137–156. View Quote

Bordwell, David; Staiger, Janet; Thompson, Kristin (1985): The Classical Hollywood Cinema. Film Style and Mode of Production to 1960. London: Routledge, on pp. 356–357 View Quote and on p. 357. View Quote

Clarke, Charles G. (1945): Practical Utilization of Monopack Film. In: Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, 45, Nov. 1945, pp. 327-332.

Cornwell-Clyne, Adrian (1951): Colour Cinematography. London: Chapman & Hall, pp. 476-477. View Quote

Kitsopanidou, Kira (2009): “Glorious Technicolor”. La stratégie d’innovation de la couleur de Technicolor dans l’industrie cinématographique Américaine. In: Raphaëlle Costa de Beauregard (ed.): Cinéma et couleur. Paris: M. Houdiard, pp. 193–206, on pp. 199–200. (in French) View Quote

Lightman, Herb A. (1969): Color in the Motion Picture. In: American Cinematographer, 50,1, Jan. 1969, pp. 80-83, on p. 164. View Quote

Petrie, Duncan (2013): Interview. Stan Sayer. In: Simon Brown, Sarah Street and Liz Watkins (eds.): British Colour Cinema. Practices and Theories. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 97–102, on pp. 99–102. View Quote

Ryan, Roderick T. (1977): A History of Motion Picture Color Technology. London: Focal Press, p. 78. View Quote

Tompkins, E.S. (1944): In Defence of “Glorious” Colour. In: British Journal of Photography, 3 March, p. 74. View Quote

Pope, Norris (2016): Kodachrome and the Rise of 16mm Professional Film Production in America, 1938-1950. In: Film History. An International Journal., pp. 72-76.

Production Reports

English Village (GBR 1944-1945 [exact year unknown], Darrel Catling):
Cleveland, David; Pritchard, Brian (2015): In: How Films were Made and Shown. Some Aspects of the Technical Side of Motion Picture Film 1895–2015, Manningtree, Essex: David Cleveland, on p. 223 and on p. 226. View Quote


 

With the Marines at Tarawa (USA 1944, Louis Hayward):
Alt, Dirk (2011): ‘Der Farbfilm marschiert!’. Frühe Farbfilmverfahren und NS-Propaganda 1933-1945. München: belleville Verlag Michael Farin, on p. 355. (in German) View Quote