Wigan Album

I thought it had been shown but it’s definitely livelier with colour Keith.

I agree with Veronica....the black-and-white version which was shown a few weeks ago is excellent but out town looks somehow warmer and brighter on this.....almost as if the sun has come out. Well done, Keith.

Colouring the photo brings it to life though monochrome can make a scene stand out. Which ever its a good pic Keith.
Just to make sure I know where it is...looking towards the old underground toilets ?

Yes, you are correct, Helen. The ladies with their backs to us are heading towards the underground toilets and the lady facing us is heading down Market Street.

Looks good in colour Keith. That's our bus home in the background near the old toilets.

Colouring doesn't do justice over B/W photos, the contents is periodically that time in History.

I dont agree with you Sandra. It’s black and white film that “doesn’t do justice” to the people in the photos. Colour film was available but it was more expensive. I remember in the mid sixties when you could buy coloured films for cameras and that was only a decade after that photo. The difference that made to photography. What about the films in cinemas in glorious technicolour ? “Gone With The Wind’ 1939 and
“ The Wizard of Oz” etc. Neither of those blockbusters would have been half as popular in black and white. Colour is more true to life than black and white which is a false interpretation when you think about it. It was ok when film was first invented and better than nothing. Why do you think rich people were painted in colour down through the ages? Colour is what makes life worth living.

Sandra,just in case no one knows it ,the 1950s was in colour,not black and white. Lol

I have to say Black and White film added to the drama in ‘Casablanca’ one of my all time favourites being set in wartime. Also ‘Brief Encounter’. The screen play and the famous actors played their part . I think muted colour would have enhanced those films but black and white couldn’t take away the brilliancy.
Film Noir is a category of its own and time.
As Mike says real life was in ‘colour’ and always will be..” not black and white”.

I agree with Veronica about Brief Encounter; I'm glad they never colourised it. I have the coloured version of Scrooge, (A Christmas Carol.... the 1951 version with Alastair Simm), and the black-and-white version is much better. Also, a more modern film, The Elephant Man, which was made in black-and-white in 1980, wouldn't have been as good in colour. Just my opinion.

I'm with Cecil B DeMille who said colouring old films was like ' putting arms on the Venus de Milo ' .
The are many various shades of black and white in well made noir , which gets lost in colourisation . A shame when such skill and trouble went into the lighting of these movies .
There are some magnificent restorations on dvd now . 'Odd Man Out' , with James Mason wandering the wet snowy streets of Belfast wouldn't be the same in colour .
Worse still was when Charlie Chaplin started talking in the remake of 'The Gold Rush ' .

Poet was it “The Gold Rush” where Charlie Chaplin was cooking his old leather boot in a big pan and picking the nails out delicately as if they were bits of bones? To be honest I loved Laurel and Hardy best…especially when they were dragging that piano up all those steps…I’m laughing now thinking about it especially when they let the piano roll back down the steps..Oh! Lordy, Lordy! ;o))

I think both b/w and colour have their place, it’s often just a matter of preference. The new AI technology, although not perfect, can produce some very good results and I must admit I’m always interested in the final product. Sometimes disappointed, sometimes delighted. I have read that AI is in its infancy and improvements will be made.

Yes Veronica and also in the Gold Rush was Charlie doing the dance with two bread rolls on forks . Genius .
Dear Stan and Ollie , do you recall the one where they bought a boat and filled it full of water to test for leaks ?
They've coloured a lot of their films and the set I've got gives you the option of watching in colour or b+w .

Not seen that one Poet I must look for it on ytube! There’s loads of them on there. It tickles me how they shared a bed and looked after a baby in one episode trying to keep it quiet so the landlord wouldn’t hear it. They were always up to summat..

Veronica and Poet, the Laurel & Hardy film you mentioned, it's Towed In A Hole, and it is on Youtube. Enjoy watching. Fre-esh fi-ish, fre-esh fi-ish
They are still so comical, even after all those years, and no matter how many times you've seen a film.

Thanks Cyril I’ll look it up. Not seen the piano incident for a long time. What a classic that was to stay in the memory all these years. All innocent fun that wouldn’t disturb children.

Ps I was more disturbed about the ‘ Clay men’ in the Flash Gordon series. They gave me nightmares!