I was buying them out of curiosity and, I suppose, loyalty. When the ‘colour’ Virgin videos were released, I like many, was in the queue on release day with many around me extolling the virtues of the ‘new’ films.
Perhaps they were just ‘in the zone’ at the time, but I mean, reflections in the mirrors in Mickey Finn’s palace were still black and white! What was that about? But I also recall being a little underwhelmed, the expectations of a ‘colour’ film I had in my mind had not quite been met, but many around me were blown away, so I thought it must just have been me.
There’s no better way to enjoy the boys’ antics as you know, and as usual I loved the movie and laughed harder than usual. Well, I do remember thoroughly enjoying being in a crowd of like-minded ‘Sons’ to watch Laurel and Hardy on the big screen.
Just how good would this be? Would the images be sharp and well defined? How many colours would be used? Would ‘Colorization’ open up a new market of younger fans? The list of questions was endless and I do recall being somewhat nervous as the lights went down. The ‘Colorized’ FilmsĪnyway, that opportunity came just over a year later at the UK Laurel and Hardy Convention in Blackpool over the May Bank Holiday weekend in 1986 when well over a hundred of us sat down in the ‘cinema’ in Pontins eagerly anticipating the first dawn of this new world. Read on, there are many more of these splendid images below….