The first movies were black and white not solely due to creative choices, but also because of technological limitations. In the early days of cinema, the technology to capture and display color films was not widely available or affordable. The first colorization techniques were done by hand, with watercolor paint or dyes, but these methods were time-consuming and expensive. By the turn of the 20th century, hand-colored photographs had become popular with the upper class, but it wasn't until the 1920s that color films started to become more common.
The first fully colorized film was the 1922 movie Toll of the Sea, which utilized a slightly more advanced Technicolor process. However, color was still rarely used due to the added cost and was often only used for a few scenes within an otherwise black and white film. It wasn't until the 1930s that color films became more common, and by the 1960s, black and white films had become the exception rather than the norm. Despite this, black and white films continue to be produced today, as they provide a unique aesthetic and thematic atmosphere that can enhance the story being told.