In all cases of colourisation, those in charge make more "creative" decisions than they do use actual colours. True, some of the product containers like oil cans and salt boxes may be accurately coloured since samples would be available but, as the Stooge colourists explain, it all comes down to a palette "recipe" or, as I call it, a guess. And that's what it appears the folks did with the Fox/Legend discs-- just guess.
Extensive research? Bollocks! The West Wing folks looked at pictures on Ebay. They said so in the documentary!
On to greener chestnuts, years ago, my brother and I made audio recordings of a few Stooge films off of W-Something-Or-Other (WOLO?) out of Wilmington, North Carolina. This was, oh, about 1977-78 and before we had even dreamed of a VCR. One of those pictures was called The Ghost Talks and, when I was sick, doing homework or just plain bored, I'd listen to the tape. Part of it goes like this (see if it rings a bell at all):
Shemp - What happened?
Larry- Strange happenings!
Shemp- That's strange!
Moe- Come on!
Moe grabs Shemp by the nose and drags him into the next scene with Shemp loudly yelling Oh! Ow-ow!... and a Stooge-y crunching noise was added over Shemp's Oh's and ow's.
I got so used to that particular "altered" soundtrack that, to this day, I still expect that crunching sound to be there when, obviously, it was added to that broadcast print for whatever reason! Also, I think someone mentioned that (on the Sony DVD's no less!) Grips, Grunts and Groans has some sounds added where they shouldn't be!
Just when you thought it was safe to watch some Stooges!
-Van Camp's Thumpee Shooees
