Many have watched Star Wars: A New Hope dozens of times or more, but the colorized image above provides a look at the original cast out of costume during a 1977 photo shoot. Plus, did you know that it was only screened in about 50 theaters when it first opened? In comparson, The Phantom Menace opened in nearly 3,000 in 1999. Or, that before the movie opened, there was a theft issue at the production offices. As the hype built, people were desperate for Star Wars memorabilia and information. Thousands of color transparencies were stolen, and at the time, the going rate for a black-market purchases was $5 each. Continue reading for more incredible colorized historical photos from much simpler times.
20. Titanic Children c.1912
Titanic Orphans, brothers Michel and Edmond Navratil, 1912. They were the only children to be rescued from the Titanic without a parent or guardian.
19. Charlie Chaplin in Shoulder Arms c.1918
Shoulder Arms is Charlie Chaplin’s second film for First National Pictures. Released in 1918, it is a silent comedy set in France during World War I. The main part of the film actually occurs in a dream. It co-starred Edna Purviance and Sydney Chaplin, Chaplin’s elder brother. It is Chaplin’s shortest feature film as well as the first feature film that he directed.
18. Game of Cards c.1913
The tallest (Cornelius Bruns), shortest and fattest (Cannon Colossus) man of Europe playing a game of cards.
17. Winston Churchill c.1940
Winston Churchill handling a ‘tommy gun’ during an inspection of invasion coastal defences near Hartlepool, County Durham, England. 31 July 1940.
16. Migrant Mother c.1936
A 32-year-old mother of 7 children called Florence Owens Thompson, Nipomo, California. February 1936. (Migrant Mother, by Dorothea Lange).
15. Hess and Rhine Family c.1936
Hesse and by Rhine family in 1876. Queen Victoria�s 23rd grandchild, Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, is remembered best as Alexandra Feodorovna, the last Empress of Russia.
14. Molten Lava c.1944
U.S. Army military policemen toasting bread over molten lava from Vesuvius – March 18, 1944.
13. Bodybuilding Family c.1947
Bodybuilder Gene Jantzen with wife Pat, and eleven-month-old son Kent.
12. German Soldier c.1914
A German soldier with a saw tooth bayonet stands in a dugout wearing his brow plate slid down to his neck, World War I.
11. Isambard Kingdom Brunel c.1857
This photograph of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, considered “one of the most prolific figures in engineering history” was taken 160 years ago.
10. Soldier of the First Army c.1945
A soldier of the 1st US Army, among debris inside the Monument to the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig, Germany April 1945.
9. President Roosevelt’s Address c.1936
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s address on the 50th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. October 28, 1936.
8. Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Oath c.1963
Lyndon B. Johnson takes the oath of office aboard Air Force One at Love Field in Dallas following the assassination of JFK.
7. Sammy Davis and Martin Luther King Jr. c.1965
Martin Luther King Jr. and Sammy Davis Jr. share a laugh in Davis’ dressing room at New York’s Majestic Theater in 1965.
6. Photographer c.1946
A photographer uses his own backdrop to mask Poland’s World War II ruins while shooting a portrait in Warsaw, November 1946.
5. Paratroopers c.1945
Paratroopers of Easy Company (Band of Brothers), at Berghof (Adolf Hitler’s home in the Bavarian Alps), 1945.
4. Shoe-Shaped Car c.1922
For many, it’s hard to imagine what life was like back in 1922, much less what kind of advertisements were being shown to promote companies / products. In the colorized photo above, we see a “Peters Bros.” shoe repair promotional vehicle in front of a Presbyterian Church in San Francisco California.
3. Moving Picture Theater c.1941
Children waiting in line in front of a moving picture theater, Easter Sunday matinee, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, April 1941.
2. Father Christmas c.1940
Father Christmas wearing a tin helmet walks along Regent Street, London, with a bag full of presents – from Life Magazine, December 23, 1940.
1. Two-Part Mug Shot c.1913
Alphonse Bertillon, in 1913, demonstrating the two-part ‘mug shot’ method of photographing suspects that he pioneered.
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