Early black and white films often displayed bits of color by tinting the film stock (resulting in a uniform color for the entire screen) or coloring individual frames by hand.
The Technicolor process started with two separate strips of film, one red and one green, being blended together to create a color image. The first film made with Technicolor was "The Gulf Between," in 1917.
The Technicolor method was refined by using a new process known as Process 2. "The Toll of the Sea," released in 1922, was the first feature to use it.
Technicolor was finally perfected with Process 3, in which three strips of film were used instead of two. "The Viking" was the first film to utilize it in 1928.
"The King of Jazz" in 1930 was the first animated short to appear in color. Disney's famous "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was the first feature-length animated cartoon in color. It was released in 1937.