Having been born in 1958, I realize that I was just getting old enough to go out to movies with friends during a time when color production was becoming the norm. It seems like before about 1965, black and white was the norm, and only very special “extravaganza” type productions were done in color. As a result, I find that I perceive a 1960’s era color film as being much more modern … i.e., almost contemporary … than it really is. Whereas, if the film is only a few years older, and in B&W, it just seems much “older”. Does anyone else in this age cohort feel the same?
I associate 1960s era b&w films with being “serious” and color films with being "movies.
Off the top of my head, I can come up with b&w films like Psycho, the Pawnbroker and Manchurian Candidate, while I’m reminded of color films like Sound of Music and Beach Blanket Bingo.
I know that’s completely random and arbitrary, but hell, that’s life.
I’ve experienced something similar with World War II histories. After years of seeing the black and white pictures, I got ahold of a book that reprinted pictures from the German equivalent of Life magazine. They used color film, and the difference was startling. It seemed more “realistic.”