 The movie was originally to be shot in black and white, and some  scenes had already been filmed that way, when the studio decided to  switch to color. The official explanation at the time was that  Twetieth Century Fox, which owned the Cinemascope process, had  ordered that all films shot in the process had to be in color, but  some also believe that Warners ordered the switch to head off  comparisons with _Blackboard Jungle (1955)_ (qv) and because  James Dean (I) (qv)s increasing popularity gave the film more  prestige.