Color in motion pictures is a relatively new achievement. The principles of color photography had already been established when motion picture technology started to be developed. The study of the many unsuccessful attempts, of the researchers' persistence and commitment to their goal — the motion picture in full color — and their final achievement of that goal may serve as a guidepost to new generations of studious workers, not only in this special field, but in other urgent endeavors our society is confronted with. Starting with an outline of the prehistory of color motion pictures, such landmarks as the first Technicolor and Kodachrome processes are cited. The chronology includes the first three-color processes for the motion picture professional and the amateur, and the appearance of the first motion picture color negative film. Many attempted solutions to the color motion picture technology problem and many successful systems are mentioned, arriving finally at the present status of color motion picture photography. The present ease of use is the result of much hard work by many people exploring in many directions over a stretch of many years.