I suppose it was expensive to do color in that era. And yet, of the 20 or so movies I saw in 1953-54, as a kid, I only remember 1 that was in b & w. All the rest were color. They were westerns, knights in armor and swashbucklers mainly.
We were in walking distance of the “Community House” where they showed the movies and they only cost 10 cents for the afternoon showings.
I dont remember 10 cents. Used to get in for a quarter though.
Not all directors liked to use color back then. And it might be that they were making a B picture. Many of todays beloved classics were B films.