Shame not much color shows
 

Its a shame most 1950s color shows and their tapes didn't survive. Vintage shows that are videotaped in the 70s look live , having little deteriation.

This was recently (6 months ago maybe?) rebroadcast in BW by the PBS station in San Francisco. I made a point to watch it on my Admiral bakelite 10" set. It was supposedly the first time it had been broadcast since 1957, or so they claimed. It got an advance write-up in the local paper's TV section with some background on the production. It didn't say anything about the original being in color if I recall correctly, and judging from the make-up it looked like they used that early TV black lipstick stuff to me, which would rule out color. Don't know what prompted them to run it. Perhaps if interested parties contacted KQED they could find out from someone there how they got their copy and what's available out there.

However strange the actors' makeup might appear in the surviving b&w kinescope, it most certainly was in color when performed live, there's ample documentation to that fact.

Most likely they are wearing dark red lipstick, wasn't exactly out of fashion then. Besides, that king isn't wearing any lipstick.... some mascara maybe, but... : )