They were not, I would wager, created to have color shifting and pasty flesh tones due to bad transfers or poor reproductive elements. As I said, if better transfers come along, I am ready and willing.
I love black.and white. I prefer it to color. Generally, though, I will always watch a film intended to be seen in color in color. Simply turning the color level down to "zero" does not make most films look as though they were shot in b&w -- gradations are wrong, shadow detail is lacking...