Weapons in the Movies

Since I saw my first war flick, I've always been enthralled with the different and assorted weapons used in the movies. From broadswords to peacemakers to SAMs I liked them all. So I thought I'd to start with one of my most favorite favorites from the movie "Dogs of War"





And to think in a few short years from the old school street sweeper to the AA12

The most used and abused weapon is the Winchester model 1892! It has been placed wrongly in so many movies, it is probably impossible to count. There were even Civil War movies made in the 1930s, with actors carrying 92s, never mind it was 27 years before the first one was made. And let's not forget Steve McQueen and his Mare's Leg, complete with 45-70 cartridges in his belt loop, which were almost as long as the action. I do always get a laugh out of the Duke caring such a puny rifle though!

Stearmen said:

The most used and abused weapon is the Winchester model 1892! It has been placed wrongly in so many movies, it is probably impossible to count. There were even Civil War movies made in the 1930s, with actors carrying 92s, never mind it was 27 years before the first one was made. And let's not forget Steve McQueen and his Mare's Leg, complete with 45-70 cartridges in his belt loop, which were almost as long as the action. I do always get a laugh out of the Duke caring such a puny rifle though!

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How about Zombie Land at least this model doesn't have the D lever loop like "Wanted" had. I think the larger loop would have made the "Mare's Leg" a lot more difficult to handle.





Look at both images, if I had to pick ease of use, I'd go with Woody's, looks like it would be a lot easier to cycle.

An invaluable resource that deserves mention here:

http://www.imfdb.org/index.php/Main_Page

Stearmen said:

The most used and abused weapon is the Winchester model 1892! It has been placed wrongly in so many movies, it is probably impossible to count. There were even Civil War movies made in the 1930s, with actors carrying 92s, never mind it was 27 years before the first one was made. And let's not forget Steve McQueen and his Mare's Leg, complete with 45-70 cartridges in his belt loop, which were almost as long as the action. I do always get a laugh out of the Duke caring such a puny rifle though!

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The sterling virtue of the 92 for movie makers was that almost all of them were chambered in .44-40 or .38-40, so they could use the 5-in-1 blanks used in the film business. Many other longarms could not and the lever action gave them that "western" look. I have a Puma '92 clone in .44 magnum and it's a sweet little carbine.

Couple of movie firearms I'd like to own.

SPAS-12, as wielded by Bob Peck in "Jurassic Park"


A Searcy elephant rifle as wielded by Pete Postelethwaite in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park":


An AMT Hardballer with laser sight as wielded by Arnold Schwarzenegger in "The Terminator":


A Sterling submachine gun converted into an E-11 blaster from "Star Wars":



A C-96 Mauser converted into a DL-44 as wielded by Harrison Ford in "Star Wars"

Bushman said:

SPAS-12, as wielded by Bob Peck in "Jurassic Park"

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Big roll of the eyes ... not that someone might want a SPAS they are kind of cool ... but with the Film Industry's obsession with Gun Porn. Ie. using certain popular military or military like yet commercially available firearms It's a pet peeve. Seriously, using the Jurassic films as an example: got a big critter, just arm your guys with something the actual military uses to take down stuff that big, I don't know, a LAWS rocket maybe. There's all sorts of antitank weapons that would work on Jurassic beasties. Another example, the Terminator movies and especially the TV series: The Terminators are nearly unstoppable with conventional small arms but that Big Game Rifle might work as might a number of other old school weapons ... but Directors keep hosing them down with ineffective fire from AR 15s and the like ... because it supposedly looks cool.

That was the same problem with the Winchester '92, there were plenty of period weapons around Hollywood in the old days, heck you could still order some of them from the Sears or Ward's catalog, they just wanted guns that could be fired quickly to create a lot of noise and such.

Within just the last ten years I had a conversation with a very old movie producer, a guy I still hang out with a bit and talk with as if he's going to get back into the business. We were discussing Westerns and I mentioned a project that took place in the 1840s. He stared at me for a minute then said, "You mean with muskets?" and made as if to wave the horrid idea away. Not enough firepower for him.

Not that there aren't plenty of film makers who both get these things right and still create scenes that are exciting and colorful. But members of a certain generation (or two) just can't give up on the "excitement" of blazing away with the wrong weaponry!

The Star Wars guns (and some of the other props and sets) changed SF movies forever. Just like everything in the Old West had to be "Old" (except for those damn guns) and worn out looking, everything in the future had to be new and sleek. It may have been a galaxy Far Far Away but it looked lived in!

If I never saw the above films ,am I weird?

Leave us not forget this item, which was so popular in its day that it received fan mail of its own:



It actually did fire blanks -- the sound the blanks made during filming was responsible for Robert Vaughn's subsequent tinnitus. An Amarillo gunsmith, Brad Ferguson (www.theunclegun.com), has constructed live bullet-firing replicas of the U.N.C.L.E. Special; he has videos on YouTube and on his site.

Earlier the Man from U.N.C.L.E. producers had devised the carbine using a 1930s Mauser automatic, but it didn't look right on screen (the gun seemed overwhelmed by all the attachments, as you see below) and it gave endless problems when they tried to fire it during filming.



So the Walther P-38 was brought in, and became the icon.

basbol13 said:

How about Zombie Land at least this model doesn't have the D lever loop like "Wanted" had. I think the larger loop would have made the "Mare's Leg" a lot more difficult to handle.

Look at both images, if I had to pick ease of use, I'd go with Woody's, looks like it would be a lot easier to cycle.

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The Henry Rifle Company has created, and has up for sale, a modern version of the Wanted Dead or Alive Mare's Laig. You can get it in several different calibers.

lovegd said:

If I never saw the above films ,am I weird?

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No.

MisterCairo said:

No.

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Actually, you might enjoy "Sand Pebble" with Steve McQueen.

Going a little back in time

That image of Takashi Shimura with the bow is one of the most perfectly composed shots in the history of cinema.

Inkstainedwretch said:

That image of Takashi Shimura with the bow is one of the most perfectly composed shots in the history of cinema.

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I'd rank this one up there

Those SPAS 12 shotguns fall firmly into the category of "Be careful what you ask for..." I had one and considered myself lucky to trade it for a good all-parts-correct M1 Garand.
The SPAS was supposed to be either semi-auto or pump, which meant it didn't work very well in either mode. In theory I could get more for it now than I did then but I'm happy to be rid of it.

As for the 1892 Winchesters, as others have said, they fought at least as far back as the Civil War (at least in the movies).
They were a lot cheaper and easier to get back in the early movie days. In addition to using the 5-in-1 blanks, they were a LOT less finicky in terms of the exact dimensions of the blanks themselves since they had an actual cartridge-stop at the end of the magazine.

1860 Henrys, 1866 Winchesters, 1873 Winchesters, and 1876 Winchesters relied on the physical cartridge length to regulate the feed from the magazine to the cartridge lifter. If the length was off even a little the rifle would jam.
The later-designed (By John Browning) 1886 and 1892 Winchesters had the positive cartridge stops added to the design.
My 1886 Browning replica will feed .45-70 blanks that are far shorter than live rounds with no problems. The replica 1876 will not feed them at all.

MikeKardec said:

Big roll of the eyes ... not that someone might want a SPAS they are kind of cool ... but with the Film Industry's obsession with Gun Porn. Ie. using certain popular military or military like yet commercially available firearms It's a pet peeve. Seriously, using the Jurassic films as an example: got a big critter, just arm your guys with something the actual military uses to take down stuff that big, I don't know, a LAWS rocket maybe. There's all sorts of antitank weapons that would work on Jurassic beasties. Another example, the Terminator movies and especially the TV series: The Terminators are nearly unstoppable with conventional small arms but that Big Game Rifle might work as might a number of other old school weapons ... but Directors keep hosing them down with ineffective fire from AR 15s and the like ... because it supposedly looks cool.

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Ironically, the book had a variety of nonlethal weapons ranging from tranq guns, and net guns for the smaller stuff, to full blown rocket launchers for the more dangerous dinos. Guess nobody told Spielberg that.

A decent film to watch with a lot of action....Predator