Gary Cooper's "Springfield rifle"
- Thread starter pasote
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Check out some of the frontier movies where the so-called muzzle loaders are Trapdoors with a fake frizzen attached to the lock plate.
Alpo
Member
If you had watched Buster Keaton's The General (which is most likely a documentary filmed during the war
) you would have known it already.
There is a scene in the movie Shenandoah during the big battle scene where James Best (I forget the characters name) fires a shot and flips open the trapdoor, just before being shot in the head. I remember noticing that years ago, and it still brings a smile to my face every time I see it. (My wife tells me..."Just watch the movie." "Yes dear.")
I'll forgive them for that one. I'm sure it's a lot easier to work with cartridge blanks, than working with a muzzleloader.
I'll forgive them for that one. I'm sure it's a lot easier to work with cartridge blanks, than working with a muzzleloader.
jag312
Member
You mean to tell me that Hollywood productions are not 100% historically accurate? I always thought that Hollywood script writers had advanced degrees in History from Harvard or Yale.
Smithboomer
Member
Hollywood inaccuracy in two words:
Suppressed revolvers.
Suppressed revolvers.
DWalt
Member
In the 1960 original John Wayne production of The Alamo, at least some of the muskets used by the Mexican soldiers were TD Springfields transformed to look somewhat like flintlocks. It was filmed at a location about 130 miles west of San Antonio. I remember seeing several of those Alamo props at gun shows here over 20 years ago, haven't seen any recently. At least someone on the production staff knew that during the Alamo period most Mexican infantry long arms would have been flintlocks, mainly India-pattern Brown Bess muskets, not 1892 Winchesters.
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i watched a scene yesterday in which the bad guy had a Remington 870, standard magazine tube, with which he fired 9 shots without reloading, missing the good guy all 9 times at ranges of about 10-20 feet but shooting many cans of soda, freezer cases, bags of chips, etc. They were in a convenience store. He then fumbled a reload thus allowing the good guy to escape. -Sigh-
Faulkner
Member
What amazes me is that people still marvel at the lack of accuracy that has come out of Hollywood since the beginning of moving pictures.
HOUSTON RICK
Member
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Ole Joe Clark
Absent Comrade
I always laughed at the "A Team". Their various machine guns and such always shot about 9 million times and they never hit anything or anybody.
Have a blessed day,
Leon
Have a blessed day,
Leon
TomkinsSP
Member
Upon review of pertinent facts illustrated in those oh-so-historically-accurate Hollywood movies, it is obvious. The Army of Northern Virgina was unable to defeat the Army of the Potomac due to the disparity in thier Tank forces. (The ANV fielding the light M3 Stuart, while the AotP had the M4 Sherman.)
DWalt
Member
"You ever see a Trapdoor pistol. Davy Crockett had one."
Very much like those TD conversions used in "The Alamo." I may have once owned Davy's fake TD flintlock musket. My very first TD Springfield rifle had a brass thing (I don't know what it is called, so I'll call it a Thing) set into the left side of the stock to hold the screws attaching the lockplate, similar to the brass thing in that picture. I always wondered why it was there (I knew it was not original or correct) but it didn't bother me much. I think I paid only about $100 for that TD about 35 years ago. Workmanship wasn't very good up close.
Very much like those TD conversions used in "The Alamo." I may have once owned Davy's fake TD flintlock musket. My very first TD Springfield rifle had a brass thing (I don't know what it is called, so I'll call it a Thing) set into the left side of the stock to hold the screws attaching the lockplate, similar to the brass thing in that picture. I always wondered why it was there (I knew it was not original or correct) but it didn't bother me much. I think I paid only about $100 for that TD about 35 years ago. Workmanship wasn't very good up close.
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opoefc
US Veteran
We have a connection to those trap door flint locks, etc. A deceased member of the S&WCA's uncle was the gun smith for Stembridge Arms Co, the outfit that supplied movie guns for many years until their collection was auctioned off about 10 yrs ago, or so. He made up many variations of trap doors and other easily obtainable firearms from the surplus market, to resemble older guns for movie use. I had one of those 45-70 trap door pistol "Flint lock" handguns year ago, as Fess Parker is holding. I would take it to the range and someone always wanted to shoot it. Nobody ever wanted to shoot it twice, however.! Ed.
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Bubba worked in Hollywood!!??
John
John
