Movie firearm question

[Muley Gil]

I'm a big fan of the apocalyptic thriller/survival genre in both books and movies. I've often stated here that one of my favorite books is Pat Frank's "Alas Babylon."

I was skimming through some old movies on amazon prime and came across one called "Panic in Year Zero." It was made in 1962 and came out just months before the Cuban Missile Crisis. Starring Ray Milland and Frankie Avalon, it followed a family that had just left LA for a fishing trip when LA and several other cities were nuked.

In the film, Ray Milland stops at a hardware store to lay in some supplies and purchases a 1911 from the owner. The owner stated it was "made of magnesium, light as a feather." Of course they can't make a pistol out of magnesium, for obvious reasons. I was still intrigued by that statement and wanted to look it up on IMFDB, but the movie isn't even listed. I was a little surprised to find out a movie with a couple of pretty big names in it wasn't in the database.

Oh well, can't satisfy my curiosity, but I highly recommend it. I haven't seen Milland in many movies, in fact the only one I can remember is "Frogs", and by then he was at the old family patriarch invalid stage of life and not a big part.

In Panic in Year Zero, he was a bad ***! Great acting and he directed it as well. Frankie Avalon put in a pretty solid performance as well. The movie is a little campy and dated, but still very good, especially if you like that era and especially that genre. I can't believe I had never heard of it before!

Two thumbs up!

Panic in Year Zero! (1962) ⭐ 6.6 | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

1h 33m | Approved

www.imdb.com

Panic in Year Zero! - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Alpo]

Maybe he thinks that the flame from the burning powder would start the magnesium on fire.

 

[DWalt]

Of course a gun could be made with a Magnesium frame, just like aluminum! Why do you believe it is obvious" this cannot be done? Given that, there are no magnesium framed guns that I am aware of, but it is absolutely possible!

I don't know anything about the mechanical properties of magnesium alloys. Might be some that are strong enough and could be used for handgun frames and wouldn't burn up like a parachute flare at the first shot. Wouldn't a plastic frame be lighter in weight? I do know magnesium is considerably lighter in weight than aluminum.

 

[Mk VII]

A Milland Classic!
View attachment 763857

"I just wondered - have you got two of anything else?"

 

[Rock185]

I think Alas Babylon may have been the first of that genre I ever read. Read it more than once, and believe I still have my old copy around here someplace.

 

[Grayfox]

I get the ScreenPixs channels. There are 4 of them. Regular ScreenPix, Westerns, Action and Voices. They generally show a lot of pretty good, older "B" movies in many categories. Sci-fi and old horror movies are well represented. Panic in the Year Zero is shown fairly regularly. "The Man with X-Ray Eyes" also pops up now and then.
There are some very good older movies on there. But also a lot of stinkers. Ya just gotta pick and chose carefully.

I didn't read Alas Babylon until about 5 years ago. I had just finished "One Second After" and it was recommended on an also read list. Although a bit dated, its still an excellent book. Good people stories never get old.

 

[Warren Sear]

Wasn't Ray Milland in one of the older Invisible Man flicks?

He just couldn't see himself being an invisible man.