The 1911 is designed to be carried cocked and locked. It looks "scary" to people who aren't familiar with guns, because you can actually see the hammer whereas you can't see the hammer or striker on other guns (like a Glock, for example.) With the thumb safety and grip safety, a 1911 in proper working order is VERY safe to carry cocked and locked.
The readiness condition of a 1911 is usually described as:
Condition Four: Chamber empty, empty magazine, hammer down.
Condition Three: Chamber empty, full magazine in place, hammer down.
Condition Two: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer down.
Condition One: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer cocked, safety on.
Condition Zero: A round chambered, full magazine in place, hammer cocked, safety off.
I would venture to guess that most "real" people carry in either condition one or three. Condition two is not very safe to achieve, because it requires that you lower the hammer on a live round. Interestingly enough, many people routinely do so on a revolver with no ND, but with a 1911, it's harder to do because of the configuration of the gun.
As has been previously mentioned, Hollywood is the last place one should consider as a "how to" source when it comes to guns and their use. I sure would like to have some of the guns they use, though...like revolvers that shoot 14 rounds and semi-automatics that never run out of ammo. Then of course there are the guns that blow up buildings, cars, and knock bad guys right out of their socks.
