Colt 45 the movie - interesting and confusing guns

[Warden Callaway]

Like many of you, I'm always checking out the guns in a western.  I'd link the movie but it's obviously not public domain.  Stars Randolph Scott with other stars of the day. But the real star is a pair of Colt 45s.  Not SAA but appear to something based on the Dragoon series. One had square trigger guard loop, the other oval.  Sometimes looks like percussion cylinders and others conversion cylinders.  The holsters are odd and much bigger. Would they have had Italian copies in 1950 to build these guns or would they have been originals? 

 

Link to INDB picture maybe.

IMDb: Still of Randolph Scott (I) and Nolan Leary in Colt .45 (1950) 
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042338/mediaviewer/rm956829440

 

 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

1 hour ago, Warden Callaway said:

Like many of you, I'm always checking out the guns in a western.  I'd link the movie but it's obviously not public domain.  Stars Randolph Scott with other stars of the day. But the real star is a pair of Colt 45s.  Not SAA but appear to something based on the Dragoon series. One had square trigger guard loop, the other oval.  Sometimes looks like percussion cylinders and others conversion cylinders.  The holsters are odd and much bigger. Would they have had Italian copies in 1950 to build these guns or would they have been originals? 

 

Link to INDB picture maybe.

IMDb: Still of Randolph Scott (I) and Nolan Leary in Colt .45 (1950) 
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042338/mediaviewer/rm956829440

 

 

Or rubber guns.  Stenbridge Arms had tons of them.

[Warden Callaway]

1 hour ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

Or rubber guns.  Stenbridge Arms had tons of them.

Could rubber guns fire blanks?

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

8 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said:

Could rubber guns fire blanks?

No, but Stenbridge Arms was pretty adept at making dummy guns that would.  A close up would show you that they weren't real, but a quick look would pass.

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

35 minutes ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

No, but Stenbridge Arms was pretty adept at making dummy guns that would.  A close up would show you that they weren't real, but a quick look would pass.

Almost every time a character throws a gun, or hit someone on the head, it's a rubber gun.

[Alpo]

Speaking of interesting guns, check out the pair held by the guy on Scott's left.

 

 

Remington rolling block pistols. 50 caliber Navies.

[Alpo]

Better pic of the pistols than that IMDb shot.

 

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ohgYEKmDvL4/Ted06FVf_6I/AAAAAAAABBg/W4GWHyB25sk/s1600/00+colt+4.jpg

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

19 minutes ago, Alpo said:

Better pic of the pistols than that IMDb shot.

 

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ohgYEKmDvL4/Ted06FVf_6I/AAAAAAAABBg/W4GWHyB25sk/s1600/00+colt+4.jpg

Appears that one is a Walker, (top), and one is a Dragoon, (bottom). Actually, the top pistol looks like a Dragoon with a Walker gripframe on it. 

Compare the two with this pic from a Guns Magazine article:

Edited January 26 by Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770

[Chantry]

3 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

Like many of you, I'm always checking out the guns in a western.  I'd link the movie but it's obviously not public domain.  Stars Randolph Scott with other stars of the day. But the real star is a pair of Colt 45s.  Not SAA but appear to something based on the Dragoon series. One had square trigger guard loop, the other oval.  Sometimes looks like percussion cylinders and others conversion cylinders.  The holsters are odd and much bigger. Would they have had Italian copies in 1950 to build these guns or would they have been originals? 

 

Link to INDB picture maybe.

IMDb: Still of Randolph Scott (I) and Nolan Leary in Colt .45 (1950) 
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042338/mediaviewer/rm956829440

 

 

 

Originals, there would have been plenty floating around since when the movie was made it was less than a 100 years since the last 3rd Model Dragoon was made (1860).  The Colt 3rd Model Dragoon probably wasn't a major collector item in 1950

[Alpo]

17 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

Actually, the top pistol looks like a Dragoon with a Walker gripframe on it. 

I agree. The Walker loading rammer is kind of pointed at the end and it does not attach to the barrel. I've seen several pictures of people using the repros and they've got a loop of rawhide shoelace loosely tying the rammer to the barrel. Otherwise it drops down under recoil and locks up the cylinder.

 

The one with the square trigger guard in my picture attaches to the barrel.

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

I remember watching the movie and they kept mentioning the Colt 45s over and over. But they weren't the models that were called Colt 45s later, 45 Colt cartridge guns. Did they show these as cartridge conversions. I can't remember.

[Bailey Creek,5759]

Watched the movie a couple of months ago.

I thought they were original.

I think they were cartridge.

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

31 minutes ago, Bailey Creek,5759 said:

Watched the movie a couple of months ago.

I thought they were original.

I think they were cartridge.

I'd bet that they used cartridge conversions for shooting scenes. They did so in "Josey Wales", too. But the picture Alpo posted of the boxed set clearly shoe nipples on the cylinders.

[Howlin Mad Murdock SASS #4037]

Top pistol is a second model Dragoon, square trigger guard, square cylinder notches.

 

Bottom pistol is third model Dragoon, round trigger guard, square cylinder notches.

 

First model Dragoon had square trigger guard, oval cylinder notches.

 

All three model Dragoons have loading lever latches.

 

All Walkers have square trigger guards, oval cylinder notches and no loading lever latch.